Review: The Batman Who Laughs by Scott Snyder

The Batman Who Laughs by Scott Snyder has a Batman known as “The Batman Who Laughs.” This is a version of Batman that killed the Joker and was contaminated by Joker toxin. The result was that he morphed in an evil version that was part Joker and part Batman. This evil version proceeded to murder his Bat family by killing Robin, Batgirl, Alfred and others.

Also at work in this graphic novel is the “Grim Knight.”  This is a Batman that has become like “The Punisher,” but way worse. His version does not have a Bat family. He kills all criminals and is hunted by the police who he is also trying to kill.

Both bad versions of Batman come from the “Dark Multiverse” and have come to what is all intents and purposes “Our Multiverse” where they seek to wreak havoc and must be stopped by our good Batman. This won’t be easy as the bad Batmans (Batmen ?) have lived the same lives for the most part, had the same trainings, and know all the faults and weaknesses as well as tactics.

This horror/mystery graphic novel pushes Batman, Jim Gordon, and Alfred to their limits as they face off and combat the evil Batmans in The Batman Who Laughs. The result is a good read that is complicated and sets up another series where Superman and Batman team up.

The artwork in the book is good though, at times a bit confusing, as anytime the Batman Who Laughs talks his font is red on top of black to emphasize how messed up he is. That way of doing things makes it hard to read since the story is very dark as it is.

While The Batman Who Laughs by Scott Snyder is a good story with plenty of action as well as mystery and horror elements, there is a large body count and there are horror aspects to the tale. So, this is not a book for young readers unless you just feel the need to freak them out.

The Batman Who Laughs

Scott Snyder

https://www.dccomics.com/talent/scott-snyder

DC Comics

https://www.dccomics.com/

ISBN# 978-1-4012-9403-8

Hardback (also available in digital format)

232 Pages

Material came by way of the “Central Branch” of the Dallas Public Library System.

Scott A. Tipple ©2019