The Batman Who Laughs: The Deluxe Edition

by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jock (Illustrator)

A New York Times bestselling Graphic Novel!

"A Batman who laughs is a Batman who always wins."

He unleashed the Dark Multiverse in the epic series Dark Metal . Now superstar writer Scott Snyder reunites with acclaimed artist Jock ( Black Mirror ) to set that evil alternate reality's deadliest denizen loose in Gotham City--and the original Dark Knight will never be the same!

Half Batman. Half Joker. Combining everything that makes the Caped Crusader a hero and the Clown Prince a killer, the Batman Who Laughs is the Dark Multiverse's deadliest criminal mastermind. Now he's come to Gotham to turn Bruce Wayne's home into an incubator for evil.

And he hasn't come alone. Emerging from another of the Dark Multiverse's myriad realities comes the Grim Knight. This vicious vigilante will use any weapon at his disposal to ensure those he has marked for death stay down.

A war like no other--a war of the Batmen--has begun. As Batman's closest friends, deadliest enemies, and doppelgängers from across the Multiverse get caught in the crossfire, only one question Who will have the last laugh?

Discover the answer in The Batman Who Laughs --a terrifying reimagining of one of comics' greatest heroes--and villains--from the premier Batman writer of our time!

Collects the full seven-issue miniseries and the one-shot special issue The Batman Who The Grim Knight .

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Collections

280 pages, Hardcover

Published April 18, 2023

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Paolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool, slightly confusing story reminiscent of DC's version of the multiverse. Excellent artwork and very entertaining. A solid comic that doesn't get boring and can hold its own with other major Batman stories at the higher end of the Three-star rating.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely genius!

[Miles Isham · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bad day at the typewriter for Snyder. There are so many problems here I don’t know where to start. Batman/Bruce doesn’t come over as an interesting character at all, which is an issue in a book that needs you to care about him. You don’t. Alfred, Gordon (don’t get me started on Gordon’s son!) and all the multiverse versions are generally a pain in the arse. It feels like Snyder had just watched a Downey Jr Holmes film and thought, hey, disguises are fun! So Bats uses elaborate disguises for absolutely no reason. The plot is a how-not-to guide to writing multiverse storylines. Each new version of the characters is introduced and then murdered in a way that diminishes everybody. If my own parents were gunned down in an alley it would barely register. The supposedly profound pieces of soul searching are laughable. Jock’s rather perfunctory art can’t save this mess.

[Lucy Batson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is on the lower end of three stars: The Dark Multiverse is one of the sillier ideas DC has trotted out in a while, or at least it would be if it weren't so grimdark. That recipe for tonal whiplash is on full display here, and the Snyder/Jock team go a long way towards keeping this story from dipping completely into total camp. That said, there are a ton of Batman stories far more essential than this one.

[Bee Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First real dive into a Batman story aside from the cartoons and movies and really enjoyed this! Took a few issues to get going, but once I got to issue #3 and especially #4, it really started to come together. The final two issues are spectacular. The art is beautiful as well. The colors really pop.

[Kevin Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering the last Batman tale I read was the superb Knightfall saga, this really threw me in at the deep end with a number of character developments I had to just accept and go along with. It’s an excellent and dark tale though, even if many panels bring to mind the similarly-designed Judge Death from the 2000AD comics.

[Rhett Marak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having knowledge of dark knights metals going into this helps a bunch with added info on the main villains.
Would I read it again it a couple years? Yes.
I personally loved this but I’m a sucker for The Batman who laughs.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh? Just throwing darts at a wall for storylines now.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are some heartwarming moments in this story and it ends very well, it is yet another extremely dark Batman tale, with entirely too much Joker imagery for me to really enjoy it.

[meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

might be my favourite character design ever

[Javier Campos · Rating 2 out of 5]

ya al final da mal genio

[Britt Halliburton]

The artwork from Jock is brilliant, he manages to produce not only excellent Batman imagery, but that grotesqueness of the Batman Who Laughs. The action sequences are really good, clear and well presented. Too often I feel a lit of DC books rush the action and it can become a pain to follow, but here it is all aptly written and drawn to perfection.

The story is incredibly over-the-top, which is only superceded by later absurdity in the Metal saga. If anything, this is grounded by comparison. But that slow decline of Bruce Wayne into giving in is a good read.

There is a lot of focus on Jim Gordon and his son and their relationship. I would have liked to see more exploration of the idea of a psychopath redeeming themselves, but I was also glad that they didn't just shrug off his crimes and declare him a good guy now.

Overall, fun read with wonderful artwork. This edition includes a heap of variant covers if you like that kind of thing, but I wouldn't say it was necessary if you already have the standard edition.

[Forrest Lombard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Typical comic-book strengths and weaknesses. Not a lot of depth but a solid and smooth read.