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The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing (2022) (Single Issues)
The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing (2022-) #1
The world once again holds its breath as The Joker strikes again! But how far is he willing to go this time? From the twisted minds of Matthew Rosenberg (Task Force Z, What’s the Furthest Place from Here?) and Carmine Di Giandomenico (Batman: The Knight) comes a violent, mind-bending new series that picks up from the cataclysmic end of The Joker and follows the mayhem across the United States. With the Clown Prince of Crime setting out on his most bizarre caper yet, will a fan-favorite vigilante be able to prevent certain tragedy? Or is he in on the joke? In the back-up—Joker’s got a hot date but he’s going to need a mirror to make sure he looks nice. Maybe Mirror Master can help.
33 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 4, 2022
About the author
Matthew Rosenberg
763 books178 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.
I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."
Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...
Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.
I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."
Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...
Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 6, 2022
Another great one from DC this week! Not sure about the ending and where this will lead us, but a fun one!
October 19, 2022
I saw the ending coming but it still got me. Does this tie into the whole three Jokers thing? Guess we'll find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2025
Seemed to end abruptly, switch locations a lot while both telling us too little of what we wanna know and too much about what we already do. Joker takes over many big cities seemingly at once and televises it. There’s also a more Sunday funnies comic at the end about him wanting to date Powergirl. Another about faking suicide to see the praise at his funeral.
I like when anybody draws him with two different eyes. Pt 2 was missing him for a long time. God, they draw Harley like a man, proportions and angles make no sense.
I like when anybody draws him with two different eyes. Pt 2 was missing him for a long time. God, they draw Harley like a man, proportions and angles make no sense.
Read
October 25, 2022
Everywhere.
October 29, 2022
Really can't say much. Digging it.
November 25, 2022
Really interesting first issue of the new Joker series. Dual atmosphere with funny/action scenes and mysterious/creepy scenes. Solid artwork yet not outstanding. 4/5
January 14, 2023
"And like horror, great comedy often comes from sick minds."
"I keep thinking about that joke. At first I wasn't sure why it was stuck in my head. But after lying in a pool of my own blood for two days I think I figured it out. It's the thing I mentioned before. That joke, like so many great ones, is about trust. And it's about destroying that trust. Taking things people know, or think they know... and breaking them. When you do that, it goes one of two ways. It's going to be either terrifying... or hilarious. Sometimes it takes getting shot in the head to make you think clearly."
I don't know where this story is going, but I will keep reading it, till I don't. For now, I'm just waiting for Joker to be back on his feet.
Also, I hope the backup story (drawn by Francavilla) will start to play some role in all of this. It looks like some TV show or some comic to prank Joker and make him silly, funny and absurd.
Please, don't make a loser out of him!
"I keep thinking about that joke. At first I wasn't sure why it was stuck in my head. But after lying in a pool of my own blood for two days I think I figured it out. It's the thing I mentioned before. That joke, like so many great ones, is about trust. And it's about destroying that trust. Taking things people know, or think they know... and breaking them. When you do that, it goes one of two ways. It's going to be either terrifying... or hilarious. Sometimes it takes getting shot in the head to make you think clearly."
I don't know where this story is going, but I will keep reading it, till I don't. For now, I'm just waiting for Joker to be back on his feet.
Also, I hope the backup story (drawn by Francavilla) will start to play some role in all of this. It looks like some TV show or some comic to prank Joker and make him silly, funny and absurd.
Please, don't make a loser out of him!
May 2, 2026
The whole thing is good but it tried to tell a lot of story in short time. There's a lot of switchings place and time. I spent time remember each is each for a while. It's both pro and con for storytelling like this but sure, i love it.
October 13, 2022
Even though I have zero idea what’s going on, I’m into it
October 15, 2022
WOAHEOAHEOAHWOAHEAOH
October 28, 2022
Wait. What?! And, with that, I'm in for however long this one runs.
February 26, 2023
damnnnnn
April 5, 2023
Not sure yet how much I'll like this series. I was amused by how the backup story seemed to imply that the Jared Leto Joker look was trying too hard.
April 22, 2023
Literally only reading this cause I think Task Force Z (Red Hood) goes into this story but I'm not sure.
July 1, 2023
Molto semplice ma d'effetto
December 30, 2025
Which Joker is the real Joker? Is there a real Joker?
January 18, 2023
So, there's no way to talk about this book without talking about the big ending, so if you want a spoiler free opinion on whether or not this is good and worth reading, yes, yes it is. Now, head off and read a copy before doing the rest of this article.
I really enjoyed the previous The Joker series. When I first heard they were doing a book on the character I was a bit worried as I thought the Joker would be best in small doses, and that having a book focused on him might take a little away from the character. But, that series sidestepped the problem by having it be a book about Jim Gordon as much as it was the Joker. It was a great series, and I enjoyed the story it told.
So when it came to an end and it was announced that there was going to be another Joker series I was excited to see what it would do. It had some decent sized shoes to fill, and I was curious to see what kind of approach it would take. Would it follow the Joker, or another character was perhaps my biggest question. There were hints in some other titles that Jason Todd might be going after the Joker, and I was certainly open to seeing that story.
But the first issue didn't really make it obvious who we were following. There was plenty of narration, and for a while it seemed like it might be from the Joker himself, until it was clear that the person telling the story was tied up and then got shot in the head by the Joker as they did their schemes in the city.
The Joker, having previously been away from Gotham, had returned and was trying to stake his claim, taking out some mid-level crooks to show that he was back and meant business. But after a chat with Black Mask, The Riddler, and Two-Face (is he a villain again now?) he was convinced that Gotham is done with him, and decided to leave. From here the Joker moved over to LA, where he killed a local crime boss and made a very public announcement that he was going on the road, bringing his own brand of 'fun' to every city in the US.
But whilst this was happening, the mysterious narrator who was shot in the head woke up as he's being piled into a mass grave. Taking out the goons who were to bury him, he heads into a local bar to try and figure shit out, where he hears about the Joker's new reign of terror. Wandering into the bathroom, he manages to get the sack off his head to reveal his true identity. Is it someone we know, one of the Bat Family, Gordon, a rival criminal, or a whole new character completely? Well, I don't think many would have predicted this reveal; it's the Joker.
I'm mildly aware that DC did a story about there being multiple Jokers in the past (which I might have to go and read pretty soon it seems), but I don't really know much about it or how that all worked out. So, this could be connected to that, it could be it's own new thing. Either way, this is an incredibly intriguing start to this series. I was kind of against a series that put the Joker in the lead, but doing it this way is interesting and different enough that I can get on board with it.
The art, by Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Arif Prianto, has a nice grittiness to it that works with the tone of the story, but there's plenty of detail and depth that you can spend your time on each page, soaking in all of the environments and characters. It's nice art, and the grimy, nasty moments all look disgusting and gross in the right way, and it helps towards making the reader uncomfortable at the right moments.
There's also a back-up feature that may seem pretty disconnected from things, but may also hold some hints as to what's going on. In this small comic, that's drawn to look like something from the 60's and 70's with thicker lines, bold, bright colours, and fairly simple panels that often lack background. In this story the Joker is stopped from his latest crimes by Power Girl, who he instantly becomes attracted to. The Joker tries to make himself look good, trying on some different looks in front of Mirror Master's mirror (including a fun Suicide Squad Joker gag). But the Joker in the mirror steps out into the real world.
Is this weirdly unconnected back-up actually giving us the explanation already? Perhaps. But then, I could also see this series perhaps giving us a different possible duplicate Joker origin every issue as a way to throw the reader off, and to nod at the whole thing of the Joker not having a real, defined origin story. Either way, it's an interesting addition to this issue.
I went into this first issue with hopes for something good, but some worries about the kind of book it could have been. Thankfully, by the end I was completely sold on this series, and am eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
I really enjoyed the previous The Joker series. When I first heard they were doing a book on the character I was a bit worried as I thought the Joker would be best in small doses, and that having a book focused on him might take a little away from the character. But, that series sidestepped the problem by having it be a book about Jim Gordon as much as it was the Joker. It was a great series, and I enjoyed the story it told.
So when it came to an end and it was announced that there was going to be another Joker series I was excited to see what it would do. It had some decent sized shoes to fill, and I was curious to see what kind of approach it would take. Would it follow the Joker, or another character was perhaps my biggest question. There were hints in some other titles that Jason Todd might be going after the Joker, and I was certainly open to seeing that story.
But the first issue didn't really make it obvious who we were following. There was plenty of narration, and for a while it seemed like it might be from the Joker himself, until it was clear that the person telling the story was tied up and then got shot in the head by the Joker as they did their schemes in the city.
The Joker, having previously been away from Gotham, had returned and was trying to stake his claim, taking out some mid-level crooks to show that he was back and meant business. But after a chat with Black Mask, The Riddler, and Two-Face (is he a villain again now?) he was convinced that Gotham is done with him, and decided to leave. From here the Joker moved over to LA, where he killed a local crime boss and made a very public announcement that he was going on the road, bringing his own brand of 'fun' to every city in the US.
But whilst this was happening, the mysterious narrator who was shot in the head woke up as he's being piled into a mass grave. Taking out the goons who were to bury him, he heads into a local bar to try and figure shit out, where he hears about the Joker's new reign of terror. Wandering into the bathroom, he manages to get the sack off his head to reveal his true identity. Is it someone we know, one of the Bat Family, Gordon, a rival criminal, or a whole new character completely? Well, I don't think many would have predicted this reveal; it's the Joker.
I'm mildly aware that DC did a story about there being multiple Jokers in the past (which I might have to go and read pretty soon it seems), but I don't really know much about it or how that all worked out. So, this could be connected to that, it could be it's own new thing. Either way, this is an incredibly intriguing start to this series. I was kind of against a series that put the Joker in the lead, but doing it this way is interesting and different enough that I can get on board with it.
The art, by Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Arif Prianto, has a nice grittiness to it that works with the tone of the story, but there's plenty of detail and depth that you can spend your time on each page, soaking in all of the environments and characters. It's nice art, and the grimy, nasty moments all look disgusting and gross in the right way, and it helps towards making the reader uncomfortable at the right moments.
There's also a back-up feature that may seem pretty disconnected from things, but may also hold some hints as to what's going on. In this small comic, that's drawn to look like something from the 60's and 70's with thicker lines, bold, bright colours, and fairly simple panels that often lack background. In this story the Joker is stopped from his latest crimes by Power Girl, who he instantly becomes attracted to. The Joker tries to make himself look good, trying on some different looks in front of Mirror Master's mirror (including a fun Suicide Squad Joker gag). But the Joker in the mirror steps out into the real world.
Is this weirdly unconnected back-up actually giving us the explanation already? Perhaps. But then, I could also see this series perhaps giving us a different possible duplicate Joker origin every issue as a way to throw the reader off, and to nod at the whole thing of the Joker not having a real, defined origin story. Either way, it's an interesting addition to this issue.
I went into this first issue with hopes for something good, but some worries about the kind of book it could have been. Thankfully, by the end I was completely sold on this series, and am eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
August 27, 2025
Well, that's quite a GREAT beginning.
I'm excited for whatever comes next.
I'm excited for whatever comes next.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews