#Comics | The Batman Who Laughs, 2017.

Set in the separate continuity of Earth-22, the book is a tie-in to DC’s current Dark Nights: Metal crossover that explores a dark chain of connected universes that exist “underneath” the DC universe. But like any good tie-in, the book works well as a standalone issue. The Batman Who Laughs is a what-if, explained by the title character during a tarot reading that is likely an homage to the card game that kicks off Alan Moore’s influential Joker tale The Killing Joke. The title is also an homage to The Man Who Laughs, a 1928 horror flick that inspired the Joker’s creation.

The Batman Who Laughs first appears as slinky, red-lipped, clad in a bat suit with green highlights. But as the story progresses, he eventually evolves into a sadomasochistic monstrosity with a bloody mouth, clawed fingers, a plethora of black leather straps and a spiky dog collar covering his eyes. This leering bat god is the creature that graces this comic’s metallic foil cover alongside his pet Robins, explosively rendered by Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson in one of the years most memorable comic book images. He’s very much his own character, more reminiscent of the cenobite demons in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser than any clown or bat. Like the cenobites, Tynion’s star monstrosity has an insatiable taste for pain, making this one of the most unsettling and entertaining comic stories of the year. Looking forward to see what DC does with the character as he merges into the storyline of Dark Nights: Metal.

Enlaces:
https://observer.com/2017/11/the-joker-finally-wins-in-dc-comics-new-release-the-batman-who-laughs/
https://getcomics.info/dc/batman-who-laughs-1-preview-2017/
https://getcomics.info/dc/dark-nights-the-batman-who-laughs-1-2019-special-edition/
https://getcomics.info/dc/the-batman-who-laughs-1-7-2018-2019/
https://getcomics.info/?s=batman%20laughs
https://getcomics.info/dc/the-batman-who-laughs-the-grim-knight-1-2019/