Batman: The Man Who Laughs

A single-issue 2009 DC one-shot that reimagines Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, this story pairs writer Ed Brubaker with artist Doug Mahnke for a tense, atmospheric take on the early days of the Dark Knight’s war on crime. It distills the essence of the classic 1940s tale into a modern, noir-tinged confrontation, capturing the primal horror of a Gotham facing its first true agent of chaos. A key entry in the Batman mythos, it stands as a definitive modern retelling of the character’s origin as a symbol against madness.