Batman: The Man Who Laughs

Batman: The Man Who Laughs
Cover of Batman: The Man Who Laughs
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
FormatOne-shot prestige format comic book
Publication date2005
No. of issues1
Main character(s)
Creative team
Written byEd Brubaker
Artist(s)Doug Mahnke
Colorist(s)David Baron

Batman: The Man Who Laughs is a one-shot prestige format comic book written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Doug Mahnke, released in February 2005, and intended as a successor to Batman: Year One.

It tells the story of Batman's first encounter with the Joker in post-Zero Hour continuity. The plot is based on the Joker's original introduction in Batman #1 (1940).

The title is a reference to Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs, whose main character was one of the original inspirations for the Joker.

The story has been reprinted, in both hard and softcover, with Detective Comics #784–786—a storyline entitled "Made of Wood" (pairing Batman with the Green Lantern, Alan Scott) also written by Brubaker with art by Patrick Zircher.