The Man Who Laughs: Exploring the Clown Prince of Crime

I’m proud to announce the release of The Man Who Laughs: Exploring the Clown Prince of Crime! If you’re a fan of DC Comics’ the Joker, this book is for you.

I’ve once again teamed up my fellow editor Rich Handley to bring you an anthology of varied essays discussing many aspects of the Clown Prince of Crime. The book contains a foreword by DCs “Answer Man” Bob Rozakis and an afterword by Steve Englehart, plus essays by such DC veterans like Robert Greenberger, Jo Duffy, and Paul Kupperberg. It’s published via Crazy 8 Press, with a cover by David Pipgras and layout/design by David Pipgras and Aaron Rosenberg. Grab a copy at Amazon.com.

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The Joker has been a goofy trickster, a giggling lunatic, a psychopathic killer, a methodical mastermind, a failed comedian, and an unstoppable force. It all depends on the writer and artist telling the story. He’s the Clown Prince of Crime, the Man Who Laughs, an agent of chaos. He has no special abilities or superpowers, but also no moral code or grip on reality. The Joker is charismatic, terrifying, unpredictable, and downright hilarious. The only method to this criminal’s madness is that there is no method. This anthology offers more than twenty perspectives on the yin to Batman’s yang, written by respected comic creators, historians, and industry insiders. So step right into the mouth of madness. The joke’s on us, and we’d like to let you in on it.

The Man Who Laughs Press Release

Table of Contents

Who Is the Joker? A Question from the Answer Man… By Bob Rozakis

Text Messages of the Dark Knight… By Tom K. Mason

The Banter and the Bat… By Michael Jan Friedman

Something Tastes Funny—That’d Be the Clownfish… By Duy Tano

My, What Big Teeth You Have!… By Bobby Nash

Is the Joker Gay? Queer Representation and the Clown Prince of Crime… By Valentina Rossi

The Joke Book: Laughing Along with the Joker’s 1970s Solo Series… By Lou Tambone

Delicious! The Joker as Latin Loverboy… By Jim Beard

Joker: Stop Punching Down … By Jo Duffy

The Joke’s on the Audience… By Robert Greenberger

From Laughing Magician to the Man Who Laughs… By Rich Handley

Don’t Get Even, Go Mad: Joker and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days… By Joseph F. Berenato

Empathy for Emperor Joker… By Paul Cornish

Toward a Short Comparison and Contrast of the Joker with Trickster Characters of African Folklore… By LaMarrison Forte

The Joker: Just How Crazy Is He???… By Glenn Hauman

Why Do We Care That the Joker Hates Nazis?… By Alex Galer

Missing the Joke(r)… By Brian Cronin

Whatever Joker Wants, Joker Goetz … By Keith R.A. DeCandido

Fixing the Laughter: Voice Casting the Joker on Batman: The Animated Series… By John Trumbull

Mountebank to Monster: The Bloody Road from “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge” to The Killing Joke… By Paul Kupperberg

Kill the Joker: An Afterword… By Steve Englehart

 

Get yours at Amazon.com.

 

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