Captain America by Ed Brubaker Vol. 2 (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Alan Davis
Collects: Captain America (vol. 5) #6-10

Sometimes it's difficult to write about Ed Brubakers Captain America. Reviews are often the hardest when a series is consistently good. What do you say? It would likely be a lot easier if you could do it in bigger chunks, like two volumes of nine or ten issues as opposed to four with five issues. But then Marvel makes half the money, right? Can't have that.

Volume two picks up where the first left off and it carries the same tone. Brubakers Cap feels different now; it's focused more on superheroics than than the intricate plotting of the past. It's not a bad approach, but I'm not surprised it turned people off. I appreciate it for what it is; it's kind of fun to see something a bit more straightforward as Bru prepares to depart the character.

The story for this volume is that Caps powers are out of whack. He's changing back to the ninety pound weakling he was prior to the Super Soldier Serum seemingly at random. The timing couldn't be worse, because someone has set up some Madbombs in New York, causing dangerous riots in the midst of some highly populated areas. Cap and friends have to figure out what is going on with him and stop the villains behind it.

All told, it's an average adventure. But it does have one thing going for it. Alan Davis is the artist and his work can elevate any material. He's as good as ever and frankly I wish we saw more of him in mainstream superhero comics.

I'm not sure what else to say. This isn't a story that fosters a ton of analysis, but it's perfectly enjoyable for what it is. You wouldn't just pick this volume up in a vacuum, but if you're already this far into Ed Brubakers I imagine you're in it until the end. Just don't go in expecting something that will blow your mind and you should have a good time.

My Opinion: Read It

Captain America by Ed Brubaker Vol. 1 (comic)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Steve Niven
Collects: Captain America (vol. 5) #1-5

The Marvel love affair with relaunching rolls on. The sad part being that it wasn't twenty issues before that they renumbered the last volume to legacy numbering. Then, this one lasts all of nineteen issues before they relaunch Cap again*! Unbelievable.

Steve Rogers has the mantle again and Ed Brubaker decides to lead off with an accessible story. You need no knowledge of prior volumes to read this one. Brubaker's been pretty generous in giving us an easy in between bigger storylines. "Two Americas" is similar in this regard.

This story leans on a few Captain America cliches to work. Someone from his past returns and is kind of cheesed at him. They fight. Steve then ends up wondering if he's a failure as Cap or if America has lost its way under his watch. On the plus side, Ameridroid shows up for a bit, even if we aren't likely to see him again. What we end up with is more of a straightforward action comic, which is not something Ed Brubaker has done a lot of in the past.

I mentioned Two Americas earlier; this volume has a few similarities to that book. The basic conflict is the same; someone shows up who is pretty unhappy with the way that America has gone, has a pretty concrete view on how it should be and will go to extreme methods to "fix it". The difference is in the message. The point of Two America's is that Crazy 50's Cap was essentially fighting to regain a vision of America that probably never existed. It was pretty clear that, however good the intent may have been, 50's Cap was off his rocker and definitely in the wrong. This time, it's left ambiguous; Rogers himself wonders if the jerkass had a point. Not exactly unfamiliar ground for a Captain America story**, but it's not something I recall Brubaker doing before, so I can cut him some slack here.

The ending points towards another multi-arc plot from Brubaker, but I have no idea if it's resolved. Brubaker's run finally ended - after a staggering eight years - about fourteen issues later. You'd think that would be plenty of time to wrap it up, but it depends on when exactly Bru knew he was leaving and if he got enough space.

Steve McNiven's art is nice, as expected. There's a gaffe or two in there, though. The two panels where Sharon tosses the shield from out a hole in a building immediately come to mind. I wish I could counterbalance with something other than "it was nice", but I'm far from a master art critic.

The Score: 7 out of 10

This arc doesn't hit the highs of the past, but it's solid entertainment. Not a bad place to jump on either; I wouldn't recommend it, but if you just wanted a recent Cap book without six years worth of ongoing plot driving it this is as good a choice as any.

* Because, you know, DC did it and it was pretty successful. They deny it, of course, but they're not fooling anyone. To their credit, though, they're doing a better job with the rollout; instead of the hardline "wrap your shit up before September" approach DC took, Marvel's spreading out the new number ones and allowing books time to finish. So I hesitate to give them too much of a hard time. Still, two Captain America and Uncanny X-Men relaunches within two years?

** We can thank Watergate for that.

Captain America: Prisoner of War (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Mike Deodato, Butch Guice, Chris Samnee
Collects: Captain America #616-619

This volume has the distinction of being the last before a relaunch; a new Captain America #1 came about - as I recall this was right around when the movie hit - while this book pulled an Incredible Herc and changed its mission statement whilst retaining the numbering.

Personally, I think this is stupid - just because a major run is ending and a movie is out doesn't mean you need to relaunch the goddamn book - but I can kind of understand why they're doing it in this case. The fourth volume - from Winter Soldier up to now - has been as much about Bucky as anyone, even when Steve was holding the shield. With Steve set to be the main focus of the new volume, I suppose they're looking for a clean break. Fair enough, but I don't think it's necessary.

When we last left Bucky, he'd managed to triumph in his trial, only to find himself suddenly extridited to Russia for crimes he supposedly commited as the Winter Soldier. Steve Rogers, not being a complete idiot, smells a rat - it's very likely Russia is just sore that their Cold War secrets are out in the open, after all, and are looking to dispose of that nagging loose end - but officially his hands are tied. It doesn't stop him from covert attempts to follow up. Meanwhile, Bucky is forced to survive in a Russian gulag, where everyone is out for his blood.

Everything is fine right up until we hit the end. As I noted earlier, this volume contains the last issues before the books relaunch, so you'd expect some manner of closure. It wouldn't necessarily need to be definitive or tidy, but an ending of sorts to Buckys days as Captain America is certainly in order.

Well guess what; we don't get one. For the first time since Civil War, Ed Brubakers run falls victim to a crappy event. Hell, at least that one worked to his advantage. Nope, we end on a "to be continued in Fear Itself", even if it isn't necessarily worded that way. I don't know if Brubaker was in on it or okay with it, but thanks for that regardless, Marvel. I guess it's way too much to leave a book alone to wrap it's own business. Gotta stick it in the summer event, of course.

That aside, there isn't much to say about the writing that hasn't been said before. This time, Bru splits the narrative between Bucky adventures in Russian prison and his buddies outside trying to figure out how to get him out of the mess. This is, of course, not what Bucky signed up for; he was ready to face his past before, but that was also before it involved being thrown to the wolves in Russia, where the warden and everyone employed by him are corrupt and the inmates all want to kill him. This on top of the fact that memories of his Winter Soldier days are bubbling to the surface, haunting him.

Bucky's a very compelling character under Bru. After all this time I think it's safe to say his return was a masterstroke. I'm sorry to see him leave this book, even if he is getting one of his own.

The art does a bit of mixing and matching. Each section - Bucky, Steve and Widow - has it's own artist. Not a great way to keep some visual consistency under normal circumstances, but it's clear it was designed this way. Hard to say if it's a good or bad move on Marvels part - I guess it comes down to the individual to decide - but I must say I kind of liked the effect. I don't mind assigning different artists to sections involving different characters as long as the stylistic shift isn't too jarring. There's a big difference between structuring your comic that way and having crappy fill-in art.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

It doesn't quite provide the closure it should have to Bucky's time with the shield, but it's still a solid, entertaining book through and through. Hopefully the quality holds up when Steve Rogers is the focus.

Captain America: The Trial of Captain America (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Daniel Acuna, Butch Guice, Mitch Breitweiser
Collects: Captain America #611-615, #615.1, Captain America 70th Anniversary Magazine

There's a real feeling of coming full circle with this volume, as the chickens have come home to roost. As you may recall, last volume ended with Baron Zemo blowing Buckys past as the Winter Soldier out of the water. Here, we realize just what that means as America turns on him and he is brought to trial for his crimes.

It is, of course, gripping stuff brought about at the perfect time. By this point - including the fifty issues of volume 5 before its numbering was switched back to volume 1's - Bucky has been the star and focus of Brubakers Captain America for longer than Steve Rogers. Hell, even when Steve was the front runner the book was at times as much about Bucky as it was him. So by now, we care about him, we've grown to like him in his new role and we've largely accepted him. Time to throw a wrench in the gears; his past - which you could be forgiven for thinking Brubaker had forgotten after so long - is the perfect tool.

It raises a few good questions as well - the kind only comics could ask - about the nature of being controlled. Obviously, such a thing would have to utterly wreck the legal system, because good grief, how do you deal with that? How can they be held responsible? If they can't, then who do you blame? Going after Russia isn't going to be pretty or productive, especially given the changes since the Cold War. It's all tricky; the closest comparison I could think of is being forced to kill someone else by threat of your own life, but at least there you have the smallest measure of control and options in the matter.

Regardless of this, the Marvel populace goes to crucify him, because they are morons easily swayed when shiny keys are dangled in front of them.

Obviously, the legal details are fudged somewhat, as they always are in fiction. I don't find this to be a real problem. Look, I'm no expert in legal matters; a lot of the time I'm generally clueless about the intricacies. I am, however, a guy who, for several years, watched CourtTV regularly. Even the cases that are full on media circuses - Michael Jackson, Phil Specter, Scott Peterson, take your pick - are nowhere near as engaging as Phoenix Wright would lead us to believe. If they were, it'd be the hottest spectator sport going.

As it is it's a lot of standing around, dully arguing minutia while talking heads argue whether the case is just during recesses. It can be interesting, but entertaining it is not. On top of that, if anything exciting happens you can catch it repeated ad nauseam on the news. So generally, I accept that fiction is not going to follow the legal system to the letter, because overall it's pretty boring. Bru manages what seems like a potent mix of legal realities and fictional ones, managing to keep our interest through them.

He also understands that a full four or five issues in a courtroom - no matter how fudged the rules are for the sake of being entertaining - is going to get dull real fast. So while all this is happening, Sin - daughter of the Red Skull - has reared her ugly head and started to cause trouble. Thus, Bucky has to struggle with the decision to stay put - when escape would be simple if he chose - and leave it to Steve Rogers or to escape and suit up as Captain America one last time to track her down and stop her, even if it means ruining his case. Guess which one he chooses?

So, the story is fine. The art kind of wavers. We've got no less than three artists working on this volume and it shows. I'm not an art expert - and it's part of why I don't talk about it much unless there's something to say - but the shift is pretty noticeable. It's not going to sink the book, of course - at this point in Brubakers run, you're probably long past the point where some rushed art will cause you to drop it - but it's unfortunate.

At the end of the volume is another one of those lovely point one issues. As usual, It's not really a great jumping on point. In this case, it acts as more of an epilogue to the trial than anything; Steve is struggling with the decision to take back the identity in lieu of Buckys legal trouble. While he angsts about that, he has to deal with a pretender to the mantle. It's a pretty decent read, but accessible? If you were to jump into this cold after watching Caps feature film, you'd probably end up wondering why Steve was out of the costume to start with.

I don't think Marvels writers really know how to handle these things. Few of them are properly structured as a place to jump on the book; either they're positioned as another chapter of it or as setup for something else entirely. I'm sure they have good intentions - and the idea of an issue being put out from time to time which will catch up new readers is a very good one - but by now I'm convinced this "point one initiative" just isn't working.

The Score: 8 out of 10

If you've been following the book all along, then this is a definite purchase. Ed Brubaker has yet to really fail on Captain America. This volume is largely payoff to long running plot threads, however, so a good point to get on board it is not. I'm sure you could get the gist of things but I don't think you would get nearly as much out of it.

Captain America: No Escape (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Butch Guice, Mitch Breitweiser
Collects: Captain America #606-610

Baron Zemo is back, only now he knows the new Captain America is none other than Bucky, the death of whom was Baron Zemo Sr's claim to fame. So Zemo is just a wee bit pissed, but as it turns out, not necessarily for the reasons you might think. Zemo then proceeds to pull Buckys life out from under him.

We've dropped the heavy political undercurrent from last volume; this time, we're back in the thick of Buckys ongoing story, which has been as central to Brus run thus far as anything involving Steve Rogers. The hook is admittedly pretty smart on its own, but Bru takes it in a direction you might not expect. The result plays off of Zemos own history as well as putting Bucky in the meat grinder over his time as the Winter Soldier.

Spoiler alert for the following paragraph or so, so skip to the end of you don't want spoilers.

Turns out, Zemo's not upset over his fathers one accomplishment being deep sixed. No, he's a bit more pissed off about the fact that Bucky's gained something of a free ride towards redemption. While Bucky has gone through quite a few trials and tribulations, the world at large is unaware that he's still alive, not to mention his past as the Winter Soldier. So Zemo throws Buckys life in a blender, leaks EVERYTHING to the press, smacks Bucky around a bit and says "here, now earn your redemption".

Not only does it make for good drama - you just know there's going to be a reckoning now that the world at large knows his past - but it's the sort of action I can picture for Zemo. Unlike his old man, who was an unrepenant Nazi, Zemo's toed a fine line over his history, with his time in the Thunderbolts softening him into a more heroic figure, if not exactly a full white hat. He has had a lot to make up for and redemption doesn't come easy; hell, he never really was fully redeemed or trusted. Meanwhile, his fathers greatest nemesis has a past as an assassin for the Ruskies and manages to just sweep it under the rug. You can sort of see why he might be a bit pissed.

It's a bit stronger a volume than Two Americas was. We're coming full circle with Brubakers run up to this point; we started with the revelation of the Winter Soldier and now we're dealing with it once more, only this time Bucky will have to face the public as well. I'm looking forward to it.

The Score: 8 out of 10

We're closing in on the endgame of Buckys time as Captain America. Next volume will be the last. Another good volume in Brubakers extended run. Hopefully the conclusion of this stage of Bucky's life will be as strong.

Captain America: Two Americas (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Luke Ross, Butch Guice
Collects: Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield, Captain America #602-605

And so, with Bru's big Captain America epic out of the way - and one of those re-numberings that Marvel loves so damn much - it's time to move on to other stories, with Bucky still holding the shield for the time being.

Now, I just love those comics where the backstory is almost as interesting as what's within the pages. The main arc here caused some minor bitching from Neo-Con pundits - who of course only care about comics when an American icon goes against their shitty ideals - for showing what was essentially a Tea Party rally - complete with "Tea Bag the Dems" signs - and having Falcon remark that he - a black man - wouldn't feel comfortable among a bunch of angry white people. Why would he feel that way? It's not like there's any underlying racism at one of those gatherings, right? Marvel caved and changed the signs, sadly.

That's interesting, of course, but what makes the whole thing hilarious is that the minor alteration really didn't change a thing; while the sign was changed, that was never as big a deal as the story in question.

See, this story picked up on a prior plot thread during the Brubaker run. Anyone with a passing familiarity with Captain America knows that he was frozen in suspended animation for decades, but during the time he was gone the US decided to train replacements to keep the icon in play. The 50's Cap went crazy from the Super Soldier Serum and Bucky fought him once in recent times. Now he's back, only this time he's joined with a radical movement and trying to find the "real America".

Crazy Caps inner monologues essentially amount to a big "in my day" spiel. He's lost and confused, wondering what happened to the great America of his youth. He wants to reclaim that fleeting memory, through force if necessary. In a way, he's almost pitiable; it's not hard to relate to a feeling of your country circling the drain, having lost itself along the way. I feel that way at times, especially when I hear about the latest bill that will torpedo American rights for the interests of Big Business. But - and this should sound familiar - he's misguided, failing to realize his methods and solutions will only make matters worse. Only Crazy 50's Cap has the excuse of being insane.

The plot is dressed up with some superhero conventions, of course - talking heads debating politics would be one boring comic - but, even with the overt references removed, it boils down to kicking Tea Party/Neo-Con politics in the nuts. Maybe not to the degree of a Bioshock - which took a heaping dump on Ayn Rands entire philosophy - but it's plain as day. Remove the bombs, the spandex and the tech and you've got a fairly accurate portrayal; after all, how many times have we heard several of them talk of revolution or overthrowing the government? Hell, a fairly well known author once said as much because the government was slowly legalizing gay marriage and apparently that means that the government is corrupt. Gay Marriage: Totally destroying our country more than Wall Street, am I right?

The cherry on top is the minor theme of racism, which even ties into that whole revolution thing; after all, I'm pretty sure we fought a civil war over similarly wrongheaded ideals like, oh, I dunno, the persecution of blacks.

So it provokes thought and says something. Even with all that, though, it's not one of Bru's best Cap stories. Granted, that still places it well above most of the competition, so that's not exactly me condemning it. It's another volume of Brubakers Captain America run; that's not a bad thing. Its problem may just be a combination of being more of a straight up adventure than Bru has done in a while and the fact that the story is coming right after the end of Bru's Captain America epic, after which most things would seem unremarkable.

Oh, there's also this one shot special about whether Steve is going to take the shield back or if Bucky will keep it a while longer. It's kind of pointless. I really don't get why we had to have a special to answer that question instead of a regular issue of the Captain America comic. Anyways, it gives us our answer with minimum thrills - not Bru's fault, since I can't picture an exciting comic about who will wear a set of clothing any more than I can about talking heads discussing politics - and sets Steve Rogers up for what he'll be doing while Bucky stays in the outfit for a while.

I think at one point one issue specials were supposed to be, you know, special. Seems almost quaint now. I guess tough decisions on who will wear the flag on their spandex is the new special.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Another good volume of Ed Brubakers extended Captain America run. It feels a bit like a breather arc between big stories, just with bombs, fake Caps and some political underpinnings. Next volume is supposed to be pretty heavy for Bucky, so it's fitting.

Secret Avengers: Mission to Mars (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Mike Deodato Jr, David Aja, Michael Lark
Collects: Secret Avengers #1-5

Ed Brubakers run on Secret Avengers was shockingly short. Around when the second arc actually kicked off and the closing issues of said arc were being solicited, suddenly the word was that he was going to be off the book. When this happened, Brubaker admitted something; that he didn't feel like he really fit with the team concept as well, or something to that effect.

I bring this up because I would have gotten that feeling from this book even if he hadn't said it.

For most of this volume, this doesn't necessarily feel like a team book. For the first four issue arc, the focus seems to fall largely upon Steve Rogers. This is, to some extent, expected - he has, after all, been writing the Captain America book for the better part of seven years as of this writing - but it goes to the point where at times this feels more like a secondary Steve Rogers book with some allies tagging along on adventures than the team book it's supposed to be. Steve is in the vast majority of the scenes in this comic - I'd say about three quarters - he's clearly in charge and it comes down to him to stop the threat of the main four issue arc.

There are a few scenes spotlighting different characters - Black Widow and Valkyrie have a few decent scenes in here while Ant-Man does help in saving the day - but the other half of the team is just there. Nova himself has like one scene, Beast barely plays much of a role and both War Machine and Moon Knight have few lines, much less anything to actually do. I can barely remember anything War Machine said or did and I just read the damn thing. Fair focus on the team at large, this ain't.

The last issue barely has any of the team in it, as it's a bit of a "revelations" issue, which sheds light on a mystery or two introduced in the first four issues.

This is not to say the story is bad. It's well written, as expected, Brubaker portrays a likable, capable Steve Rogers, what little we get of the others feels on point and it's a pretty well told tale. It's by no means a crash and burn. But it's not what I expected and it's not necessarily as advertised. Team books aren't supposed to be like this.

None of this is to say anything bad about Ed Brubaker, however. Sometimes, some writers just cannot gel with some projects. Shit, I like Matt Fractions work, but he and the X-Men haven't been the best of fits. If nothing else, it's worth noting that Bru clearly knew something wasn't working and decided to bow out of the title a little bit later. Besides, Bru's done enough damn good projects to build some leeway; hell, this book is proof that even when he isn't a hundred percent on he can still pen a damn capable title.

So, hey, I've barely talked about the art. This isn't a knock on it though. It's damn good stuff. Deodato's work is great enough, but man, something just really clicked with me in regards to the fifth issue. It's simpler in linework and the coloring feels a bit older. Think seventies, eighties era comics. Since it's essentially part flashback to years past, this gives the issue an extra little oomph, to me. I'm not exactly sure what the breakdowns are for this issue - the art looks Lark-esque, but it could be mostly Aja for all I know and the credits sure as hell don't make it clear - but it's sharp stuff.

The Score: 7 out of 10

Even on an off day, Brubaker pens a solid tale. Really, if this were a Captain America comic, I'd probably say this were a seven point five or a solid eight. But it's supposed to be a team book and it didn't necessarily feel like one, so I feel like I need to knock a point off or so. But don't be fooled, this is still a decent read. I wouldn't say it's one of Brubakers best, but if you're just looking for a dependable read out of the post-Siege Avengers relaunch, I don't think you could go wrong here.

Just don't expect a lot of focus on the guys not named Steve Rogers.

Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Billy Tan
Contains: Uncanny X-Men #475-486

Picking up where X-Men: Deadly Genesis left off, the third Summers Brother known as Vulcan has flown off into space to get revenge on the Shi'Ar for what they did to his mother and the circumstances of his birth. Professor X, now all but banished from the team he created, is no longer welcome at the X Mansion because of his mistake and choices. But with Vulcan headed for the Shi'Ar, where his ex-wife rules, he cannot let it stand. He rounds up the few X-Men still loyal to him and heads off into space, looking to stop Vulcan and fix his mistakes.

This is one of those volumes that depends largely on what kind of X-Men reader you are. Or more to the point, what kind of X-Men story you prefer. This is of the X-Men space epic variety of story without a shadow of a doubt and about ninety percent of the twelve issues comprising the storyline take place in space. If the space adventures of Marvels mutants were never your thing, this story probably isn't going to change your mind. If you like them in any fashion, however, this will probably go over quite well with you.

The story is quite long, clocking in at the aforementioned twelve issues, but collected as it is it doesn't feel overly so. Ed Brubaker is great at plotting stories and space adventures with the X-Men are a perfect fit for his usual tropes, considering much of the Shi'Ar are embroiled in politics and attempted coup's. He uses the large amount of space allotted to him well, juggling different plotlines and bringing in many of the disparate elements that populated past space stories. Hell, even the Skrull are involved to a very minor extent. The story is a slow build, but an engaging one that never lost me as a reader. On top of that, the story does bring about changes to the typical status quo of the Shi'Ar, which was welcome (these changes play out in other books once this story wraps, I understand).

The group of X-Men chosen for the story are interesting, to say the least. The highest profile character of the entire group is Nightcrawler, the rest of the crew otherwise made of C to D list X-Men. On the one hand, it might be somewhat off-putting, but personally I grew attached to several of the characters over the course of the story, so Bru seems to do well with them. It also serves a good story purpose as well; the Professor is not the most popular guy around the mansion of late, so for him to only be able to get so many makes sense. Plus, for some reason I really liked that despite everything, Nightcrawler was the one who never lost faith or affinity for the Professor.

The art by Billy Tan is very solid and colorful. Nothing I saw really sticks out as offensive or out of place and the colors are well suited. It's hard to describe the feeling I got from the artwork, but the best way I can put it is that the art in the book feels comfortable. It's not going to absolutely wow you, but it tells the story well and looks solid the entire way through. In other words, it's the kind of art that feels natural to modern comics and the kind I have something of a preference for.

If there's any real problem with the art, it's that there are a couple of pages extremely late in the book - say, the climax - that look somewhat iffy. It's nothing in an action scene, but it might still be noticeable as off. Also, a character death late in the book doesn't really come off as such. I'm glad it was a low-gore death - which is contrary to ninety percent of comic deaths these days - but the body looked almost untouched aside from some spots of blood. For that matter, the attack didn't even look lethal; I wasn't even sure the character was dead until the last few pages, simply from the lack of real indication from the art. Considering what you might see in the midst of a battle like that, he looked relatively unscathed. But these are all minor points on an otherwise solid job throughout the story.

The Score: Dramatic Thumbs Up

If you don't like space stories with the X-Men, you can certainly skip this volume as I very highly doubt it's going to change your mind. But if you don't mind a good space story or outright love them, this is a good read. I wasn't quite sure about Ed Brubaker on X-Men - it just never seemed like a franchise that would suit his style and preferences - but this wasn't your typical mutant adventure and I found myself pleasantly surprised. Recommended if you're into this sort of thing.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs (comics)

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Patrick Zircher
Collects: The Man Who Laughs one shot, Detective Comics #784-786

If there's one thing fans aren't lacking, it's Joker stories. The character is nigh omnipresent at times and never too far from any writers mind when they get their hands on one of the books. If there's a story they don't go back to much, though, it's the first encounter. Sure, there's the original issue - Batman #1 - that introduced Batman's enduring arch-enemy, but that's also, like, seventy years old now.

Enter Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke with the "Man Who Laughs" one shot. Structured like a sequel to Batman Year One, it fits right in, taking place before and after those last few panels of the aforementioned story, where Jim Gordon mentioned the villain by name and his plot to poison the Gotham Reservoir. We don't exactly waste time with any origins, either; much like The Killing Joke, it's kept vague, focusing instead on the terrorist nature of Joker and the chaos he delivers. Why he's there doesn't matter as much as what he does now that he's there. Batman muses that he'd prepared for murderers, rapists and petty thieves, but not the mentally unstable. Nothing will ever be the same again, something Gordon and Batman are keenly aware of.

If you're familiar with the name Doug Mahnke, you will probably expect some very good art. You won't be disappointed. As you might expect, Mahnke draws the hell out of the story, making the story as solid visually as any other aspect. The linework is a bit sketchier here, but it's a style that works. Unlike other attempts by other artists, Doug Mahnke manages to keep the style from becoming an eyesore.

Also included in the trade is a three issue story from far further into Batman's career. Near as I can tell, it takes place a while after No Mans Land has come and gone; Jim Gordon has since (temporarily) retired as a cop and assists the Dark Knight in an unofficial capacity. The story itself is a team-up between the current hero of Gotham - the Batman - with the original hero of Gotham - Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern - to solve a case that went cold during Alan's original time in Gotham in the 1940's. It is a copycat? Or the original returned?

It's fine, even if it's not going to have a large impact on the Batman mythos or anything. But really, it's impact doesn't matter; it's a nice extra, included to give you another Brubaker penned Batman tale and pad the length a bit. It reminded of what you might get if you took an issue from "The Brave and the Bold" comic and gave the team-up three issues to play out. It's fun, which is all that really matters. Also, if the last couple pages don't make you smile, I'm not sure what will.

The art is fantastic. Patrick Zircher's style there is a bit more solid than Doug Mahnke's approach in the title story and it looks very modern. It's some slick work and makes the team-up as good looking as it is fun. So the entire book looks good from cover to cover. You can't ask for much more.

My Opinion: Buy It