Batman: Why I Laugh

Anguish drives a man to trauma. Trauma drives a man to desperation. Desperation drives a man to revenge. Revenge drives a man to remorse. And remorse drives a man into madness.

A killer is on the loose in Gotham. The calling card? A single playing card. The dead are found with the same scars: their eyelids gauged off, and a smile carved into their skin. Victims have no pattern

A widow
A prisoner
A Gang
An officer

A bat?

As everything escalates, it becomes clear that the enemy is not just a killer, but the walking incarnation of Mania itself, who claims to have been reborn as "the Joker."

This is my personal take on the emergence of the Joker, and his reign of terror on Gotham, based loosely on elements from the comics, (ideally, 'The Killing Joke') Fandom articles/Quora answers, video games, and the 'Gotham' TV series. Most events in this book don't portray whatever may happen in the actual 'canon' (or alternate canons) but more what I believe could happen between the characters portrayed.

STORY BY DEVIN PURMORT (myself)

COVER ART BY 'NYX' (thedarkone#0516) [using assets by Jason Fabok from "BATMAN: THREE JOKERS"]

All characters, locations, and names portrayed in this book are owned completely by DC Comics, and I hold no rights or credit for any of them.
(The storyline is mine)