19.
Title: [Batman: The Man Who Laughs]
Author: Ed Brubaker
Genre: Comics
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: IS Research
Date Completed: March 21, 2016
Rating: ****

One of the constant draws of The Joker is the uncertainty of his past; though narratives are offered from time to time (*cough*AlanMoore*cough*), even these "definitive" stories are challenged by the ambiguity of the character himself: he is literally not to be trusted. Ever. Even in the naming of his own past. This is one of the characteristics which makes him a memorable, and lasting, antagonist.  The Man Who Laughs is purportedly a re-telling (re-inking, re-publishing?) of the original 1940 comic, which saw the introduction of a strange jester.  I say "purportedly" only because I have not yet managed to read Batman #1, though I will.  In his first introduction, the Joker is all chaos - and nameless, given his famous moniker by the press as he mysteriously poisons Gotham elite (and anyone else who is inconveniently placed).  Arkham Asylum has not yet opened when the Joker first murders a reporter and cameraman in front of its gates, leaving an impression inside and out before he ever takes up residence.

As a story, it is a bit lackluster, given all the Joker will come to do.  As an origin, it's successful, providing the first and only really trustworthy beginning point of the villain who becomes Batman's mirror.