Detective Comics Vol 1 45

"Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death"": Batman spots a group of suspicious looking men walking towards a museum and decides to follow them. When the men attack the guard and break into the place, Batman stops them fast. However one of them manages to escapem and B

Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death"
Cover
Detective Comics Vol 1 #45
November, 1940
Executive Editor	Whitney Ellsworth
Cover Artists	Bob Kane Jerry Robinson George Roussos
Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death"
Writers	Bill Finger
Pencilers	Bob Kane
Inkers	Bob Kane Jerry Robinson George Roussos
Letterers	George Roussos
Editors	Whitney Ellsworth
Bart Regan, Spy: "Glover Green"
Writers	Jerry Siegel
Pencilers	Ed Moore
Inkers	Ed Moore
Larry Steele: "The Lady Cabdriver"
Pencilers	Irwin Hasen
Inkers	Irwin Hasen
Crimson Avenger: "The Agita-Pulverizo Ray"
Writers	Jack Lehti
Pencilers	Jack Lehti
Inkers	Jack Lehti
Speed Saunders: "The Bowling Bowl Bombers"
Pencilers	Ed Winiarski
Inkers	Ed Winiarski
Steve Malone: "The Airplane Murder"
Pencilers	Don Lynch
Inkers	Don Lynch
Cliff Crosby: "Murder at the Polo Games"
Writers	Chad Grothkopf
Pencilers	Chad Grothkopf
Inkers	Chad Grothkopf
Slam Bradley: "The Charity Racket"
Writers	Jerry Siegel
Pencilers	Howard Sherman
Inkers	Howard Sherman
Letterers	Howard Sherman
Previous Issue	Detective Comics # 44
Next Issue	Detective Comics # 46

Don't forget, there is always a hidden trick when you play the game of chance with the Joker!

— Joker

Detective Comics #45 is an issue of the series Detective Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1940.

Synopsis for Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death"

Batman spots a group of suspicious looking men walking towards a museum and decides to follow them. When the men attack the guard and break into the place, Batman stops them fast. However one of them manages to escapem and Batman follows him to his secret hideout, where the man vanishes behind a brick wall. The man used a secret entrance to meet with his boss, an old music collector called A. Rekoj, who is displeased to learn that Batman foiled his thugs. When the collector is left alone, he goes to a secret place under a trap door and removes his make-up, of ab old man, to reveal his true identity: the Joker. The Harlequin of Hate plans his next hit against the city's District Attorney and on the outside, Batman decides to keep an eye on the place.

The next day, D.A. Carter receives a mysterious vinyl record and he decides to play it. The music is eerie and soon a spoken message from the Joker starts playing, in which he tells the D.A. that the vinyl record was tainted with his trademark Joker Venom and soon Carter falls under the influence of the drug, laughing out of control, to death. The police enter his apartment, but it is too late. The news spreads; Batman and Robin become aware of the Joker's return.

That night, Batman keeps an eye on the criminal's hideout, while on the inside, Rekoj prepares his henchmen to strike at a gala event and steal some gems. The henchmen are dressed as a brass band, but when they get on their way, Batman follows them. Their plan goes well until they are attacked by the Joker, who takes away the gems from them, and then by Batman, who enters the place and fights the thugs. Joker escapes, Batman tries to stop him but the Joker gets the upper hand and gets away. Upon recovering, Batman follows the group of henchmen back to their headquarters and he finally learns about the secret door in the brick wall.

Inside, Batman observes how Rekojs scold his henchmen for failing him, and when he is left alone, Batman witnesses the villain's identity-transformation. Aware of Batman's presence, Joker explains that he used his henchmen to do all the jobs, and followed up by stealing the loot from his own hoods. Batman tries to stop the Joker, but he is trapped inside a glass dome while the Joker escapes. Using an acid vial from his Utility Belt, Batman escapes the trap and learns about a valuable gem arriving at the city, aboard a ship. But this, too, is part of the Joker's plan.

Using his identity as Rekoj, Joker manages to get inside the ship and soon he eliminates the guards and locates the valuable gem. Meanwhile, Robin drops Batman from the Batplane over the vessel, and soon he finds the Joker trying to get away with the gem. Batman starts chasing the Joker, and the crew of the boat think that he wants to steal it from them and they get on his way. With help from Robin, who takes care of the crew, Batman catches Joker and grabs the gem, In the struggle, the Joker falls to the ocean.

Wondering if Joker would make a comeback, Batman and Robin deliver the gem to the crew, and get on their way back to the city.

Appearing in Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death"

Featured Characters:

• Template:Apn

Supporting Characters:

• Robin

Antagonists:

• Template:Apn (Apparent Death)
• Frankie (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

• Gotham City Police Department
• Perry Manners (Single appearance)
• District Attorney Carter (Single appearance; dies)

Locations:

• Gotham City

Items:

• Joker Venom
• Utility Belt

Vehicles:

• Batplane
  

Appearing in Bart Regan, Spy: "Glover Green"

Featured Characters:

• Bart Regan

Antagonists:

• Glover Green (Single appearance)
  

Appearing in Larry Steele: "The Lady Cabdriver"

Featured Characters:

• Larry Steele

Antagonists:

• Slug Malone (Single appearance)
• Monk Albee (Single appearance)
  

Synopsis for Crimson Avenger: "The Agita-Pulverizo Ray"

Criminals steal Professor Crawford's powerful invention, the Agita-Pulverizo Ray, which can destroy anything. The Crimson Avenger gets some info from Crawford, and tracks the crooks to the waterfront. He gets aboard their ship, gets control of the ray, uses it on the gang, then throws it into the ocean, feeling that it is too powerful to ever be used again.

Appearing in Crimson Avenger: "The Agita-Pulverizo Ray"

Featured Characters:

• Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis)

Supporting Characters:

• Mac

Antagonists:

• Thief Gang

Other Characters:

• Professor Crawford (Single appearance)

Locations:

• New York City

Items:

• Crawford's Agita-Pulverizo Ray

Vehicles:

• Thief Gang's Ship
  

Appearing in Speed Saunders: "The Bowling Bowl Bombers"

Featured Characters:

• Speed Saunders

Locations:

• New York City
  

Appearing in Steve Malone: "The Airplane Murder"

Featured Characters:

• Steve Malone

Other Characters:

• Kay Hogan (Single appearance; dies)
  

Appearing in Cliff Crosby: "Murder at the Polo Games"

Featured Characters:

• Cliff Crosby

Supporting Characters:

• Barry Winthrop (polo player)
• "Doc" (monkey)

Antagonists:

• The Spider
  

Appearing in Slam Bradley: "The Charity Racket"

Featured Characters:

• Slam Bradley

Supporting Characters:

• Shorty Morgan

Antagonists:

• Walter Ransom (Single appearance)
• Simpson
• Drake
• Tiger Krall (Single appearance)

Other Characters:

• Janet Pierce (Single appearance)
• Mrs. Wallace (Single appearance)

Locations:

• New York City

Notes

• Published by Detective Comics, Inc.
• Batman: "The Case of the Laughing Death" is reprinted in Batman Archives Vol 1 and Batman Chronicles Vol 2.
  • This is the Joker's 4th appearance.

Trivia

First use of "Harlequin of Hate" as a nickname for the Joker.

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Detective Comics series
• Images from Detective Comics Vol 1 45

Links and References

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Look at how sad this is making Batman. You did this.