"Even at the very beginning of his crime-fighting career, the Batman has already seen plenty of humaninty's dark side-- but it's nothing compared to what is about to emerge, giggling, from the shadows: a grinning, chalk-faced figure whose madness threatens to overwhelm everything that stands in its way. For Gotham City's new defender, this first encounter with the creature called the Joker will be the ultimate trial by fire-- a battle that will define his long struggle against the forces of chaos and insanity. Years later, those same forces will erupt again from a wholly unexpected direction-- and ghosts of the past, both good and evil, will have to face the harsh light of inquiry before they can finally rest"--P. [4] of cover.