Having read a large number of Batman stories in the late seventies and eighties I can say that this collection is worthy of praise, but not too much. It does brings us the first Joker tale and many other stories from 1940 till the beginning of 1987. as Mark Waid makes it clear in his end notes, there are many other great Joker stories, but limited space forces some editorial decisions. I like the collection, but it's hard to read some of the old stories without thinking how much the character has evolved and how much it has remained the same.