Review : Batman - Going Sane

Writers: J. M. DeMatteis, Eddie Campbell, Daren White

Artists: Joe Staton, Bart Sears

Collects: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight 65-68, 200



Welcome to another edition of deciphering DC. Today, we bring you another heaping helping of Batman. This time, we'll take a look at an anecdote from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, where the Joker takes centre stage.

Aalok deciphers DC - Bwa-ha-ha!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL VOL 1

Writers: Keith Giffen & J. M. DeMatteis Artists: Kevin Maguire & Terry Austin Collects: Justice League 1-6, Justice League International 7

They are the World's Greatest Heroes brought together by a mutual need to protect the Earth....is pure crap.

Let me explain. Brought together in LEGENDS (here), editor Andy Helfer had a team which was definitely not what you'd call the greatest super heroes- He was denied Superman, Wonder Woman as they were under drastic makeovers by Messrs Byrne & Wolfman (here and here) & George Perez . So was Hal Jordan. Dennis O'Neil, group editor on Batman offered Batman out of pity. The other unlikely team members were Guy Gardner, Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Black Canary, Mister Miracle & Oberon, Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Captain Marvel & later Rocket Red VII & Booster Gold.

Just so that they didn't have a powerhouse team, they decided to make this a team clubhouse book-you know, a comedy book. And they had the ingredients...Guy, Ted, Billy, Scott, Dinah and even the Creeper (aka Jack Ryder) make humongous humour. Batman is the straight man of the team. It was something new at that time, but it worked.