Going Sane

by J.M. DeMatteis

A rash of horrific murders committed by apparently ordinary people rocks Gotham City to its core - and when Harvey Dent, the horribly scarred criminal known as Two-Face, escapes from Arkham Asylum,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401218210
• ISBN13: 9781401218218
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.7" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

A Sane Joker??

I was skeptical opening up this graphic novel. The art didn't really jump out at me, and I wasn't very impressed with the cartoonish quality. But when reading this it didn't take away from the experience. A sane Joker seems like a strange concept. The idea of a normal Joker living a normal life is a fascinating perspective, and it works well. I would have liked to seen more of a sane Joker trying to survive a normal life, I couldn't get enough of it. Saying that, the last quarter of the book was a little disappointing. It became predictable, and ended too quick to enjoy it. But it was an interesting take that hasn't been seen before by the joker. At first you may notice the art, but with a great story you won't mind it after a few pages and you will be immersed into the story. It's enjoyable and I would recommend to any Joker fan wanting more.

I Prefer it to Moore's "The Killing Joke"

Comic fans tend to view Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" as the definitive Joker story, but I beg to differ. "Going Sane" fell under the radar in 1994 because it was published in the anthology series "Legends of the Dark Knight," whereas "Killing Joke" got the prestige format treatment in '89. If TKJ attempts to flesh out the Batman/Joker conflict, "Going Sane" fleshes out the Joker. DeMatteis wisely refrains from telling us why the Joker is who he is. No sob childhood stories. Instead, DeMatteis shows us a man who can't be anything else, even when he tries. By the story's end, you might even feel sorry for him. Don't worry, though. You won't have to like him, because let's face it, the Joker is the epitome of the villain we love to hate. This is also a Batman story, incidentally, so don't think he gets eclipsed by the Joker. DeMatteis ties Batman's attempts to be something more than human to the Joker's struggle to be human. This is one of my favorite comic stories ever.

Thank goodness it's in TPB!

I came across 2 pages of this about two years ago online, and spent over a year tracking down the 4 issues from 3 different online comic book stores. So of course, NOW it's in trade paperback. ;) Essentially, the Joker thinks he's killed Batman, and without Batman, there can be no Joker, so he (somehow, conveniently) forgets who he was, creates a whole new, fairly normal, yet haunted, identity for himself, and builds a life, complete with a job in an office and a girl. It really brings out the theme that without Batman, there can be no Joker, and the idea that (as discussed in Batman Begins, for example) perhaps Batman is just exacerbating the crime problem by existing, rather than helping it. The art is really the weakness of it, but the story is engaging and unique, and this really should be listed as one of the essential Joker stories, along with The Killing Joke and Devil's Advocate. And now that it's in TPB instead of scattered across different stores, maybe it will be.

Another Gem From the "Legends of the Dark Knight" Series

"Going Sane" is an enjoyable take on the Joker by J.M. DeMatteis and Joe Staton, and is collected here for the first time in an apparent attempt to cash in on the "Dark Knight" movie. Even though the artwork and the Joker characterization are a little cartoonish (it's a comic book, after all), DeMatteis writes a brilliant Joker and Batman. In fact, reading this story makes me wish that the current Grant Morrison "Batman: RIP" series was as coherent in its grasp of Batman on the brink of losing his sanity. The backup story, by Eddie Campbell and Bart Sears, is also from the "Legends" series. It appears that, instead of reprinting the entire "Legends" series in paperback or hardcovers, DC is releasing different story arcs as trade paperbacks. I'll take whatever I can get--it was one of the higher quality Batman titles in recent years.

Love Hurts

What would the Joker do if Batman no longer existed? Would he actually do the unimaginable, go straight, or as the title alludes to, go sane? According to J. M. DeMatteis, he would do exactly that. While under the assumption that he had killed the Dark Knight, thus losing his muse, mojo, and mirth combined in one fateful evening, he indeed joins the ranks of the everyday masses and in the process finds love. Meanwhile Batman, having suffered near fatal injuries due to the aforementioned incident, is under the care of a female doctor at her personal residence outside of Gotham and experiencing his own pangs of affection. At this point the message becomes abundantly clear. Since the appearance of Batman on the scene initially created the Joker, can his presumed permanent disappearance therefore uncreate him? An intriguing if not necessarily original premise, but other questions do arise. If the Joker can let go of Batman, can Batman let go of the Joker, and can they both find normalcy and happiness apart and leave their troubled alter egos behind? For Batman at least, the answer is no, with his obsession over the Joker, or any villain for that matter, being stronger than any love of a woman. His return to health and Gotham subsequently triggers the return of the equal obsession that the Joker has for him, thus ending his romance as well. They both need each other and their kinky kinship above all else. Certainly a scary thought, and one psychiatrists would love to analyze, but make room on that couch, since we are just as guilty of savoring the perverse pleasure of wanting their sordid situation to continue. As far as the two lovelorn ladies forsaken by these recidivist rascals, classify them under star crossed lovers, because anybody involved in a relationship with these two never stood a chance. No one said love was easy.