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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I already knew McKean's work from the amazing covers of Sandman. Here I had the chance of experiencing a full graphic novel with his illustrations, and what an experience that was.
Reading this was like entering someone's nightmare.
Arkham Asylum is such a charismatic location from Batman's mythos that it's almost a character itself. Both authors do a great job creating the environment for Arkham. It shows very well the mad house that it is and all the demons it holds.
This book is truly a unique horror experience. One that will be difficult to match.
Reading this was like entering someone's nightmare.
Arkham Asylum is such a charismatic location from Batman's mythos that it's almost a character itself. Both authors do a great job creating the environment for Arkham. It shows very well the mad house that it is and all the demons it holds.
This book is truly a unique horror experience. One that will be difficult to match.
I think this is the best graphic novel I have ever read. The story definitely went over my head at some point, that's why I can only give 4 stars, but other than that this was absolutely amazing. The art was STUNNING. It was sometimes horrifying and I was scared to look at the next page, but also beautifully dark and gritty. The mixed media aspect gave this so much more depth and wove together gorgeously with the pencil drawings.
Oh and shoutout to the Joker smacking Batman's ass. That was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing.
Oh and shoutout to the Joker smacking Batman's ass. That was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've heard a lot of good things about this comic/graphic novel over the years, so when it first became available on Prime Reading earlier this year, I snatched it up quickly.
And man, was it a slog to get through.
The story itself is not that interesting--it's extremely shallow, not complex at all, and absurdist in a way that's not meant to be absurdist. I get that some people think this 'moody Batman' is great and three dimensional, but he just came off as flimsy and shallow to me. The ending too felt rushed and hurried and that it just abruptly 'ends.' It felt like nothing had actually been accomplished when it's dropped on you.
The visuals and lettering are also terrible--they use this extremely-difficult-to-read red font whenever the Joker speaks, and I found myself constantly squinting to decipher it and sometimes giving up and moving on without wasting anymore time trying to figure out what he was saying. The colors are all dark and muted as well, most of them shades of gray and brown, and that's just not the kind of atmosphere I want in a graphic novel.
Pass for me.
And man, was it a slog to get through.
The story itself is not that interesting--it's extremely shallow, not complex at all, and absurdist in a way that's not meant to be absurdist. I get that some people think this 'moody Batman' is great and three dimensional, but he just came off as flimsy and shallow to me. The ending too felt rushed and hurried and that it just abruptly 'ends.' It felt like nothing had actually been accomplished when it's dropped on you.
The visuals and lettering are also terrible--they use this extremely-difficult-to-read red font whenever the Joker speaks, and I found myself constantly squinting to decipher it and sometimes giving up and moving on without wasting anymore time trying to figure out what he was saying. The colors are all dark and muted as well, most of them shades of gray and brown, and that's just not the kind of atmosphere I want in a graphic novel.
Pass for me.
"A Serious House" the story that inspired one of my favorite video games series ("Arkham Asylum" et al), is an important story to the Batman mythos but one I did not particularly fancy. I had to squint to make out the Joker's dialog since it's bright red and double-layered (almost like the red-blue pairing for old school paper 3d glasses). There were parts that I couldn't make out and had to skip because it was impossible to read. Several of the famous "rouge's gallery" villains are included in the book (like the aforementioned Joker, Clayface, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, and Two-Face) but they are briefly seen and often represented in very different ways than what you're used to.
This story is meant to be this high-brow existential introspective into the human psyche, and it makes sense given the story is set in an insane asylum. It is by no means a fun recreational read, nor is it one that makes a whole lot of sense. Batman curses, Joker curses. Batman kills, Joker kills. This is a very dark story, and one whose tone is a stark contrast to even something dark like "The Killing Joke." Symbolism, imagery, juxtaposition, and a host of other college English words are deep-fried into this story.
I would recommend it as a necessary piece to the grand scheme of Batman lore, but one I wouldn't visit again.
This story is meant to be this high-brow existential introspective into the human psyche, and it makes sense given the story is set in an insane asylum. It is by no means a fun recreational read, nor is it one that makes a whole lot of sense. Batman curses, Joker curses. Batman kills, Joker kills. This is a very dark story, and one whose tone is a stark contrast to even something dark like "The Killing Joke." Symbolism, imagery, juxtaposition, and a host of other college English words are deep-fried into this story.
I would recommend it as a necessary piece to the grand scheme of Batman lore, but one I wouldn't visit again.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death, Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Rape
dark
mysterious
I loved this! In the age we live in hyperbole is too often the go-to for opinions. But this graphic novel really deserves all of the positive adjectives that have been attributed to it. I'm certainly not the first to fall under the spell of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean's magical rendering of Gotham's asylum and I know I won't be the last. I just want to put into writing a bit of the thoughts I had upon completing this work.
After the story, this edition included a final draft of the script used for this graphic novel. The first page had a sort of post-script by Morrison in which he wrote that part of his motivation for creating a work like this was "as a response to the very literal, 'realistic' 'left brain' treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time, in the wake of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS." I feel that the pairing of these two equally great, yet diametrically opposed works is a fair one. They each brought the caped crusader to a place previously not thought possible. The talent behind both works is unquestionable. No one is ever going to doubt the greatness of, or the creativity behind, Frank Miller's - Dark Knight. But the emotion evoked by Arkham Asylum's surreal, dreamlike sequencing is unequaled.
Dave McKean's artwork is haunting, terrifying, and all together obscene. But from these dark places comes a beauty. It reaches highs that no traditional comic's illustration can. Trapped by the prison of tradition, comics are inherently viewed as less serious works of art. And while Miller and many of his peers and predecessors have done great work towards the disassociation of comics with immaturity the pairing remains ingrained in our society's thought process. However, a work like Arkham Asylum forces into focus how much of an art form comics can truly be.
There are no zany sound effects or camp to be found here. No half fleshed out sci-fi subplots or comics code abiding female love interests. No Boy Wonder. No Alfred. No Batmobile. No distractions of any kind. This is an adult work of art. This is a comic book for grow ups. It's a collection of words and pictures that tell the story of madness. The unhinging of the sane. It begs the question(s): who is sane? Is there such a thing as sanity? Who has the right to judge such a thing? Who has the right to enforce the laws of a society which itself might just be insane? This book begs these questions and provides its readers with no answers. Batman ultimately leaves his life, and the lives of the Joker's hostages up to the coin flip of a madman. Batman understands that his place to judge these men. He has had a hand in placing them in within these nightmarish walls, taking them from the streets and collecting them into this depository for the socially unfit. And now, he leaves his freedom up to a coin toss. Because Batman has seen into himself. He know that he is not much different from the prey he hunts. He understands that if a rational man were left as his judge, Batman himself would be locked away. But no rational man remains. And instead his fate is left to the only thing fair in this world: chance.
After the story, this edition included a final draft of the script used for this graphic novel. The first page had a sort of post-script by Morrison in which he wrote that part of his motivation for creating a work like this was "as a response to the very literal, 'realistic' 'left brain' treatment of superheroes which was in vogue at the time, in the wake of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS." I feel that the pairing of these two equally great, yet diametrically opposed works is a fair one. They each brought the caped crusader to a place previously not thought possible. The talent behind both works is unquestionable. No one is ever going to doubt the greatness of, or the creativity behind, Frank Miller's - Dark Knight. But the emotion evoked by Arkham Asylum's surreal, dreamlike sequencing is unequaled.
Dave McKean's artwork is haunting, terrifying, and all together obscene. But from these dark places comes a beauty. It reaches highs that no traditional comic's illustration can. Trapped by the prison of tradition, comics are inherently viewed as less serious works of art. And while Miller and many of his peers and predecessors have done great work towards the disassociation of comics with immaturity the pairing remains ingrained in our society's thought process. However, a work like Arkham Asylum forces into focus how much of an art form comics can truly be.
There are no zany sound effects or camp to be found here. No half fleshed out sci-fi subplots or comics code abiding female love interests. No Boy Wonder. No Alfred. No Batmobile. No distractions of any kind. This is an adult work of art. This is a comic book for grow ups. It's a collection of words and pictures that tell the story of madness. The unhinging of the sane. It begs the question(s): who is sane? Is there such a thing as sanity? Who has the right to judge such a thing? Who has the right to enforce the laws of a society which itself might just be insane? This book begs these questions and provides its readers with no answers. Batman ultimately leaves his life, and the lives of the Joker's hostages up to the coin flip of a madman. Batman understands that his place to judge these men. He has had a hand in placing them in within these nightmarish walls, taking them from the streets and collecting them into this depository for the socially unfit. And now, he leaves his freedom up to a coin toss. Because Batman has seen into himself. He know that he is not much different from the prey he hunts. He understands that if a rational man were left as his judge, Batman himself would be locked away. But no rational man remains. And instead his fate is left to the only thing fair in this world: chance.