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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wow. 1989. really different bat in this one. great, intricate art and creepy occult-inspired writing.
Ooh, yeah. This was a fun one. I read some negative reviews of this going in so I was cautiously optimistic about it. Man, I’m so glad I read it. The artwork in this book is absolutely phenomenal. Dave Maclean’s very distinctive multi-media painting style creates an incredible mood with this book that takes place in the dark halls of Arkham Asylum. It seems that a lot of people really don’t like this book, due to its stream of consciousness type of nature, or it’s lucid-dream like artwork, but I personally think it’s incredible.
Grant Morrison’s writing guiding this story along is nothing less than prose. So many exquisite lines to take away from this. I won’t quote any here because most involve loose spoilers for the story. I read that Morrison deprived himself of sleep for a long time so that when he wrote the script for this it would sound as if it was written by someone going insane, which is a pretty cool detail.
The whole tone of the book shifts back and forth between feeling like you’re trapped in a strange dream, or watching a Nine Inch Nails music video. There’s something wholly eerie about the experience, but it just commands your attention unlike a lot of other mainline superhero stories.
Grant Morrison’s writing guiding this story along is nothing less than prose. So many exquisite lines to take away from this. I won’t quote any here because most involve loose spoilers for the story. I read that Morrison deprived himself of sleep for a long time so that when he wrote the script for this it would sound as if it was written by someone going insane, which is a pretty cool detail.
The whole tone of the book shifts back and forth between feeling like you’re trapped in a strange dream, or watching a Nine Inch Nails music video. There’s something wholly eerie about the experience, but it just commands your attention unlike a lot of other mainline superhero stories.
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
I really enjoyed this book. If possible, definitely pick up the anniversary edition because the extra features are worth having.
In this graphic novel, Batman enters Arkham Asylum at Joker's invitation, and spends a night there confronting both physical and metaphorical enemies. Woven through this is the sorrowful tale of the Arkham family and how the asylum came to be.
This is quite unlike anything else I've read, both in terms of story and art. Batman isn't portrayed as invincible here, but rather as a man who is physically strong but mentally flawed. It lent a lot to the story. At times, due to a combination of the art and the script, it can be a little hard to tell what is going on, so some sections may need to be read more than once.
The lettering is quite cool in that there are different fonts for the various characters. I thought this imbued the text with more personality. However, the Joker font is sometimes hard to read.
The art is really the best thing about this work. There's a lot of mixed media work going on, which was, and still is, unusual in comic books. I feel like the artist wasn't constrained by panels or convention and did things as he interpreted them.
In the anniversary edition there is copy of the final script along with notes from the author (Grant Morrison). This helps clarify any scenes that were unclear in your first reading, as well as explaining some of the more esoteric art choices and subtle references. It was great to have an insight into what the author was leaning towards and what mythologies he felt were relevant to his story.
In this graphic novel, Batman enters Arkham Asylum at Joker's invitation, and spends a night there confronting both physical and metaphorical enemies. Woven through this is the sorrowful tale of the Arkham family and how the asylum came to be.
This is quite unlike anything else I've read, both in terms of story and art. Batman isn't portrayed as invincible here, but rather as a man who is physically strong but mentally flawed. It lent a lot to the story. At times, due to a combination of the art and the script, it can be a little hard to tell what is going on, so some sections may need to be read more than once.
The lettering is quite cool in that there are different fonts for the various characters. I thought this imbued the text with more personality. However, the Joker font is sometimes hard to read.
The art is really the best thing about this work. There's a lot of mixed media work going on, which was, and still is, unusual in comic books. I feel like the artist wasn't constrained by panels or convention and did things as he interpreted them.
In the anniversary edition there is copy of the final script along with notes from the author (Grant Morrison). This helps clarify any scenes that were unclear in your first reading, as well as explaining some of the more esoteric art choices and subtle references. It was great to have an insight into what the author was leaning towards and what mythologies he felt were relevant to his story.
Jesús bendito que bonitas ilustraciones y que historia más pinche.
Soy super fan de Batman pero neta esta historia me parece flojísisisisisisma.
Pinche Grant Morrison como la cagas.
Soy super fan de Batman pero neta esta historia me parece flojísisisisisisma.
Pinche Grant Morrison como la cagas.
Some of the best, most original art I've seen in a comic combined with a great story. It shows the dark history behind Arkham Asylum, making it an even cooler place than it already was.