jujumo's review against another edition
2.0
It starts off with a bang and ends off with a whimper, with such an incoherent and terrible story line that doesn't know what to do with itself. Even to an unfamiliar reader, the portrayal of Batman just feels...wrong. Nearly every character interaction aside from the Joker just feels so shoe horned into a mess of a story; it bends over backwards trying to include as many Batman references as it can in the madhouse, but it ends up being ridiculously convoluted without any payoff.
But the art is great; it captures the grotesque imagery as well as putting the reader into the POV of insanity, with such garish colors that are hand painted. It does go overboard at points, where it becomes so macabre that it borders on self parody - but the art remains consistently good.
Still, this was not the comic book I wanted to read after my hiatus. Disappointing at the very least.
But the art is great; it captures the grotesque imagery as well as putting the reader into the POV of insanity, with such garish colors that are hand painted. It does go overboard at points, where it becomes so macabre that it borders on self parody - but the art remains consistently good.
Still, this was not the comic book I wanted to read after my hiatus. Disappointing at the very least.
raincorbyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
2.0
Sure it's got a lot of ratings. And it is cool. And dark. And kind of echoes the feel that Arkham Asylum should have. It's also muddy. And the text is hard to read. And the Batman part of the story really doesn't make a lot of sense. Not sure why I own this. It's not really my kind of art though I can appreciate its quality.
siddd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so utterly disgusting, 5 stars
sling's review against another edition
2.0
I've never been a huge fan of Batman but I feel like I should like the comics more than I do. I ordered this because I read that it was unusual, different, unexpected, challenging - in short, everything I was looking for.
Sad to say, no dice. Instead of spooky and evocative, I found the art blotchy, derivative and incoherent. When meant to convey madness, the lettering was instead unreadable.
Maybe it is more of its time than I thought.
Sad to say, no dice. Instead of spooky and evocative, I found the art blotchy, derivative and incoherent. When meant to convey madness, the lettering was instead unreadable.
Maybe it is more of its time than I thought.
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard for me to know how to rate this because it's a great comic book but I didn't like it. Grant Morrison writes amazing comic books and this one is twisty and disturbing, which I like, and it inspired one the best video games of all time, which I love. However I think it's a shitty Batman comic book. If this was just about Arkham the man I would have liked it more but Morrison kept going back to Batman wandering around aimlessly in the Asylum, not really doing a fucking thing except poking his head into rooms to see what everybody was doing. Answer? Not much. The Mad Hatter was apparently getting high as shit and thinking about his love of little girls, the Scarecrow was just sort of meandering, and the Joker was probably thinking of what cutesy nickname he could call Batman the next time he saw him. I'm assuming Poison Ivy was taking a nap somewhere. Morrison was relying very heavily on mood and atmosphere, which McKean's art highlighted perfectly, but it didn't hold up for me. Also I don't love a version of Batman that tells a devastated woman who's just killed a man that the guy got what he deserved. She knew that guy, Bruce, don't be a dick.
emcardle26's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0