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rebus 's review for:
Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth
by Grant Morrison
I just re-read it for the first time since it was published (though I read it several dozen times back then because it was so fresh and unusual for a moribund medium). I'm downgrading it a half star, now seeing it as a flawed masterpiece, though it is still far better than 99% of what has been published in this medium since.
I like the idea of the Joker as possessing a super sanity and being afflicted with a form of Tourette's. It's a far more accurate depiction of an honest reaction to modern life than passes for most literature since it was published. Most simply can't handle the sensory overload of the modern world in a way that Ozymandias from Watchmen did--and it obviously also drove him crazy and made him the sort of narcissist who believed in his genius uber alles, that he could suss out every possible reaction to the events he set in motion--though I'm not sure it's fair to say that the Joker has no real personality (especially in a day and age when self delusion and pop culture passes for a personality, and perhaps being fully individuated is overrated). So, why can't he vacillate between the mischievous clown and psycho killer as a means to cope? It's rarely as arbitrary as the choices most in the youngest two generations express as they 'search' for a cohort who truly shares their values (never achieving that, only finding those with similar 'tastes').
If only people would start to accept that we aren't as special and magical as our achievements make us appear and stop believing that a sense of identity will make them whole. We are simply human mammals and all the rest is a bizarre frippery because we can't cope with death and believe that makes us special.
The Joker is special, because he weeds out those weak souls mentioned above and harasses anyone who might display his own sense of reality.
I like the idea of the Joker as possessing a super sanity and being afflicted with a form of Tourette's. It's a far more accurate depiction of an honest reaction to modern life than passes for most literature since it was published. Most simply can't handle the sensory overload of the modern world in a way that Ozymandias from Watchmen did--and it obviously also drove him crazy and made him the sort of narcissist who believed in his genius uber alles, that he could suss out every possible reaction to the events he set in motion--though I'm not sure it's fair to say that the Joker has no real personality (especially in a day and age when self delusion and pop culture passes for a personality, and perhaps being fully individuated is overrated). So, why can't he vacillate between the mischievous clown and psycho killer as a means to cope? It's rarely as arbitrary as the choices most in the youngest two generations express as they 'search' for a cohort who truly shares their values (never achieving that, only finding those with similar 'tastes').
If only people would start to accept that we aren't as special and magical as our achievements make us appear and stop believing that a sense of identity will make them whole. We are simply human mammals and all the rest is a bizarre frippery because we can't cope with death and believe that makes us special.
The Joker is special, because he weeds out those weak souls mentioned above and harasses anyone who might display his own sense of reality.