Batman is summoned by Commissioner Gordon and he's briefed on the current situation. The inmates have taken over Arkham Asylum under the Joker's leadership. It has become a hostage situation and they have made several request. Their final request is for Batman to come to the asylum alone and the hostages will be freed. Batman leaves to confront the Joker and things take off from there. -summary
Written in 1989 by Grant Morrison, Batman - Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is unlike any Batman story you will ever see even up to this day. I remember reading the story during its original run and I honestly didn't like it for plenty of reasons; I will admit age had a lot to do with it, but the main reason was probably because it didn't really feel like a traditional superhero story. It feels more like a very complicated psychological thriller if anything. I have heard plenty of criticism in regards to this story, and one of the complaints I heard is that it doesn't feel like a Batman story, he was just added to sell the book. I really don't agree with this opinion at all. The story deals with madness not only as a condition, but also on it being quite contagious. Batman is probably the most human of all comic book characters, and I don't believe any other superhero could have been a better choice. He's very close to becoming exactly what he's dedicated his life to fighting against. In his own way, Batman could also be considered mad and that's some of the point being made here.
The first thing one will notice before anything else will be Dave McKean's brilliantly crafted surreal artwork. Visually, this book is a treat to the senses and the use of the artwork is nothing like anything I've seen so far. It uses a traditional painting style and it feels as if you're holding an art museum in your hand, and you're browsing through a score of portraits. If you look closely, you will see the pages closer together are reflecting off of each other. The artwork creates an other worldly nightmarish feel, that reflects the mood being set and the ghastly personalities of the mentally disturbed characters.
The character designs are the perfect fit for this hellish story, and speaking of hell, this is by far the most demonic look for the Joker. He truly has the appearance of a demon straight from the fiery pits. The Mad Hatter, despite him looking the closest to human out of the villains is particularly creepy, and his dialog format is displayed in a harmonic fashion, and being familiar with his voice acting from the animated series, I can imagine his calm and collected humming, and it gives off quite a chilling feel. I like it.
Unfortunately, the artwork will not please everyone, and at one point I didn't care for it either. It has moments where you really have to focus to see what's going on. The dialog uses a different font for the characters, for example, the Joker speaks using bright red dialog that seems to be scribbled in a maniacal fashion. It perfectly fits with what Morrison's doing here, but there are moments where the words are hard to read, and this actually hampers the pace of the reading. I found it distracting on a few occasions. Thankfully, this is only the case with the Joker.
The story uses a dual plot that follows Batman as he's forced to run for his life and avoid his enemies through Arkham. Many detractors I encountered were not happy with the limited action, and they did not care for the psychological elements. Some claim nothing happens here and that couldn't be further from the truth. Joker wants to break Batman, and what he's fighting against is the madness. This also explains why so many of the villains are completely out of character. Arkham Asylum got to them, and that's all there is to it. The second story follows Amadeus Arkham who happens to be the founder of the place; the reader will learn the origins of the house, and how one can be mentally shattered by it. The story uses a lot of symbolism and it switches perspectives often, therefore telling a non linear story that isn't quite easy to get through. In fact, it may take some multiple reads to grasp everything. I know it's taken me several. Now those who are heavily into having their brains played with will no doubt enjoy this more than others. But I feel the heavy symbolism overshadows the plot. This is definitely a story not everyone is going to like.
The story examines very disturbing themes, and some people may be put off by it. It's rather low on gore and many things are left up to the imagination. Batman: Arkham Asylum is indeed deep, chilling, and very dark. I enjoyed this psychotic world along with this take on Batman, but this will not be everyone's thing. If you want something faster paced and more action packed then I recommend Batman: Knightfall , Batman: The Killing Joke, and Batman: The Wrath.
Pros:
-Thought provoking narrative, atmospheric. eerie artwork
Cons:
-Artwork can also be an issue for some, not very action packed
