Okay, first of all, let's give it it's full name, Batman: Arkham Asylum - A Serious House on Serious Earth. Quite a mouthful, but also quite an interesting read. I had been planning to read this for a looooong time, and finally got around to it today. I am quite a fan of Grant Morrison, and if you believe everything you hear, then this is a must-read, so I was happy to give it a go.
My experience with Morrison's style is that you have to go into his books with a fairly open mind, and you have to be prepared to think, re-read the odd page, and pay close attention to every panel, otherwise things might get a little confusing. Arkham Asylum isn't too bad in this respect, although you may get a little lost if you're not totally familiar with Batman's rogues' gallery. His alternative takes on characters like Maxie Zeus for example, might leave some readers a little bewildered.
This isn't an action/adventure superhero book. The themes Morrison explores here are dark and disturbing, and one of the underlying themes here is that Batman is just as messed up as most of the asylum's inmates, if not more. Pretty frightening when you consider that this book features the Joker at his most creepily nuts, and even a paedophilic take on the Mad Hatter.
The highlight for me here is the story of Amadeus Arkham and his own journey into eventual madness. It's a great exploration into an almost unknown character (at the time of release), and breaks up the book with a setting that feels ever-so-slightly more normal.
The only negative I have is a purely personal one. I don't like Dave McKean's art style. Sure, it's a big part of what makes Arkham Asylum unique, and it is pretty special in itself, but in a storytelling context I felt that it didn't always do the job. It's just not for me. I got the 15th anniversary edition of the book, which features the full script with annotations by Morrison, and I was interested to find out that McKean refused to draw Robin into the book as he felt that he had already 'sufficiently compromised his artistic integrity by drawing Batman'.
Oh, and that script? I actually found it to be even better than the graphic novel itself. Morrison's own setting of the scenes reveals context and meaning you may not have otherwise picked up on, and just reminds me why I love his stuff in the first place.
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is well worth a read, whether you're a Bat-fan or not. You might love it, and if you hate it, you won't ever really be able to properly explain why.
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