Batman: Arkham Asylum- A Serious House on Serious Earth
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Dave McKean
You don't know the true depths of madness until you actually enter the madhouse!
Ranking: 4 stars
The relationship between Batman and his famous gallery of rogues can be summed up in this famous quote from Lewis Carol's ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND.
“ ‘But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked.
‘Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: ‘we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.’
‘How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice.
‘You must be,’ said the Cat, ‘or you wouldn’t have come here.’ ”
Not only does it describe Grant Morrison's remarkable understanding of the criminally insane foes the dark knight faces, but also about the entire theme of BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM-A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH!
Along with writers like Jeph Loeb (BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN, BATMAN: HUSH) and Frank Miller (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, BATMAN: YEAR ONE), Grant Morrison has become one of my favorite authors for the Batman Mythos. Although his confusing writing style can be an instant dislike for some comic book fans, I've come to enjoy it, as the complex style Morrison employs helps to create innovative theme that help redefine the characters he writes about. While the recreating of famous comic heroes has been controversial among many fans, I along with others believe that it introduces new possibilities for expanding the psychologies of the characters, and BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM succeeds in redefining what makes Batman's foes the madmen they are!
In my opinion this is one of Grant Morrison's best works overall, along with BATMAN R.I.P.! I had always planned to read this story, as it was one of the most acclaimed Batman stories to ever be released, but it was also one of the most graphic and violent, which made me hesitate about reading it for quite awhile. However, once I finally read it, I regretted not reading this sooner. While not as great as what its reputation claims it to be, it still succeeds as one of my favorite Batman stories. The story takes place in two time periods that are both intertwined and create a psychologically innovating horror tale. In the present, the inmates of Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane have broken free, and are holding the staff hostage. The inmates, led by the Joker, promise to release the hostages, but only if their one demand is met... that Batman join them and become part of their fold. Despite being aware of the asylum's infamous reputation, Batman decides to go into the lion's den on his own, and brave its horrors. Once inside, his enemies, who plan to carve deep into the dark knight’s soul, and prove that he is just another one of the crazy people, confront Batman. As he continues to travel deeper into the asylum, Batman not only comes face to face with the lunacy that plagues it, but also begins to question his own sanity as well. Meanwhile at the turn of the nineteenth century, the reader is exposed to the journals of Amadeus Arkham, the founder of Arkham Asylum. The past of Amadeus is revealed to be one of tragedy and insanity, as young Arkham is forced to take care of his mentally ill mother at a young age, and his family is brutally murdered by a lunatic criminal. Both events guide him to converting his estate into the infamous facility that is a central part of the Batman mythos, leading Arkham to question the stability of his mind as he realizes he may not know himself as he once thought he did.
Although it wasn’t as worthwhile as fans and critics have claimed it to be, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH is easily one of Grant Morrison’s greatest works! Although not written in his usual prose (which I enjoy, although it can be confusing at points), Morrison creates an astounding storyline as it gives an in depth view into the psychological profiles of Batman, Amadeus, and the entire roster of Arkham’s inmates. Throughout the entire history of the Batman comics, readers have always known that the majority of Batman’s enemies were mentally insane, but this book was the first to show just how unstable they really are. Criminals like the Joker and Two-Face are given a detailed analysis of their mental diagnosis as, One Arkham doctor, Dr. Ruth, theorizes that the Joker no real personality, but recreates himself everyday (a theme later explored in BATMAN AND SON), which acts as a reference to the evolution of the character from a comical clown to a homicidal maniac. I enjoyed the character Dr. Ruth, as she not only conveys the psychosis of Batman’s enemies, but also makes attempts to cure them of their illness, even though some cases like that of Two-Face prove to deteriorate their minds even further (but, hey bad before good, that’s psychiatry for ya). Another high point of this graphic novel, is that Morrison proves how even a simple children’s book, such as ALICE IN WONDERLAND, can contain themes that can be presented on a deeper, more dark scale than originally intended. The world of ALICE IN WONDERLAND is one of insanity and madness, as each character that Alice encounters is more outlandish than the last. That book has been a huge influence on many of Batman’s foes over the years, and Morrison heavily incorporates themes from it in here. Batman questions his sanity, just as Alice questioned hers, each inmate in asylum appears in a manner that’s even more insane and unusual than the former, when Batman confronts the Mad Hatter, he is smoking a pipe similar to the caterpillar from the novel, and the final scene reflects off the famous playing card soldiers from the story.
David McKean, the artist famous for his work on THE SANDMAN series, gives a nightmare themed painting style that is perfect for Morrison’s psychologically horrifying story. Although it can be hard to tell what’s going on at certain points, McKean’s artwork is also beautiful to look at, as it’s simultaneously scary and innovating. There are few things to criticize here, but out of the few, is that the ending seems to come abruptly, but it still works well with the rest of the story, and that some readers might have difficulty reading the gritty speech lettering of the Joker. Other than that, ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH is a must read for fans of Batman who seek both a seminal, and psychologically terrifying story.
“In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.”
― Lewis Carroll's ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
