It's April Fool's Day and Commissioner Gordon receives a call from the Joker -- the inmates have taken over Arkham Asylum, and are demanding to speak to Batman.As you might have guessed from the cover, Batman has to descend into the heart of darkness; Arkham Asylum, the former ancestral home of Amadeus Arkham turned mental hospital for the criminally insane after his mother committed suicide after a lifelong struggle with mental illness.
The one-shot graphic novel chronicles from many different angles the descent into madness, from the flashbacks to Amadeus Arkham and his encounters with specters and dread shadows in the halls of the old house, to Batman's own interactions with the criminals: Two Face, The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Clayface among others.
The dialogue and story are top-notch, and the superb and creepy lettering play perfectly with the bizarre painted art. That art is really what makes the comic -- although the story is certainly good, the art pushes it over the top from just a good read to something very special.
Overall it's one of the best graphic novels I've ever picked up, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes comics, Batman, creepy surreal art, or just a good spooky story to enjoy with a steaming cup of coffee on a lonely October night.
Verdict: Epic Win (who cares for you? you're just a pack of cards)
2 comments:
damn boy, this looks sick. I haven't checked out any Batman comics since I was pretty young, but they were always my favourites. Going through Swamp Thing right now (fried gold), then I'll get on this.
it is definitely sick; it will blow your mind, guaranteed.
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