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| Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition) | 
 enlarge | Author: Grant Morrison
Creator: Dave Mckean
Publisher: DC Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.67
You Save: $7.32 (41%)
New (41) Used (11) from $10.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 716
Media: Paperback
Edition: 15
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 6.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 1401204252
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781401204259
ASIN: 1401204252
Publication Date: November 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081010212127T
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Product Description
In this groundbreaking, painted graphic novel, the inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over Gothams detention center for the criminally insane on April Fools Day, demanding Batman in exchange for their hostages.Accepting their demented challenge, Batman is forced to live and endure the personal hells of the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Two-Face and many other sworn enemies in order to save the innocents and retake the prison.During his run through this absurd gauntlet, the Dark Knights own sanity is placed in jeopardy.This special anniversary edition trade paperback also reproduces the original script with annotations by Morrison and editor Karen Berger.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 An inside look at a madman's nightmare. July 28, 2005
76 out of 79 found this review helpful
First, there are two things anyone interested in purchasing or reading this title should know about it beforehand. One, that it is probably not for everyone's taste as it isn't your traditional Batman vs. the villain-of-the-week sort of story, but rather a darker, more disturbing kind of tale that focuses on a deep, complex exploration of madness, told alternately from three different points of view: that of Amadeus Arkham, founder of the asylum, that of Batman and his other persona, Bruce Wayne, and of course, that of all the madmen locked up at the asylum, including the super villains.
Two, that it is "Suggested for Mature Readers" on the back cover as it's probably one of the most unnecessarily violent and ghastly graphic novels ever published under the Batman title, although, I definitely think - regardless of it being at times a bit too disgusting for my taste - that it's also one of the most original and beautifully illustrated narratives ever created for the genre. The superb artwork is perfect for the story with its surreal, dreamy, and suggestive look, even if, on occasion, it gets a little difficult to follow, especially with certain clashing combinations of colors and typographies. Still, the lavish intricacy of the compositions and the broad range of techniques used by the artist are a spectacular visual feast worth the price of the book alone.
The dual story, told in a nicely interwoven parallel, on one hand, explores Arkham's past and how his reasons for founding the asylum derived from decisions he made during the most crucial points of his life, and on the other, focuses on Batman's present day mission to go inside the asylum and, while confronting the insecurities about his own sanity, regain control of the facility after it's been taken over by the Joker.
Arkham's story is from beginning to end an emotional journey through the situations and escalating tragedies that can slowly drive a man insane. It's marvelously shrouded in a veil of mystery and superstition, and brilliantly placed in time during the beginning of the 1900's both by the overall mood of the art and the historical details sprinkled here and there, including, among others, having Arkham meet and learn from both Carl Jung and Aleister Crowley.
Batman's story, told from both his point of view and that of the inmates' is, on the other hand, a lot darker, more twisted and sadly less consistent. Our hero's mischaracterization, present throughout the whole story, is obvious from his first line of dialogue, with which he's not only portrayed as a constantly daunted man, but also as one who reacts with shock and disbelief to the inmates' atrocities and maniacal behavior that he's so used to fighting. Contrastingly, the clever analysis of Joker's psychosis is brilliant right to very last page of the book, even in spite of the endless sexually perverted innuendos from him - who even hints at a homosexual relationship between Batman and Robin - that somewhat lessen the impact of the story's emotional momentum.
The story concludes with the most satisfactory ending I've so far encountered in any graphic novel - worthy of a 5-star rating on its own -, an excellent comparison of the contrasts and similarities between Arkham and Batman's sense of duty, the ghosts of their pasts, and the skeletons in each one's closet.
As you'd expect from the title, along with the Joker, a fair amount of villains make an appearance, enriching Arkham Asylum's decadent milieu, among them Two-Face, Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Clayface, Prof. Milo, Dr. Destiny, Maxie Zeus, Black Mask, etc. The constant references to April Fools' Day and Alice in Wonderland, the changes introduced to Two-Face's alter ego, Harvey Dent, and the re-imagining of some of the other super villains, are truly delightful as well. But where the most pleasant surprises of the story lie for me are on Batman's iterated questioning of the "cures" administered to the inmates by the asylum's doctors, and the contemplation of the possibility that madness might not only be a physical illness but that it could also be a contagious disease.
Despite the fact that this book could use some degree of fine-tuning in a few places and a little less unwarranted violence in others, overall it holds its own and delivers a fantastic story about how different people perceive the world around them when they see it through their own biases.
This 15th Anniversary Edition includes a section with the original sketches and story conceptualizations done for this title that presents an amazing view of the artists' creative process.
Definitely a must-have addition to any serious Batman collection.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar
Instant Classic. November 14, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
First of all I'm a HUGE batman fan, and just recently purchased this anniversary edition. This batman book has the original arkham asylum story, the full script by Grant Morrison, an afterword, and layouts by Morrison. Sounds like alot, but in actual fact it's not really. The dissapoint with this anniversary edition is the extras, The script is bassicly the meat of this book, but I suppose they want to show us that graphic novel/comic scripts are like movie scripts, and require alot of effort. There really isn't much of the other extras I mentioned.
Overall this book is worth the purchase and deserves the acclaim that Morrison and Mckean recieved. The writing is really incredible, and the art work magnificent.
So I reccomend you read the original script first then the graphic novel. The original graphic novel I give 5 stars, but the extras, four stars. One of my favourite batman books. Enjoy.
A total nightmare December 13, 2006
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
It's hard to believe that Grant Morrison's defining look at Batman is over 15 years old, but even so, Arkham Asylum: Serious House on Serious Earth, is a masterpiece of comic horror. It starts off like one may think a Batman comic would: Bats is called in by Commissioner Gordon because the inmates at Arkham have taken the staff hostage and will release them on one condition: Batman must join them. Featuring the most psychotic of Batman's rogue gallery: the Joker, Two-Face, Black Mask, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Doctor Destiny, Clayface, and Professor Milo are all here, and they all have plans for the Dark Knight. During the story, the tragic tale of Arkham himself is told as the origin of the construction of the asylum is built, and Morrison's examination of the inner demons of Batman in comparison to that of his villains is simply brilliant. His interpretations of the Joker, Two-Face, and Clayface are unlike anything else done by anyone else with the characters, maybe except for Alan Moore's use of the Joker in the Killing Joke. Add to this the haunting and visceral artwork of Sandman cover artist and frequent Neil Gaiman collaborator Dave McKean, and you get one of the greatest, and most chilling, Batman stories ever told. There's a nice assortment of extras thrown in as well, including Morrison's complete original script with new notes, and his hand drawn storyboards to boot.
The "anniversary edition" made me like it even more. July 24, 2006
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
"Arkham Asylum" has to be my all-around favorite story about my all-around favorite superhero, playing seconds only to "The Dark Knight Returns," of course. With this disturbing tale of "discovering thyself," Grant Morrison shows that he can be just as good and influential a writer of everyone's favorite Caped Crusader as Frank Miller. Actually, Morrison proves himself an even better writer than Miller in certain places. While "The Dark Knight Returns" will, no doubt, always be my favorite Bat tale, "Arkham Asylum" expands the Batman character in a way that we never could've imagined. It evens shows Batman as even more of a "human" than most people care to admit. Be warned though, fans who grew up with the "ZIP" and "POW"" campiness of the 60s Adam West/Burt Ward show will be disgusted and disturbed by this book, whereas fans of the Dark Knight (the *REAL* Batman, I mean) will drool over it like Michael Jackson at a daycare center.
The first time I read this symbolic, frightening book I have been a huge fan of it. I've read it over and over again and it gets better upon each re-read. While reading, though, I couldn't help but notice some hidden symbolism and significant imagery scattered all throughout the story. I started read the "script" version of the story (featured in the back of this "anniversary edition") and indeed, learned and noticed many new things about it I otherwise never would've picked up on. Every single character in the book--from Batman, to the Joker and the villains--to even the minor characters, each symbolizes some sort of image significant to the story's plot and climax. Morrison's script has taught me a lot about this strange, but intellectually satisfying graphic novel, which I now like at least a hundred times more than I did before. "Arkham Asylum" is a Bat tale unlike any other, and would've made Frank Miller jealous. Oh, and did I mention Dave McKean's twisted, chaotic artwork which is essential to the entire story? If any other artist had illustrated this book, it would've failed and not be praised for what it is today, and that is not just my own opinion, it is the honest truth. Read it and you'll understand exactly what I mean. Highly recommended!
But I warn you once more: this is NOT your father's Batman. It's a relentlessly violent and very scary tale; absolutely NOT for the faint of heart, easily offended, or young children.
 A disappointing failure in the Batman mythos December 31, 2006
15 out of 30 found this review helpful
I've always been a die-hard Marvel fan, and I still am, but I can't argue with the fact that Batman is one of the best comic book characters out there. I've got a small collection of Batman TPBs and graphic novels, ranging from the grotesque yet brilliant The Killing Joke to the (fairly) recent blockbuster No Man's Land. That being said, I was sorely disappointed by Arkham Asylum, for three main reasons, which I will go in to.
The first is the art. I simply did NOT care for the style. To McKean's credit, the drawing style perfectly fit the theme of the book, but unfortunately, it's not a theme that lends itself to eye-pleasing art. It looks sloppy, disjointed, overly shadowed, and disorientingly impressionistic. As I said, it's perfect for the book, but it's not a style I like. Rather than clear pictures, you just get odd impressions of what's happening, since most of the panels are composed of the color black, which makes an exotic and often puzzling story even more difficult to follow.
Second is the way Morrison took over the various villains and transformed them to fit his needs. Yes, the Joker is cool in this, but everyone else got rather poor treatment. Two Face, easily Batman's second best villain, becomes a sniveling puke, Maxie Zeus spouts only gibberish, and Killer Croc seems to have lost the ability to speak, becoming only a rampaging monster. And Clayface symbolizes AIDS, for some reason. Figure that out.
The third, and greatest crime, is the treatment of Batman himself. As Morrison himself explains in the back pages, he didn't care for the violent, gruesome, Miller-esque Batman that had emerged from the 80's. So he decided to "kill off" this Batman to recreate him in a form he liked. To do so, he took Batman from being an overly violent, paranoid crime-fighter and turned him into a schiziphrenic mess, a sexually-repressed psychopath with an Oedipus complex. The moment he steps inside the Asylum, he loses control; after the Joker points a gun at Dr. Ruth, Batman goes insane. He spends the rest of the novel wandering around, writhing in shadowy panels and grunting, getting beaten up by every jerk he runs into, and somehow emerges "fixed." Essentially, Morrison was killing off, and spitting on, the most popular incarnation of the character because he didn't care for the characterization; it was written, I think, more for his pleasure than for ours, and that stands out.
There are a few good things about the novel (the Joker is undeniably, black-heartedly in his element), but they're buried under a mountain of bizarre symbology, unnecessary shadow, and a New Ager's view of what Batman should be. If you're a fan of Grant Morrison, you may like this, but if you're a fan of Batman in general, stay away.
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