Batman: Arkham Asylum

Really like that the duologue is in the back half. Makes it easy to know what's going on.

Boring. Slightly difficult to follow, in that the script is just as abstract as the drawings. Not as enlightening into the characters psyche as it boasts.

I had yet to read this quite well known tale of the caped crusader's infamous foray into to depths of hell otherwise known as the Arkham Asylum. My first impression was that the plot setup was a bit "thin" but after a few pages I was very immersed in the craziness that ensued. The artwork, by one of my favorites, Dave McKean, was appropriately, even strongly evocative of Grant Morrison's masterful story-telling who is absolutely one of my favorite writers today (along with Gaiman, Moore, Snyder). My favorite scene was Batman's comment on basically facilitating Harvey Dent's psychosis by "letting him loose with a deck of Tarot cards" and teaching him Yi Jing in order to help him make decisisions; >such as going to the bathroom<... The ancillary images of the infamous Crowley Thoth Tarot did a great job of reinforcing the vibe at this point. I have actually known people in my own somewhat strange life that have displayed the same symptoms... Nevertheless, I related. Very good, well drawn, enjoyable, short, quick read- nice with a snifter of cognac.As I hinted, the story was good, a bit short, the ending a bit facile but it was ominous, and thought provoking, especially with regard to the commentary presented by the health care worker who had been taken hostage (sort of) so there seemed a bit of social commentary insinuated in the text.My recommendation is a reserved buy because of the length of the story-it did seen quite short but enjoyable with excellent, dense, artwork.On another level, the elephant in the room with this perticuar book is "The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore. That is a must read and for me, struck a much more visceral level-it is probably the gold-standard when it comes to Joker stories so make sure you pick up a copy of that also if you enjoy this. Both are excellent.Arkham Asylum= 4 1/2 stars. RECOMMENDED- not for young readers please. BTW, "The Killing Joke" by Alan Moore? 10 stars.Peace, and enjoy,Stareye

What is there to say that hasn’t been said about this story. The story is fantastic and the art is brilliant. Love that this deluxe version comes with the written full script in the back.

Grant Morrison and Dave McKean are probably two of the most influential people in comics during the late 80s. Arkham Asylum is a great illustration of why that is.In this book, the inmates take over Arkham Asylum, and the Joker lures Batman in by threatening the hostages. What follows is an examination of Batman's psyche through the use of his rogues gallery and heavy symbolism.The major strength of this book is it's artwork. Dave McKean has made a name for himself by combining photo-realism and impressionistic images to form some of the best looking comics out there, and his is no exception. His take on the Joker is a sight to behold.The writing, while good, does have one major flaw. Grant Morrison used this novel to examine the 1980's era of Batman, marked by him being much more of a violent psychopath than a calm warrior. As a result, there are a number of lines and scenes that seem out of character, putting this story firmly in Elseworld territory. In context though, Morrison does a great job weaving tarot symbolism into this story. I would definitely recommend this comic to anyone.

I finally got around to reading this after years of putting it off and avoiding any in-depth reviews or spoilers on it (though avoiding spoilers for a book a quarter of a century old is kind of silly, I know). I just wanted to dive in and get my own impressions of it and that indeed I have. I had a general idea of the tone of this book, that it was a bit of a trippy and heavy read and boy was that true. I consider myself a smart and open-minded person who is willing to go off the beaten path, so to speak, and try new and different things, but this was a bit much for me personally. I appreciate the importance of this book, what it represents in the medium of comics and the concept of it; but aside from admiring the technical aspect of it (specifically in the art style and the whole presentation) I just didn't have a whole lot of fun reading Arkham Asylum. Grant Morrison is so hit and miss for me, and this was a miss as far as the writing goes.If you're a Batman fan who hasn't got this one yet, buy it if you're in the mood for stepping way way outside the box as a reader, if you're into Morrison's most dense and oblique writing or if you're collecting the most iconic Batman stories, because this is an iconic story, but it isn't much fun to read.

As a fan of Dave McKean’s art since the early 90s, I first read this astonishing book way back then. At the time, even though the only Batman comic I’d read previously was The Dark Knight Returns, I found it thoroughly haunting, disturbing, and alarmingly beautiful. Grant Morrison is a brilliant writer and no one does what Dave McKean does, not back then and not now. But now, thanks to a steadily growing number of Batman comics fresh in my mind, I’ve re-read this book with new eyes and recognize that it’s even more extraordinary than I appreciated back then – as a glimpse into Batman’s mind and examination of some of his most enduring and twisted relationships, and as the tale of Arkham Asylum and its patients cleverly interwoven with the story of the asylum’s tortured origins. I recommend reading this 25th anniversary edition, which includes Morrison’s script, revealing the depths of symbolism woven into this already impressive tale.

Un comic fuera de lo comun, muy psicologico y complejo, el arte merece un capitulo aparte. Si esperas encontrarte con in Killing joke, no es este el comic para ti

Temos uma edição que honra o fato de ser chamada deluxe: capa dura, papel resistente, trazendo extras como o script completo do Grant Morrison (essa parte inclusive o papel é diferenciado, mais grosso), rascunhos de desenhos do próprio Morrison e do Dave McKean, além de entrevistas com o autor e seu editor, falando na época como foi a criação da obra.Sobre a história: os internos do Asilo Arkham, liderados pelo Coringa, fazem um motim sequestrando os funcionários do local e exigindo a presença do Batman junto deles. Ao adentrar o sanatório, o Batman é obrigado a fazer um tour internamente, confrontando vários vilões (onde o combate nem sempre é físico). Paralelamente é contada a vida desgracada de Amadeus Arkham, psicanalista falecido que dá nome ao local. Com muitos simbolismos e referências a Carl Jung (psicologia), Alesteir Crowley (ocultismo) e Lewis Carroll (Alice no País das Maravilhas) entre outros, os internos do hospício tentam provar que o lugar do Batman é preso junto deles.

Belíssima edição, com uma jaquet muito bonita, sem falar que conta com todo o roteiro da HQ como extras. Muito feliz com a compra

Batman Arkham Asylum was originally released in 1989 and written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean.The novel has 224 pages, but nearly half of it are extras to commemorate the 25th anniversary containing the final script, page layouts, 16 pages of artwork, and an afterword from Karen Berger. I'm no expert on Batman, the only comics I have under my belt (DC wise) are Year One, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush, The Dark Knight Returns, A Death In The Family, The Man Who Laughs, and now Arkham Asylum.I'll go ahead and say this isn't your typical Batman comic, so if you're expecting fighting and action you won't really find it here, it's psychological and if your not open to this idea you probably shouldn't bother picking this up.This is probably the most distinct comic I have ever read, it stands out from anything else I have read. While unique, I think it delivers on what it's trying to be, which is more of a psychologically provoking novel and it succeeds here. I have seen a lot of reviews say they dislike the artwork, and I can see why, but it fits the theme and mood in my opinion and there are some things that were interesting and unique and I didn't mind it, for instance early on the artwork between Batman and Gordon are different from artworks used elsewhere. Since the artwork has been one of the main things people have mentioned in reviews I will be including more images than I normally would of artwork to help you decide if it's for you. Because this is more of a psychological story there's not much action and fighting, it's not about that, plain and simple. There is a lot of deep meanings and symbolism here in this story so if you are into comics like this it might be up your alley.There are two stories here, you have Batman forced to Arkham Asylum otherwise Joker will kill hostages, then you have Amadeus Arkham going through his life and descent into madness throughout the creation of Arkham Asylum. Not bad but like I said, deep meanings and symbolism.Overall, I didn't mind it, however, while I am an avid comic book fan and reader since I've started, symbolism and deep meanings are something I'm new to and I probably missed out on a lot that's intended to be picked up on and I'm sure improves the story greatly. Personally I didn't mind the artwork, the only thing I didn't care for was the dialogue from the Joker, the lettering wasn't consistent and sometimes not the easiest to read, I found myself having to pull the comic closer to make sure I was reading it correctly, unlike the rest of the lettering in the graphic novel. While i'm sure I overlooked and missed out on a lot I think this will definitely be one of those that I come back to years later and appreciate more. The script is a phenomenal addition to celebrate the 25th anniversary. While I missed out on a lot in the story and you might too, the script is very detailed in scenes and give a lot of information on what symbolism or how he wants scenes set up, it's really great seeing this way because we learn more about what the writer wants us to see, the way he envisions the story. I will say I only read a few pages of the script but of those pages tons of insight is provided and I imagine reading the script is just as enjoyable are reading the graphic novel. I hope you forgive me for not reading the script but I'm too eager to jump to my next Batman comic as I've had it for weeks but held off on it (Batman White Knight). Either way, if you're open to trying a different take and approach to a Batman story then give it a shot, you just might love it, but if you aren't open to this type of change from typical Batman comics your money would be better spent expanding your collection with other stories.If you already are a fan of Arkham Asylum are are on the fence about upgrading to the 25th anniversary edition I would recommend doing so, available in paperback and hardcover with the extras included and for the price you can't complain. I personally think the addition of the script alone is worth the purchase because you can go into the writer's mind about how he wants you to interpret the story making you enjoy it more.Hopefully you found this review helpful and happy reading.

A Classic...?Worst graphic novel I have read.Story too complicated, after reading a third time, I still didn’t get my head around it. I’m sure the only reason that the script and story boards were included was to try and explain the book to those of us uneducated sorts of peopleI couldn’t make out more than half of the drawings and the writing was borderline unreadable. At one point at my first reading I thought I’d was a poor print quality but no, that was the “artistry” they wanted to showTrying to be too Artistic for its own goodThe synopsis sounded amazing, I couldn’t wait to read it but I have been left entirely deflated with this purchaseI am sure some readers will love this book but I am a simple guy who enjoys comics and this sadly has left me disappointed

What a graphic novel. I'm not going to make the one read before this but it was so mentally exhausting -This one though, sucked me into the characters world. The artwork was exceptional and the story was brilliant. It put many Batman comics to shame to be honest. My only bugbear is Jokers writing was sometimes unreadable...was it meant to be this way?? The confusing world of Arkham asylum made it acceptable and as a free th on kindle unlimited, I'd usually delete it to read another. After reading I'm about to go and buy it! Exceptional and brilliant.