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dragonflight203 · 16 hours ago

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The most recent DC comics read is Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.

It’s another one of the more popular Batman comics, and as it centers Arkham Asylum it’s another one I’ve been very interested in reading.

My copy is the 15th Anniversary Edition, which includes the original script with additional annotations by the author, Grant Morrison.

Comic

Title: Arkaym Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

Author: Grant Morrison

Artist: Dave McKean

Year: 1989

Overall Opinion

-A surreal story that’s less of a narrative than an experience.

It did not work for me; while it was an interesting read, it’s not a story I’d considerable memorable except for how often I’ve seen it referenced.

However, I can see why it’s resonated with so many other people. The narrative is layered and there’s a lot going on with the art. If either of those speak to you there will be plenty to chew on.

Art

-Beautiful but so abstract at times it fails to be functional.

The artwork of individual panels and pages is gorgeous. This is the kind of work that is framed and hung on walls.

However, at times it’s difficult to make out what the art is intended to convey. The art in a comic is intended to help tell the story, and multiple times I reread a page or series of pages attempting to figure out what was coming on. In that regard, art did not always serve its purpose.

That said, I do love many of the techniques employed – the meetings with Jim at the start of the story as black and white sketches but the time in Arkham in full color, photorealistic panels mixed in with highly abstract ones, etc. Fans of the visual arts might want to pick it up for the art alone.

-I also struggled to read many of the panels. The Joker’s dialogue, in particular, is written in red and so stylized I could barely make it out. That impacted by immersion in the story.

General

-It’s important to note that the story is not intended to be taken literally. The script and the additional annotations frequently reference the story being a dream or dreamlike.

Ergo, the normal rules do not apply. Dreams do not follow the same rules as real life (or a story intended to occur in a similar world.)

Script Forward: “The intention was to create something that was more like a piece of music or an experimental film than a typical adventure comic book. I wanted to approach Batman from the point of view of the dreamlike, emotional, and irrational hemisphere, as a response to the very literal, ‘realistic’ ‘left brain’ treatment of superheroes which as in vogue at the time, in the wake of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, WATCHMEN, and others.”

Script Page 62: “((Really, it’s pretty unlikely that she would still be carrying it but it’s important to show that another kind of logic is at work here. Almost a dream logic.))”

Script Page 66 annotation: “The dream ends here. We can almost imagine a final, unseen page in which Bruce Wayne wakes up in his bed at 3pm, bruised, blinking and shaking his head… but feeling somehow cleansed and invigorated by this bizarre insight into his own drives.”

-I do, however, feel, the story itself could have done more to convey that.

There are subtle hints in the story that it may not be real, but nothing that would stand out to an unsuspecting reader.

If you want the reader to judge your story by certain rules, you need to clue them into it.

-Morrison also states that the Batman in this story is not what they consider to be the real Batman. It’s their reponse to the common portrayl of Batman in the 80s.

Script page 5 annotation: “I’d also like to stress that the portrayal of Batman presented here is not definite and is not necessarily how I would write the character otherwise. The repressed, armoured, uncertain and sexually frozen man in ARKHAM ASYLUM was intended as a critique of the ‘80s interpretation of Batman as violent, drive and borderline psychopathic. My own later portrayal of Batman in the JLA comic was one which emphasized the character’s sanity and dignity; in the end, I figured that anyone who had gone so far and been so successful in his quest to avenge his parents’ death and to help other people would have ended up pretty much straightened out. Bruce Wayne would only have become conflicted and mentally unstable if he had NOT put on his scar bat-suit and found the perfect outline for his feelings of rage, guilt and revenge.”

I still note various incidents where Batman feels out of character because while this in the annotated script, it’s not in the story itself.

As with the story being a dream, if you want a story to be judged by a metric you have to inform the readers of it. In my opinion, Morrison did not do enough in the text itself to inform the readers that this was critique of a popular portrayal of Batman. Ergo, those incidents stood out as ‘off’ when I read them.

-I’m with Batman that Arkham is not helping Harvey.

I know sometimes things need to get worse before they get better, but if he’s not able to decide to go to the bathroom it’s time to reevaluate the treatment.

-It’s interesting to see how the game Arkham Aslyum modified the events of this comic in its own telling.

In both, Batman finds text scribbled on the walls and Amadeus keeps a journal. However, Arkham Aslum merges the two so the text is Amadeus’ journal. In the comic, the text on the walls is an incantation Amadeus scribbled to keep the bat away. His journal is an actual journal.

In Arkham Aslyum, Amadeus ‘successfully’ rehabilitates Martin Hawkins – right up until Hawkins kills Amadeus’ secretary. In this comic, Amadeus ‘accidentally’ kills Hawkins on the anniversary of his wife’s and child’s death as part of his treatment.

In the game, Amadeus becomes an inmate after he kills Hawkins. In the comic, Hawkin’s death is considered an accident and Amadeus isn’t locked up until he attempts to kill his stockbroker in 1929.

-The Amadeus timeline:

Hawkins broke out of prison on December 25, 1920

Hawkins killed Amadeus’ wife and child on April 21, 1921

Arkham Aslyum opened November 1921

Amadeus killed Hawkins April 1, 1922

Amadeus tried to kill his stockbroker in 1929

Amadeus presumably had his breakdown shortly after killing Hawkins in 1922. How in the world did he manage to make it to 1929 before being locked up?

And why was he locked up in Arkham? If he killed his stockbroker in 1929, that’s most likely related to the market crash. I’d expect him to go to regular prison for that.

-Arkham Asylum is treated as its own character in this comic. It’s implied to be alive and feeding off its inhabitants. Batman feeds it when he captures criminals that will be sent there.

Again, if this is a dream this all makes sense. It’s Batman’s fears that Gotham is beyond saving and that he is perpetuating its destruction.

Tetch: “Sometimes… Sometimes I think the Asylum is a head. We’re inside a huge head that dreams us all into being. Perhaps it’s your head, Batman. Arkham is a looking glass. And we are you.”

Amadeus: “The house is an organism, hungry for madness. It is the maze that dreams.”

Dr. Cavendish: “You who’ve kept this place supplied with poor made souls for years. You who’ve fed this hungry house. Do you see? You are the Bat!”

Plot

-Amadeus says his mother’s suicide may be for the best.

This confused me initially. While his mother was unwell, Amadeus did not expand on why he thought her death was for the best.

On the reveal that he killed her, it makes sense. This is him trying to justify it to himself, even as he’s blocking out that he did it.

-It’s foolish of all the Arkham staff not to leave when given the opportunity. There’s nothing they can do so assist in putting down the riot, and they’ll just be used against Batman.

Case in point: The security guard Joker kills to get Batman moving.

-On my initial read through, I was baffled why Batman stabbed himself with glass in the hand. It made no sense to me.

Looking at the original script, it’s to distract himself from the memories of his parents’ dying. That feels a bit extreme.

I wonder how many other folks were also confused? There had to be a better way to show that to the reader.

-Joker promises Bruce an hour lead in the game of hide and seek the inmates will play with him.

Naturally, he only gets 10 minutes before everyone goes after him. Shocking.

-Amadeus’ narration over Batman’s actions is an excellent storytelling device, but this is when the stylized art works most heavily against the comic. Between the narration being only tangentially related and the art, I had a hard time telling what was going on.

-Of course the Asylum administrator is insane and the one who freed the inmates. At this point Batman should be personally interviewing the staff members every few months.

What I am baffled about is why Dr. Cavendish is insane. Apparently he read Amadeus’ journal and that was enough. Even by in-universe standards that seems a bit much.

This is where knowing the story is a dream benefits the reader. It makes sense that in Batman’s dream the Arkham Asylum Administrator would go insane after reading Amadeus’ journal. To him all of Arkham’s staff are probably one push from going over the edge.

-Dream logic is also the only reason that the bat reveal works.

It strains plausibility too much that the Arkham family has been haunted by bats and that Batman confronts the current Administrator.

But again, if this is a dream it works. It’s logical that Batman would dream that a family is driven mad by bats – it’s an externalization of his fear that he creates his rogues.

-Dr. Cavendish put salt around Arkham to prevent Batman from escaping.

We see the salt when Batman enters the asylum. If Batman is unable to cross salt, how did Dr. Cavendish expect Batman to get in?

(Yes, I know he’s insane. It’s still a valid question.)

-Dr. Adams slitting Dr. Cavendish’s throat with a razor is a nice parallel to Amadeus’ slitting his mother’s.

They both kill to stop the madness from getting any worse.

And if Dr. Adams stays at Arkham, it probably won’t be long before someone is slitting hers.

-The whole ending is strange to me.

Why does Batman use an axe to break back into the Aslyum? Why does he tell the inmates they’re free? Why does he let Harvey decide his fate with a coin flip? Why does Batman going free equate to the prisoners peacefully surrendering to the police?

At this point the narrative is operating heavily on dream logic. This is about creating an emotional resolution, not a logical one.

Characters

-When speaking with Jim, Batman speaks of himself (Bruce) and Batman as two separate people.

It’s an interesting moment that reveals how Bruce thinks of himself. Batman is an idealized persona that is larger than life. Bruce fears that he, the regular person, is as mentally unstable as he’s frequently accused of being.

Jim: “Listen, I can understand it if even you’re afraid. I mean, Arkham has a reputation…

Batman: “Afraid? Batman’s not afraid of anything. It’s me. I’m afraid. I’m afraid that the Joker may be right about me. Sometimes I… Question the rationality of my actions. And I’m afraid that when I walk through those asylum gates… When I walk into Arkham and the doors close behind me… It’ll be just like coming home.”

-Batman gives far too much of himself away in the word association game he plays with Dr. Adams.

I feel Batman should be able to do better in this kind of game. Maybe it’d be obvious that he’s carefully picking his answers, but that’s better than giving out so much personal information.

-It feels out of character for Batman to push Dr. Destiny down the stairs.

That could potentially kill him. Normally Batman would do something to break his fall, at least.

-Batman’s reaction to Dr. Cavendish’s death also feels out of character.

Batman loathes death; he may accept that it’s at times out of his control, but I’d expect a stronger reaction from someone being killed to protect him. Especially when he’s the one that asked for help.

I’d also expect him to engage with Dr. Adams – comfort her? Outrage at her actions? – but he’s just indifferent.

Dr. Adams: “Oh god. Oh my god. Oh god.”

Batman: “He got what he deserved. Come on.”

Dr. Adams: “I didn’t mean to… I really didn’t…”

Batman: “I take it this passage is the way out?”

-Dr. Adams thinks the Joker may not be an insane. It may instead be a neurological disorder. It may be some form of “super-sanity”.

His behavior is because he can’t regulate the information he receives from the world and is unable to cope with it.

I’ve seen references that the Joker may not be insane in fandom, so it’s interesting to see it mentioned as a possibility in canon as well. Even this explanation still leaves loopholes for his behavior, however.

-Why is Dr. Adams barefoot?

Arkham Asylum is not somewhere I’d recommend walking barefoot. God only knows what has been on that floor.

-Joker has no interest in Batman’s true identity. As far as he’s concerned, Batman is the real person.

Black Mask: “I say we take off his mask. I want to see his real face.”

Joker: “Oh, don’t be so predictable, for Christ’s sake! That is his real face.”

-Joker’s views the outside world as a mad house. It’s those whose recognize its absurdness that are sane.

Joker to Batman as he leaves: “Enjoy yourself out there. In the asylum. Just don’t forget – if it ever gets too tough… There’s always a place for you here.”

-Why the fuck does Amadeus put on his mother’s wedding dress after his wife and child are killed?

Yes, I know he’s insane and in the middle of a breakdown, but even insanity normally has some kind of internal logic. I have nothing for this.

-There is some gender weirdness going on with Amadeus. After remembering that he killed his mother:

Amadeus: “I am the dragon’s bride, the son of the widow.”

Why a bride? Why is he wearing his mother’s wedding dress again?

-I’m going to lump Dr. Cavendish wearing Amadeus’ mother’s wedding dress into Amadeus’ gender issues, since apparently he was ‘contaminated’ with Amadeus’ insanity from the journal.

-Dr. Cavendish also insists that Batman is the ‘real’ person:

Batman: “I… I’m just a man.”

Dr. Cavendish: “I’m not fooled by that cheap disguise. I know what you are.”

If this dream is Bruce working out his issues, a large chunk of them are what parts of him are real and what parts are a persona he puts on to show to the world.

-I have mixed feelings about Jonathan Crane’s cameo.

On the one hand, he gets no dialogue and that’s disappointing.

On the other, with the way this comic is he may be better off with none.

-And Jervis Tetch is a pedophile. Was that necessary?

Making Tetch a pedophile feels like a very lazy way to make him a villain.

I prefer other interpretation that are less blatant, like when’s he’s mind controlling people to be “friends”. Still insane, but also pitiful.

-At the end, Batman gives Harvey back his coin. Harvey flips it to decide Batman’s fate, then lies about the outcome so Batman goes free. He derides the cards the staff had been weaning him onto:

Harvey: “Who cares for you? You’re nothing but a pack of cards.”

It’s ambiguous if Harvey’s more confident now that he’s back to a binary or if he’s able to make his own decisions. He did ignore the coin to set Batman free.

Edit: Pronouns fix. Grant goes by they/them.

#dc #dc comic reviews #Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth #batman

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