Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is a fictional mental hospital near Gotham City in the DC Universe, where many of Batman's foes (most famously the Joker) wind up after they are captured.

Graphic novels featuring Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

Written by Grant Morrison, artwork by Dave McKean.

Related Topics:
Grant Morrison - Dave McKean

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An original graphic novel (as opposed to collection or trade paperback), once the best-selling of its kind. Its distinct look comes from McKean's typical blend of painting, collage, ink drawings and other media. Morrison explored various mystic ideas, including the symbiosis between Batman and the criminals he captured and recaptured. Various threads of symbolism include the works of Lewis Carroll, the Christian Mystery Plays, the psychology of Carl Jung, the works of Joseph Campbell, and others.

Related Topics:
Graphic novel - Painting - Collage - Ink - Mystic - Symbiosis - Symbolism - Lewis Carroll - Christian - Mystery Plays - Psychology - Carl Jung - Joseph Campbell

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The book is also notable for its eclectic collection of villains, some of which are minor villains or come primarily form other series, while certain villains are excluded entirely. For instance, Professor Milo and Maxie Zeus make appearances, although both of these characters, particularly Milo, were very minor villains prior to this. Furthermore, Zeus was something of a less serious villain, as opposed to the grim, humorless tone of all the characters in this book. Poison Ivy seems to have been forgotten entirely (although in the ever-changing world of Batman, keeping track of who was around and where they were imprisoned when is difficult.) Doctor Destiny makes a brief appearance, and is clearly meant to be the man in the wheelchair. While Destiny had faced Batman before, he was primarily a villain of the Justice League, and was generally less of a presence in the Batman world than other villains. Another curious figure is a limping, green skinned person whom Batman appears to kick the leg off of. This character is never identified. (The original script that was published at the end of the 15th anniversary edition showed that the character was Clayface)

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The canonicity of this graphic novel is uncertain, since several villains are apparently killed or seriously injured in it and the characterization of Batman is questionable (at one point he engages in self-mutilation, and some fans would argue that in the normal continuity he would not resort to such potentially lethal methods as he does in the book).

Related Topics:
Canonicity - Self-mutilation

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Morrison reputedly secured a deal with DC Comics to earn one dollar per copy sold of the book, netting almost $300,000 from the initial sales.

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Arkham Asylum: Living Hell

Written by Dan Slott; pencils by Ryan Sook; ink by Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Jim Royal; covers by Eric Powell.

Related Topics:
Dan Slott - Ryan Sook - Wade Von Grawbadger - Jim Royal - Eric Powell

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A six-issue miniseries and the subsequent trade paperback. An intricate and multi-layered look at Arkham Asylum from several points of view: the director (Dr. Jeremiah Arkham), a psychiatrist (Dr. Anne Carver), the guards (particularly one Aaron Cash), and the inmates (with particular focus on heretofore unknown residents "Jane Doe", "Junkyard Dog", "Doodlebug", "Lunkhead", "Death Rattle", and, perhaps most memorably, "Humpty Dumpty"). The driving force is the recent incarceration of a ruthless investor, Warren "The Great White Shark" White, as well as the demonic element suggested by the title. The most familiar characters, such as the Joker, Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl, and Batman himself, appear for comparatively few pages in this work.

Related Topics:
Miniseries - Commissioner Gordon - Batgirl

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Batman: The Last Arkham

Written by Alan Grant; pencils by Norm Breyfogle.

Related Topics:
Alan Grant - Norm Breyfogle

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Originally a four-issue storyline that kicked off the Shadow of the Bat series. In it, the old Arkham Asylum is destroyed, to be replaced by a new and more modern facility. The story introduces Jeremiah Arkham, the asylum's director, and grandson of Amadeus Arkham; and serial killer Victor Zsasz. These two have, in an uneasy partnership, captured Batman and are holding him prisoner in Arkham, attempting to see what makes him tick.

Related Topics:
Shadow of the Bat - Serial killer - Zsasz

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This story makes a few passing references to the flashback events of Arkham Asylum, such as Amadeus Arkham taping over the mirror, and his journal is shown early in the story. Jeremiah also mentions his relative's descent into madness. This would seem to indicate that at least some of the events in the Arkham Asylum graphic novel did occur in the main continuity.

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An episode of ' titled "Dreams of Darkness", also about Batman in Arkham, seems to have been a very loose adaption of this storyline, replacing Zsasz with the Scarecrow, and replacing Jeremiah Arkham with a more nondescript administrator, who is portayed as clueless and naive rather than sinister.

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