Books read in 2016: No. 20 -- Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean

Started: June 6
Finished: June 7

Notes: I've been in the mood for some comic-bookishness of late, so I thought I'd turn to an old favorite. Unfortunately, I could not find my old paperback for this graphic novel, so I picked up a new one at a comics shop. This particular one is a 15th Anniversary edition, which means it's still 10 years old, and it includes a script, extra notes and extra artwork, which is all fine with me. At the time of the publication of Arkham Asylum, it was the only graphic novel (at least known to me) which really delved into the dark psychology of Batman and his foes, though admittedly from a horror point of view. At the time, much of the psychology and pseudo-psychology and arcane references were not commonly known to the average reader, but nowadays this material is a bit more accessible through the power of the Internet, so it will be interesting to see how well this book has aged.

Mini review: Full of Jungian, occult and mythological imagery, as well as more than a touch of Freud, I'd have to say this one stands up to the test of time pretty well. Dave McKean's artwork still has a more-than-modern flair to it, but then no one is quite like McKean. The inmates of Arkham Asylum take over and Batman has to go in to confront them. At first glance, a simple story, but it's so much more.