Today, BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM debuts on xBox 360, PS3, and PC. Even if you are not a gamer, there is much to be feared and admired in the game’s presentation and storytelling. It’s an extraordinarily well-crafted tribute to Arkham Asylum, the decaying repository for Gotham City’s fiercest foes.
Two key influences seem to be 1.) Batman’s 3D graphic user interface during the climactic sonar scene in last year’s THE DARK KNIGHT, and 2.) more interestingly, ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH.
AA: ASHOSE is a hugely unsettling 1989 graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean, who is most famous for CORALINE, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, SANDMAN, and other ghastly collaborations with Neil Gaiman. In AA:ASHOSE, Mr. McKean brings the haunted hospital to life by combining his stylized sketches and paintings with old & eerie found objects (a dissected stopwatch here, a piece of string there). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Meanwhile, the place itself seems to take its name from Arkham, Massachusetts, which happens to not exist in real life. Rather, it’s a town created by famed horror author H. P. Lovecraft.
Oh my God, that’s just frickin awesome. You’ve driven a car before?
MEDIEVAL FAIRS!!!!I LOVE THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS!!
Only, I have rennasonce fair, or however you spell it.
You seriously have a sword?
Again, You’re a lucky bastard.
Join the club, Chris. I’ve noticed that whenever Brandon (the stupidest, most jackass-tastic kid at my school) annoys me, I suddenly have the urge to go home, grab my dragon sword (that I got from the Medieval Faire) and dismember him. Unfortunately, I’d probably get arrested for underage driving. (Like that hasn’t happened before… someone gets in a hit-and-run and the cops automatically assume it’s me)
Ummmmm….
o_0!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Well, I just decided I have full on schizophrenia, no joke. I keep getting murderous urges and my thoughts aren’t always in the right order, and… all the symptoms. Auditory hallucinations too. I decided to tell you all this on this one because it was the most fitting spot.
DJ, YOU LUCKY BASTARD!
He hasny replied to ANYBODY since, what? Mayy or something, last time I checked!
It’s about a serial killer who dresses up in a Halloween costume, so it’d be right up your alley.
Woo-hoo, Joshua Gee replied to the comic geek! Score for the nerd!
THE KILLING JOKE is a favorite of mine, too. I will have to check out THE LONG HALLOWEEN!
Joshua, if you liked A Serious House On A Serious Earth, you should definitely keep an eye out for Batman: The Killing Joke, by Alan Moore, and Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb. They are two graphic novel masterpieces, and no less horrific than ASHOSE.