Amadeus is trapped in Arkham house as a child, caring for his ill mother who loses her mind. After discovering that the administrator of Arkham Asylum unleashed the inhabitants in order to lure Batman to his death, Batman destroys the asylum with an ax and gets the madmen to release him.Īrkham Asylum begins with an excerpt from Amadeus Arkham's journal, and Arkham's story is interspersed with the modern-day story throughout. The story of Amadeus Arkham, founder of Arkham Asylum, unfolds as Batman faces his own inner demons as well as the insane inhabitants. Batman goes into the insane asylum in exchange for the innocent hostages. Is Batman really just as crazy as the rest, but somehow driven by divine purpose? Let's flip a coin to decide.Arkham Asylum is a graphic novel featuring the super-hero Batman, that tells the story of Joker and other insane Batman villains taking over the Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane where they are incarcerated. While I can't really buy the comparison of Batman to Jesus (it's first implied with a spear stab to his side, then confirmed with a visual side-by-side), the rest of Asylum is brilliant.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is unlike any other Batman book you've ever read. The imagery is beautiful with Batman's battle with Killer Croc the most vivid moment. Many of the pages read down instead of across and it's a disorienting experience.

No other artist, with the exception perhaps of David Mack, could come close to capturing the claustrophobic psychosis permeating Arkham Asylum.

Of course, this is 60 years prior to the birth of Batman and his Rogue Gallery, which then assumes all of this insanity was predestined. At one point he finds a playing card, the Joker, until eventually his madness emerges with the symbol of the bat, tying the Dark Knight to all the other madmen. His journey into madness notes some rather familiar symbols. Parallel to Batman's journey through the Asylum is the tale of Amadeus Arkham, who originally constructed the house in the '20s. The twist - Batman doesn't necessarily disagree. His enemies cause is simple they believe Batman belongs in the Asylum just as much as they do. In fact, it's a calm entrance, with Joker acting as host. Bats agrees and enters the insane asylum, but not with batarangs blazing. They have a list of demands and topping that list is the Batman himself. When the maniacs in the madhouse are set loose inside of Arkham, they hold the workers hostage.

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