![]() The main question posed by the book is whether or not Batman belongs out there in the city or trapped behind the walls of the asylum. Stepping into Arkham Asylum is like stepping into another world. We’ve barely ever seen the Joker go that far in a comic before. It starts off like a traditional Batman story, but we know it’s not. The opening perfectly sets up everything to follow. While he later discovers that she is fine, it does not make the moment itself any less unnerving. The girl screams and Batman leaps into action. The Joker simply describes to Batman over the phone that he is sharpening a pencil and that he is about to drive it into a girl’s eye. Like the best horror films, we don’t actually see this happen. Right at the beginning, to show not only the serious threat but the world of madness that Batman is about to step into, we are treated to a moment that is as terrifying as anything the Joker has done. ![]() But there’s always an element of doubt buried deep below the surface and that is precisely the nerve that Morrison was looking to expose with Arkham Asylum. He convinces himself that this is the way he needs to operate in order to do the things he needs to do. ![]() Opening up.īatman always has an extremely strong handle on himself, his emotions, his reactions to his surroundings and even the pain he allows himself to feel. He doesn’t want to fight, he wants to talk, and that has always been something that both Bruce and the Batman are afraid of: talking. But that’s precisely what he does to Batman, in fact, it’s almost all he’s interested in doing. Considering the things the Joker does and the way he operates, he’s probably the last person you’d want examining your psyche. More than that, he’s getting inside Batman’s head. The Joker is at his most spastic, most chaotic and unpredictable here. From beginning to end, this book is a work of pure psychological horror. ![]() While recent writers like Scott Snyder have harkened back to horror, with arcs like the very Hannibal-esque Death of the Family, those roots are rarely well and truly embraced.Īnd then, of course, there’s Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. While the Dark Knight is still certainly dark, most writers who come to the material are influenced primarily by the hard-edged crime thrillers penned by Frank Miller or the Holmesian detective Neal Adams Batman when they get the chance to tell their own Batman stories. Yet so few Batman stories over time have truly embraced these gothic horror roots. Caligari and Nosferatu when he did his two Batman films-particularly the second-and the name of the asylum itself is even derived from the work of classic horror author H.P. Tim Burton was very much inspired by German Expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Several of them, like Two-Face, Man-Bat and even the Joker, have tragic origins and personalities that easily relate them to the likes of the Universal classic monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man. Many of the classic Batman villains could easily have found another life as stars of their own horror franchises. Gothic horror in particular has always had an influence on the Dark Knight and the stylized world he inhabits. More than any other superhero-themed comic book property, Batman is intimately tied to the horror genre. Dark Was the Knight: Remembering Arkham Asylum ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |