Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth is a
graphic novel written by
Grant Morrison and painted by
Dave McKean. It was published by
DC in 1989. It made reference to the treatment of several of the patients, such as the attempt to wean Two-Face away from dependence on his coin for decision making, first with a die and then a deck of cards. It once again portrays the asylum as having been taken over by its patients.
A Serious House on Serious Earth has been critically acclaimed, having been called "one of the finest superhero books to ever grace a bookshelf." IGN ranked it as number four in a list of the 25 greatest Batman graphic novels, behind
The Killing Joke,
The Dark Knight Returns, and
Year One, whilst Forbidden Planet named it number eight in their "50 Best of the Best Graphic Novels" list.
Batman: The Last Arkham Batman: The Last Arkham was written by
Alan Grant; pencils by
Norm Breyfogle, originally a four-issue storyline that kicked off the
Batman: 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 nephew of Amadeus Arkham. In an attempt to discover how criminals, specifically Zsasz, keep escaping, Batman has himself committed to the asylum. Jeremiah uses various methods, such as unleashing many patients on Batman at once, in an attempt to gain psychological insight on the vigilante. This story makes a few passing references to the events of
A Serious House on Serious Earth, 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 mental illness.
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell Arkham Asylum: Living Hell was written by
Dan Slott, penciled by
Ryan Sook with inks by Sook,
Wade Von Grawbadger and Jim Royal. The series was edited by
Valerie D'Orazio.
Eric Powell created the painted cover art which appeared on both the original series and graphic novel compilation. This six-issue
miniseries and the subsequent trade paperback provided an intricate and multi-layered look at Arkham Asylum from several points of view: director
Jeremiah Arkham; psychiatrist Dr. Anne Carver; the guards, chiefly Aaron Cash; and the patients. There is a particular focus on previously unknown residents: Jane Doe, a
cypher who assumes the identities of those she kills; Junkyard Dog, a man obsessed with trash; Doodlebug, an artist who uses blood in his paintings; the hulking bruiser Lunkhead; Death Rattle, a
cult leader who speaks to the dead; and
Humpty Dumpty, a savant obsessed with taking apart and repairing various objects. The driving force is the recent admission of a ruthless investor,
Warren White, as well as the demonic element suggested by the title. White, facing charges of massive fraud, pleads insanity to avoid being sent to prison, knowing he can bribe a Gotham jury. The judge sees through White's attempt to avoid prison and has White admitted to Arkham, which White himself had never even heard of up until that point. He soon realizes the horrors of the place and tries to survive. Ultimately, White is locked in Mr. Freeze's cell and loses his nose and his lips to frostbite. The demonic threat is nullified after the sacrifice of several patients, thanks to the joint effort of
Etrigan the Demon and White tricking the demons into sending themselves back to the Underworld.
Black Orchid Black Orchid, written by
Neil Gaiman and illustrated by
Dave McKean, also featured Arkham Asylum. The award-winning graphic novel introduced an updated version of the crimefighter
Black Orchid, who dies, is reborn and starts a quest to find her identity. During this she encounters Batman, who directs her to Arkham Asylum, where she meets the
Mad Hatter,
Poison Ivy, Two-Face and the Joker. Arkham is viewed as a desperate place where patients dwell in terror, much in the same fashion as in
A Serious House on Serious Earth, which was also illustrated by McKean.
Arkham Reborn Arkham Reborn is a three-part miniseries written by
David Hine and illustrated by Jeremy Haun. It tells the story of the rebuilding of the Asylum after having been destroyed by
Black Mask during the events of "Battle for the Cowl". In
Batman #697, it is revealed that Dr. Jeremiah Arkham is the new Black Mask. More is revealed about Dr. Jeremiah Arkham in
Detective Comics #864 and #865.
Batman: The Man Who Laughs The Man Who Laughs is a
one-shot prestige format comic book written by
Ed Brubaker and illustrated by
Doug Mahnke and
Patrick Zircher, released in February 2005. The comic reveals some of the asylum's dark history. As a reporter reports on the asylum's renovation, the Joker poisons her and the crew, stealing the news van to broadcast whenever he wants. He later releases criminally insane patients at Williams Medical Center, who, in a short number of weeks, would have been transferred to Arkham Asylum. In the end, Joker is defeated and he himself is locked behind bars, in a
straitjacket at Arkham. The graphic novel was reprinted with
Detective Comics #784-786–a storyline entitled "Made of Wood," also written by Brubaker with art by Zircher. In the storyline,
Batman and
Green Lantern track the "Made of Wood" serial killer, whose killing spree was cut short when he was admitted to Arkham Asylum. Ex-Commissioner
James Gordon is also pursuing the killer and he narrows the search down to the two men admitted to Arkham in December 1948, the only living one hardly able to walk and ignorant of the killings. Gordon reaches the grandson of the other, who has taken up the "Made of Wood" killer's mantle. == Other versions ==