#Spooktober 11 – Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth

October 11, 2023

There aren’t many places that spell “Halloween” more than Gotham City and, in Gotham, the crown piece has to be Arkham Asylum. Whether you’re a DC fan or not, I suggest you give it a chance this October and, if you don’t know where to start, I can only point you towards this graphic novel written by Grant Morrison (not a fan) and illustrated by Dave McKean (definitely a fan).

The story follows Batman, “the world’s greatest detective”, as he’s called to quell a riot inside the Asylum. As he fights historical opponents such as the Joker, he has to venture deeper and deeper into the building, eventually discovering how it was founded and its connection with ancient, more haunting mysteries. Through the diary of the asylum’s founder, Amadeus Arkham, the story takes us through the horror of how society deals with mental illness, without mercy and without quarters, in one of the few stories subverting the insane monster trope otherwise permeating Batman’s universe.

comics and illustration

Leo Ortolani, Tapum

A un certo punto ci sarà una battuta, in questo fumetto, e riderete. Sappiate che è l’unica. Com’è giusto che sia. Se devo paragonare quest’opera a qualcosa, il confronto più azzeccato è probabilmente lo spettacolo che Marco Paolini trasse dal Sergente nella neve di Rigoni

August 9, 2026 9:00 am

Summertime

Omeros in the Caribbeans

Derek Walcott was a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, and painter, and one of the major voices of Caribbean literature. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992, and his work often explores Caribbean history, identity, colonial inheritance, and the meeting of European and African

August 9, 2026 6:00 am

books and literature

Ioanna Papadopoulou’s The Castaway and the Witch

I had a genuine “oh shit” moment when I read the author’s preface saying this was darker than “Winter Harvest” because – and I absolutely ADORED “Winter Harvest” – that was pitch-black dark. I thought “we’re all going to die”. This maybe has something to

August 8, 2026 9:00 am