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.
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