Arkham Asylum: Madness

It is the most feared house in all of Gotham. It contains the worst that the city has to offer. It is the place where the Dark Knight's most dangerous and psychotic foes call home. Writer / artist Sam Kieth, the creator of THE MAXX, invites you to spend 24 hours in the most haunted house in the DC Universe, Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane in this original Batman graphic novel.

From Booklist

Long before Thomas Harris introduced a dark prison with a world-renowned serial killer in its depths, Gotham City had Arkham Asylum, where every inmate was a Hannibal Lecter. The building where all of Batman’s dreaded foes while away the hours before their next escape takes center stage in what proves to be more a slow-burning psychological thriller than the grisly free-for-all the subject suggests. Sabine is a new nurse who must negotiate the administrative politics of the place as much as the halls that hold cannibals, hideously scarred criminals, and psychotic clowns. The story initially owes plenty to the romance-and-relationship-driven plots of shows like Grey’s Anatomy, and it’s only when Sabine is maneuvered onto the night shift that real danger is introduced. It’s the Joker, naturally, who incites the trouble, but even so, his misdoings prove far tamer than the explosion of loony violence you’d expect. Truly, it’s Kieth’s (The Maxx) plump, gnarly, and richly atmospheric art that creates a sense that, no matter who you are or how you got there, once Arkham has you, it never quite lets go. --Jesse Karp

About the Author

Sam Kieth was born in 1963 started his professional career when he was seventeen. Later on he sold some work to DC Comics and Marvel, where he illustrated Wolverine. In 1987 Kieth drew the first five issues of Neil Gaiman's THE SANDMAN and went on to create his own comic series called THE MAXX, which was published by Image comics from 1993 until 1998. The success of the series spawned an award-winning cartoon on MTV, trading cards, a toy and even some statues. This work is currently in print as graphic novels from DC's WildStorm imprint. Keith's work includes also includes Wolverine/Hulk for Marvel Comics and BATMAN: SECRETS and SCRATCH for DC Comics. He has also created several other creator-owned properties that have been published by WildStorm including EPICURUS THE SAGE and ZERO GIRL.

Reviews

News