| "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" | |
|---|---|
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| Batman One-Shots | |
| Title: | "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Cover price: | $24.95 |
| Cover date: | October, 1989 |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Credits | |
| Chief: | Jenette Kahn |
| Ex. Ed: | Dick Giordano |
| Writers: | Grant Morrison |
| Pencilers: | Dave McKean |
| Inkers: | Dave McKean |
| Cover artists: | Dave McKean |
| Cover inker: | Dave McKean |
| Cover colorist: | Dave McKean |
| Cover letterer: | Dave McKean |
| Colorists: | Dave McKean |
| Letterers: | Gaspar Saladino |
| Assistants: | Art Young |
| Editors: | Karen Berger |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | — |
"Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" is a hardcover graphic novel of the crime noir genre. It was published by DC Comics and relates to the Batman line of comic book titles. The story was written by Grant Morrison with painted artwork by Dave McKean, who also rendered the cover art illustration. It was edited by Karen Berger with Art Young as assistant editor. This volume was released in October, 1989 and carries a cover price of $24.95 per copy (US).
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- Constance Arkham
- Elizabeth Arkham
- Harriet Arkham
- Joe Chill (In flashback only)
- Martha Wayne (In flashback only)
- Pearl
- Thomas Wayne (In flashback only)
- Unnamed security guard
Other loonies
- Clayface, Preston Payne (Behind the scenes only)
- Doctor Destiny, John Dee
- Killer Croc, Waylon Jones
- Mad Hatter, Jervis Tetch
- Maxie Zeus
- Professor Milo, Achilles Milo (Referenced only)
- Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane
- Two-Face, Harvey Dent
Organizations
- Gotham City Police Department (Commissioner Gordon only)
Races
Locations
- Gotham City Police Headquarters (Roof only)
- Park Row (In flashback only)
Items
Vehicles
Miscellaneous
- 1900s
- 1920s
- Decapitation
- Dismemberment
- Doctor
- Impalement
- Inmate
- Mental health facility
- Mental patient
- Prison
- Psychiatrist
- Slit throat
Notes & Trivia[]
25th Anniversary edition cover.
- Batman was created by comic book writer Bill Finger and graphic artist Bob Kane. He first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May, 1939.
- This volume was reprinted in 2004 as a 15th anniversary edition, and again in 2014 as a 25th anniversary edition. The 15th anniversary edition, released in October, boasts a new original cover art graphic by Dave McKean. The 25th anniversary edition also has an original cover art piece.
- The origin of Arkham Asylum is presented in this story. It is unclear which elements of the tale, if any, are maintained as part of canon continuity, though most sources accept the history of the asylum as canonical, even if some of the modern events seem incongruous with current historical and behavioral traits of other characters.
- The main events of this story take place in the modern era on April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day. Flashback scenes involving Amadeus Arkham take place in 1901, 1920, 1921, and 1922, with a reference to the year 1929.
- Reference is made to the 1960 thriller film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anthony Perkins. The line "A boy's best friend is his mother" is spoken in narrative in this story, and there is a panel showing a distorted image of Norman Bates from the end of the film, which is the scene wherein he is locked up inside of a mental hospital.
- The origin of Bruce Wayne is briefly recapped in this story. This includes walking home from the movie theater with his parents, and the subsequent murder of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. The movie marquis shown in the background indicates the film as Zorro. Other have cited The Mark of Zorro as the movie the Waynes had just seen. In this version, Bruce Wayne is seen crying because the film scared him, and Thomas Wayne admonishes him for his behavior. This is a different take on the origin story from any that has come before.