Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Batman Arkham Asylum

Grant Morrison’s, “Batman Arkham Asylum” was by far one of the most intense graphic novels I’ve read this semester. I wasn’t expecting much since the only exposure I’ve really had to batman was in the form of cartoons and cheesy 70’s movies. I was pleasantly surprised, though, both by the art and the story. The hand-painted look of the novel was a little jarring at first, however, it grew on me as the story progressed, and by the end I really felt that it couldn’t have been told as well without it. The dark smoky atmosphere that the world seems to exist in helps obscure details and really emphasizes the idea that the border between perception and reality is blurring. The more we are told about Arkham’s story, for example, the more each panel becomes less about detail and more about mood and abstraction of the feeling that the story is conveying. This was really nice to see, especially set next to a character like Batman that we know so well. I enjoyed the novel from start to finish. My only real hang-up was that the text was very small and oftentimes difficult to read. Other than that though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

No comments:

Post a Comment