Dave McKean

Batman Arkham Asylum - ASHoSE is a rare gem of a graphic novel that displays what the visual medium can do. The art works so well with the themes and tone of the story that’s its hard to imagine this version of Batman any other way.
In Arkham Asylum the idea of sanity at the heart of the Batman mythos is explored to its fullest. The inmates might be running the physical asylum but how this parallels the world-building is explored in every panel. Who are the sane ones and what does sanity show more mean - this is the heart of the message. It is an intensely interesting look at what Batman can represent to Gotham and what our interest in him can say about us. There is plenty of action in this comic but the true meat lies in how the author runs Batman through the meat grinder to see what comes out.

The art in this graphic novel would be annoying anywhere but here. It is all over the place. Sometimes it looks like a vivid painting, other times like a collage of photographed objects. But through the lens of theme, this approach is brilliant. It takes the idea of madness as an ever changing beast and amplifies it to a high-pitched wail. It is often phantasmagorical and complements the ideas so well that it only increases the impact. It is sometimes potentially intensely confusing as people and faces are often nothing more than cigarette burns on a melting page, but usually it is a wondrous horror to behold.

Arkham Asylum is an assault on your eyes and mind. Not an easy read: it can be disturbing, gruesome, and revolting. But I would recommend it. To see how well style and substance can blend, to feel the finger nails of insanity rack against your gray matter and to see the same theme play out in this way is a rare experience. Any fan of the bat should read this. It gives wonderful depth to his character and any fan of comics needs to see what visual story telling can really do when unleashed. show less

My God...

Horrifying, disturbing and yet so unbelievably good and unforgettable.

I had honest-to-god goosebumps and my heart was beating so hard from fear. Fear for Batman's sanity, fear from the Joker's insanity and fear from the painted pictures that looked so alive and ready to jump at me at any moment.

The Joker was at the heart of this story and Grant Morrison really outdone himself in this volume and I can't wait to read more of his works on the Dark Knight.

PS: DON'T READ THIS AT NIGHT! show more You'll have nightmares I'm not kidding.. show less

I’m generally not that into reading what most people consider the comic book canon (superheros, etc), but from time to time I pick one up because the author or illustrator is one whom I follow elsewhere and I’ll at least give a rarely read genre a try to not miss out on their work. Dave McKean was the obvious draw here, since I’ve been obsessed with his work since the Sandman covers, and boy am I glad I dipped into the Batman mythos to see his take on the caped crusader. Obviously show more writer Grant Morrison (whom I have seen elsewhere) gets a solid chunk of credit, since he’s written a Batman story that is dark, macabre, and perfectly suited for those of us who are into the darker side of the Gotham mythos. He tells a story where Batman must enter the halls of Arkham Asylum, in a ransom request by one of his biggest foes (the Joker), and rather than defeating his nemeses in the traditional manner he must face the darkness within himself. The story premise for the time (1989) would have been decidedly unexpected, but for those of us who cut our comic book teeth on the Vertigo lineup (almost exclusively) and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of films it is far from surprising - though it is easy to see it as a solid precursor to the darker Batman franchise that we all know and love. What elevates the graphic novel (and novel it is, rather than a collection of singles) is McKean’s artwork. His style is like none other, and I can’t imagine that readers at the time were anything but absolutely astounded at his creativity, macabre layouts, and the overall visual depth that he lends the narrative. His take on classic Batman villains is unique, to say the least, and the sketch-like quality of the dual narrative lends a moody and surreal atmosphere that would have been absolutely wasted if DC had chosen a traditional line and colour-blocked artist to illuminate Morrison’s strange fever dream of discovery. This might be my favourite Batman story, if only because McKean elevates the visuals to a place that can’t be reached by others, even if, say, the story of Batman’s funeral (a Gaiman conceit) is technically a more nuanced tale. show less

I had planned on rationing out my newly acquired Dave McKean volumes of Pictures that Tick, since his books are few and far between (and not always the easiest to come by), but I couldn’t help but want to keep the luscious fever dream going. While the first volume felt like McKean at his most random (a wonderful, if occasionally disconcerting way to dream), the second night of dreams follows a more narrative path. Bookended by two shorts meant as trials for a tv series exploring show more mythologies from around the world, we are immediately enveloped in a strong storytelling feeling as the nameless man (a god-character) tells his feline companion about the creation of the world. A cat has no use for the concept of humanity’s creation, of course, so their discussion touches on themes of humanity, philosophy, and existentialism - all wrapped in McKean’s gorgeous signature illustrative style. These stories were easy standouts for the entire volume, and I am quietly furious that the series never came into fruition, nor did McKean develop an entire volume dedicated to this project. The potential, oh, the lost potential! The remainder of the shorts between the creation myths were a motley assembly, focusing on exhibited works that had previous incarnations in exhibition spaces, cd inserts, and limited edition booklets. While these range in span and theme, each displays a gorgeously intricate illustrated story that we are lucky to have collected here in one place; nowhere else would we possibly get such a diversity of McKean’s talents, driven both by commission and his own creativity, and without this volume the search for each of these pieces of artwork would be near impossible! Like the dream before, we are left with muddled feelings of melancholy and elation, knowing that we have seen something worthwhile, but also realising that further reflection (or forgetting) may be required to interpret each McKean vision. show less