Arkham Asylum: Living Hell

(DC, 2003–2004, 2011)
™ and © DC Comics, Inc.

If the remaining five issues of this mini-series are as clever, as thoughtful, and as entertaining as this first installment, readers will not want to miss a single moment. A standalone story detailing the account of a sane (if thoroughly corrupt) white-collar criminal’s stay at the infamous home for the criminally insane, “Whole in the Head” hinges on an utterly delicious concept: the fact that, in Gotham City, it is probably (make that absolutely) better to be found guilty than innocent by reason of insanity. No one, especially not a rich, pampered brat whom everyone hates, wants to do time alongside the likes of The Joker, Two-Face, and The Mad Hatter. Another engaging aspect of the story revolves around the rich portrayal of the prison psychiatrist, who in many ways feels as imprisoned as the inmates she counsels.

There are a number of priceless moments in the first issue, two of which stand out: the smirk on the judge’s face when he sentences the man to an indefinite period of observation at Arkham, and The Joker calling the new inmate “the worst person I’ve ever met” (while in the shower, no less).

Holding the package together is the art of Ryan Sook. His style, which borrows from Mike Mignola (but not slavishly), fits the darkly desperate tale well.

— Brett Weiss

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