Arkham Asylum: Living Hell

Rating:
Summary: Now entering hell
Review: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell was something I picked up on impulse; I'd decided to buy Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum, and thought that any trade paperback featuring Arkham Asylum would be an interesting read. After reading both, I've decided that I actually like Living Hell better.

When the finance world's "Great White Shark" Warren White pleads insanity to get out of an embezzlement charge, he finds himself in Arkham Asylum, living with dangerous psychos like the Joker, Two Face, Killer Croc, and a host of others. At the same time Warren is being attacked, chief of security Aaron Cash is dealing with the loss of a co-worker and his hand, torn off in a vicious attack.

Writer Dan Slott weaves between these two plot threads, as well as a third, with little effort. As Batman, Batgirl, and even the more notable villains only show up as cameos, Slott treats readers to the day to day life of Gotham's madhouse. Guards do prisoners favours, contraband is swapped, secret rendevous are formed, and all of it can only be dealt with with tranquilizers and "unscheduled nap times". Slott also manages to introduce a couple of new villains with worthy origin stories. Humpty Dumpty is a mild-mannered egg-shaped man who takes his obsession with fixing things a bit too far. Junkyard Dog sifts through garbage and finds value in discarded objects. Jane Doe assumes the personalities and lives of those she kills. And Doodlebug will kill for his art.

Speaking of art, it's all very well done. Maybe nothing eye-catching like Morrison's Arkham book, but it really fits the tone of the story. My only gripe with Living Hell is the last chapter, where things really take a bizzare twist. Without spoiling too much, it involves an appearance by Jason Blood (and the demon Etrigan) and ancient rituals involving the undead. This part of the story threw me off, and while I eventually understood it, it's not the direction I wouldve taken the book in.

Still, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell is a great read. The focus is on Arkham, not a Batman story involving Arkham, and the result is something that adds depth to the Batman universe.