A comiXologist Recommends:
Jen Keith recommends Arkham Manor #1

The screams of Batman’s most deranged foes echo off the walls of…Wayne Manor? Arkham Asylum, obliterated after the events of Batman Eternal, needs a new location, and the Wayne family home seems ideal to beleaguered city officials now that Bruce Wayne’s lost his fortune. The ghosts of Bruce’s past haunt the halls with the monsters of his present as the house of his father becomes his house of horrors in Arkham Manor #1.

Gerry Duggan writes beyond BAM and POW action for insights into Bruce Wayne, his history, his father’s history, what these changes mean for the Dark Knight, and how this might help the inmates of Arkham. That look into the human psyche and how Batman relates to Arkham’s most-troubled is one of the most fascinating facets of the character, and I’ve high hopes for this becoming a series just as memorable and engrossing as Arkham Asylum. Indeed, if Arkham Asylum is about Batman and Arkham, then perhaps Arkham Manor is about Bruce Wayne and the asylum. This first issue broaches the topic of the failings of the mental health care system, so it seems a more nuanced exploration of Arkham’s doings is in order as the inmates may find sanctuary and home.

Artist Shawn Crystal delivers with gritty inks and a stylization just on the right side of animated and angular to lend a lot of personality to a familiar cast. Sure, Bruce Wayne is a central character, but so is the house; the architecture of Bruce’s almost cavernous home mixes and distorts into the shadows of Arkham. Between this veering from a more traditional DC house style and that you don’t need to read any other issues to jump into this series (it’s easily summarized in the first few pages), this is a great story for the new, casual, or avid fan.

Both Arkham Manor and the new kid-friendly Gotham Academy prove that 75 years might be a lot of Batman to keep track of, but there is still a vast and twisted playground to explore with this character, his city, and his infamous hoard of villains.

[Read Arkham Manor #1 on comiXology]

_{Jen Keith is a Digital Editor at comiXology, comic artist, music addict, and finally figured out a Halloween costume that, coincidentally, has to do with Batman.}