Speakeasy #93, Dec '88

Madhouse

Grant Morrison talks to Alan Mitchell about his forthcoming Batman Graphic

Novel: Arkham Asylum.


AM: There have been many rumours about Arkham Asylum, saying that your

treatment of Batman was so extreme that DC were having second thoughts about

the project. Can you confirm when is the book due to appear?

GM: Initially it was scheduled for February, but now, as far as I know, it's

scheduled for Spring, so it might be anything from May to next summer. From

what I know, it's gone through. Jenette Kahn rang me the other day and told me

I was the Emily Brontė of comics. (Laughter) Make of that what you want!

AM: Can you tell us what Arkham Asylum is about?

GM: The basic plot is that it takes place on April 1st, when Batman's forced

to spend the night in Arkham Asylum, where he's forced to undergo various

psychological and physical tortures at the hands of his enemies in the asylum.

That's just the very simple plot, but obviously it's a very complex book.

AM: Why did you want to do the book?

GM: It's one of the ideas that I've had in mind for a long, long time. The

asylum is such a brilliant symbol to explore the whole idea of Batman's

personality and Batman's psychology. Because the asylum is in the Batman

continuity, this house where all these terrible people are kept, it's a good

way to explore things about his world and those kind of characters.
Originally it was supposed to be Berni Wrightson drawing it and they gave him

the original script. Fortunately that didn't happen. Berni Wrightson's OK, he

was good in 1972 but I don't think he could handle it now. It went to Bill

Sienkiewicz next, and he was interested, but he's just started on Stray

Toasters so obviously  he couldn't take it on. Then it went to Dave (McKean),

and when I found out Dave was doing it, it completely changed the concept of
what I wanted to do. It's become much more extreme, much more thoughtful, I

think it's closer to the mainstream tradition, even though it's got these

ridiculous characters in it.

AM: How would you describe Dave McKean's visual interpretation of Batman?

GM: Batman is almost an essence, this character who just rushes about, a

kinetic blur, a great bulk of a man. You never see any yellow bat-symbol, you

never see spiked gloves, you never actually see a mask which ends, it's just

this blurred face. I think it's just astonishing, the one page that I've seen

that Dave did as a sample.

AM: How long will the project take to finish?

GM: From now on, it's really up to Dave and how much work he wants to put into

it. Obviously we're working to a schedule, but it's the sort of project that

we don't want to rush on, and if Dave feels he has to take more time, then

fair enough.

AM: Is this going to be a one-off?

GM: It has nothing to do with Batman continuity. It has these characters, but

they've got completely different origins, they look different. There's no real

connection with Batman continuity, it's a one-off that just exists in its own

space.

AM: What made you want to explore the character of Batman in this way?

GM: It's impossible if you have any degree of thought at all to come to the

character of Batman without saying, 'Why the hell does the man do this? Why

originally did he dress up like this? Why would he go out and beat up

muggers?' The guy's got a diseased, sick mind, you know? That's what we want

to explore, and that's what DC were a bit touchy about. But once I explained

it to them they were OK.

AM: Do you see Batman as essentially a vigilante character?

GM: We don't actually deal with the vigilante aspect at all. I think that's

something Frank Miller deals with pretty effectively in Dark Knight, and

there's no point going over that again. All we're concerned with in this story

is the psychology of a man who watched his parents being shot dead at the age

of nine, what that would do to someone. And basically he's at Arkham Asylum

and the different villains are waiting for him in different rooms, and each
room corresponds to a different psychological state. It's a psychological

drama.

AM: Would you say this represents the essence of Batman?

GM: There's been so much hype for projects recently, I don't want any hype for

this. It's a book, I want it to come out. If people like it, they like it. If

they don't they can throw it in the bin. I don't want to tell people it's the

definitive Batman or anything, it's just a story.