In 1920, following the death of his insane mother, the brilliant psychologist Amadeus Arkham begins the conversion of his ancestral home into a hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill, little suspecting that he has set into motion a nightmarish chain of event and consequence.More than half a century later, Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is a place of dismal corridors and oppressive shadows. A bad dream house. A riddle in stone and timber, best left unsolved. For years, the demented and deformed enemies of the Batman have been imprisoned within the claustrophobic walls. In padded cells and unlit cellars, they have brooded and plotted dreaming of a day when they might rise up and overthrow the world of reason
That day has come.
It is April 1st and the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Led by the Joker, they issue a terrible challenge to the one man responsible for their imprisonment.
The Batman
In a harrowing contest of wits with his greatest enemies, the Batman must descend into the heart of darkness, confront his greatest fears and learn the truths of his own experience, or be broken.
This has always been one of my favorite Batman stories.