Comic Review: Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams #2

Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams #2

IDW Publishing

Writer: Sam Keith

Artist: Sam Keith

You know when you have a major fever, and everything seems bizarre? You get cold sweats, can’t tell what’s real or not; it can be either funny or scary or some weird hybrid of both. Well, that’s essentially what reading Arkham Dreams is like. If you thought the first issue was an absolute mindf**k then oh boy, buckle up your seatbelts because you ain’t seen nothing yet.

We continue on our story with the terrifying new Arkham doctor experimenting on the Maxx’s fragile psyche and unleashing the wonderful world of ‘the Outback’ on everyone, testing each of Gotham’s finest rogues along with Batman’s own messed up mind on his most bizarre adventure yet. However, things are going to get a LOT more complicated and certainly more insane as the next test subject is none other than the Clown Prince of Crime himself: The Joker. Of course, things get stranger, and more complex making you think has the Maxx’s Outback bled into our world, throwing us into the midst of this madness??

Sam Keith continues to take us on a wild ride, notching it up to 11 and throwing us face front into the weird world of the Outback. Keith’s deadpan humour works so well with the Maxx’s responses to this bizarreness being completely genuine and Batman just carrying on with this weirdness. “I have to stop the Joker and oh look there goes a giant whale floating about in the air. Just a normal day in Gotham, I guess.” And we thought Bruce’s mind was messed up already…

What’s brilliant about the story is Keith exploring these characters further, hinting that the Joker has been in the Outback before because of how insane (or is it super sane??) he is and showing us what’s happening in both of these worlds. Now to talk about the art…it’s….something. The last issue I was a bit surprised by this, but now I feel like someone has spiked my cup of tea as I read this at 2 pm in an internet cafe. It’s so fluid and messy and weird and possibly the best way to draw something that’s delving into the psyche of a bunch of insane characters. Everything is over the top and a little bit cartoonish, but it does suit the narrative. The contrast of how bright and colourful everything is in the Outback compared to how grim and dark everything is in Gotham is completely fitting. And those faces…haunting yet hilarious.

Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams is proving to be a lot more fun than expected. Having the Outback bleed into Gotham and exploring some of Gotham’s rogues is a fantastic idea and an adventure/team-up that feels straight up 90’s. I have no idea where exactly this story is meant to go and honestly I don’t even know if Sam Keith does either but let’s roll with that for now. If you want the bizarre, the fun and the downright weird (with a sprinkle of Batman thrown in) then be sure to pick this title up.