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Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane is a Mental Hospital that appears in the Fiction al DC Universe . it is located near Gotham City , and is where many of Batman 's foes are incarcerated. Probably the 'hospital's' most infamous patient is the Joker . The concept was created by Dennis O'Neil , and first appeared in ''Batman'' #258 (October 1974); much of its Back-story was created by Len Wein during the 1980s. Arkham Asylum does not have a good record, at least with regard to the high profile cases; escapes are frequent (on at least one occasion, an Obsessive-compulsive multiple murderer was signed out of Arkham into the care of an Incontinent Alcoholic Vagrant on the grounds that he "looked like a responsible citizen"), and those who are 'cured' and released tend to re-offend. (Furthermore, several staff members, including at least one director, have ended up as residents. See also Harley Quinn .) In addition, prisoners with unusual medical conditions that the regular prisons cannot accommodate are housed here, like Mr. Freeze who requires a strongly refrigerated environment to stay alive. HISTORY TODAY In the world of the Batman stories, the Asylum is named after Elizabeth Arkham, founder Amadeus Arkham's mother. Its dark history began when Arkham's wife and child were Murder ed by one of his patients. Arkham took Revenge by Electrocuting the killer during a Shock Therapy session, and was institutionalized in his own facility. In actuality, it is named in honour of the fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts , one of the settings of H. P. Lovecraft 's horror stories. In fact, when the asylum first appeared, it was actually in the city of Arkham; its Gotham location, and the consequent alternative explanation of the name, were later Retcon s. H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium may have been inspired by the Danvers State Insane Asylum (aka the Danvers State Hospital ) in Danvers, Massachusetts. This first appearance was in 1974, in ''Batman'' #258 by Dennis O'Neil . In this story, it was named as "Arkham Hospital" (although it was already clear what kind of hospital it was); "Arkham Asylum" first appeared in another O'Neil story the following year, but it was not until 1979 that "Arkham Asylum" completely replaced "Arkham Hospital" (and the occasional "Arkham Sanatorium") as the institution's name. By 1979, too, the move to have the asylum closer to Gotham had begun; that was completed in 1980, when ''Batman'' #326 by Len Wein described the Asylum's location "deep in the Suburb s of Gotham City". (Perhaps for this reason ''Batman'' #326 is listed in some histories as the first appearance of Arkham Asylum.) It was also Wein who, in 1985's ''Who's Who'' #1, created the current back-story in which Arkham Asylum was founded in Gotham in the 1920s by Amadeus Arkham. Arkham Asylum has been demolished or destroyed several times in its history, notably during the events of ''Batman: The Last Arkham'' (see below). It was also seriously damaged at the beginning of the Knightfall storyline, when Bane used stolen munitions to blow up the facility and release all the inmates. After these events, the asylum was relocated to a large mansion known as "mercy house", where it remains to this day. At the beginning of the ''No Man's Land'' storyline, the asylum was closed down and all its inmates set free. With the sole exception of the Riddler , the inmates elected to remain in the cut-off Gotham City. INMATES '' #82 (1999). Art by Glen Orbik.]] Originally, Arkham Asylum was used only to house genuinely Insane characters - the Joker and Two-Face were inmates from its very first appearance - but over the course of the 1980s a trend was established of having the majority of Batman's supervillain opponents end up at Arkham, whether or not they were actually insane. Nearly all of Batman's villains have spent some time in Arkham. Even a former Arkham employee is now an inmate; Psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel went insane and turned to Crime , as the loony Harley Quinn , after the Joker, then her patient, seduced her and enlisted her as his Sidekick . Other 'DC Universe' publications that feature Arkham Asylum and its inmates include Alan Moore 's '' Swamp Thing '' (wherein Jason Woodrue (The Floronic Man ) is detained) and '' The Sandman '' by Neil Gaiman , wherein John Dee ( Doctor Destiny ) escapes to wreak havoc on both the 'real' and 'dream' worlds. LIST OF NOTABLE INMATES
GRAPHIC NOVELS FEATURING ARKHAM ASYLUM Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth Main article: ''Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth'' is an original Graphic Novel written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Dave McKean . It was published by DC Comics in 1989. The book sold over 500,000 and was for many years DC's best selling graphic novel. The book was praised for its exploration of ideas and storytelling and also proved financially and artistically lucrative for Morrison. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell Written by Dan Slott ; pencils by Ryan Sook ; ink by Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger , and Jim Royal ; covers by Eric Powell . A six-issue , Batgirl , and Batman himself, appear for comparatively few pages in this work. This series was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Best Limited Series in 2003. Batman: The Last Arkham Written by Alan Grant ; pencils by Norm Breyfogle . Originally a four-issue storyline that kicked off the '''' series. In it, the old Arkham Asylum is destroyed, to be replaced by a new and more modern facility. The story introduces Jeremiah Arkham, the asylum's director, and grandson of Amadeus Arkham; and Serial Killer Victor Zsasz . These two have, in an uneasy partnership, captured Batman and are holding him prisoner in Arkham, attempting to see what makes him tick. This story makes a few passing references to the flashback events of ''Arkham Asylum'', such as Amadeus Arkham taping over the mirror, and his journal is shown early in the story. Jeremiah also mentions his relative's descent into madness. This would seem to indicate that at least some of the events in the ''Arkham Asylum'' graphic novel did occur in the main continuity. An episode of '''' titled "Dreams of Darkness", also about Batman in Arkham, seems to have been a very loose adaption of this storyline, replacing Zsasz with the Scarecrow , and replacing Jeremiah Arkham with a more nondescript administrator, who is portrayed as clueless and naive rather than sinister. ARKHAM IN OTHER MEDIA Arkham has appeared beyond the pages of the comics in numerous guises and designs. Its appearances include:
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