Comic Review: Arkham Manor vol 1

Arkham Manor vol 1 (#1-6)
written by Gerry Duggan
art by Shawn Crystal
DC Comics

eARC received for review

When catastrophe strikes Arkham Asylum, where will Gotham City house the world's most dangerous criminals, and when inmates are found murdered, what is Batman prepared to do in search of justice? Arkham's madness comes home in ARKHAM MANOR! A bold new collection brought to you by Gerry Duggan ("Deadpool, Nova") and Shawn Crystal ("Deadpool, Wolverine and the X-Men"). Collects issues #1-6 of "Arkham Manor."

In this series, Wayne Manor has been turned into Arkham Manor after the asylum's collapse. Why this has happened isa bit of a mystery, since there are surely better places to hold inmates, instead of raiding someone's home. 

Someone has been killing inmates, so what does Bruce do? Disguise himself as a John Doe of course. Because that's logical. 
The writing wasn't to my liking. It was too detective noir, which I agree was the right tone for the story, but just didn't sit well with me. It's not too original a story, and the while the bad guy was unique and a fresh face, the build up, while purposely misleading, was shoddily done. I wasn't a fan of the way it was handled.

The writing is amateurish--too much telling: "I feel this", "I feel that". Makes for some pretty cheap and dull writing. All this could have easily been conveyed in the art, as is done in most good comics.

I'm not a fan of the art. It feels too gritty for me, even though I suppose it fits with the gritty tone of the story. 
I think the one thing I did enjoy was the interactions with Victor Fries. It was kind of cute the way he acted, especially once he gets released from the manor. His first action is to lie in the snow and make snow angels, which is just adorable. Fries is one of those characters I jut adore, and this comic just intensified it.

Overall, I'm not too impressed. I just want them to rebuild Arkham Asylum and go back to having good old family time in Wayne Manor.