When it comes to comics, I’ve always been a bit of a puritan. Although the blockbuster films and small-screen crossovers may attract the most attention, to me superheroes are at their most refined and best in the medium they were originally written for. Nothing beats a great comic book. Despite their spectacle, the films lack the same artistic amazement that the work of an artist like Neal Adams or George Perez could create with just a few pens, brushes and ink. However, there is one non-comic medium which can nearly rival superheroes when it comes to quality. That is – unsurprisingly – animation. This medium has been around just as long as comic books. Together, they have enjoyed nine decades of fame. But for many decades, animation remained primitive on the superhero front. Just look at shows like Super-Friends or the Superman-Aquaman Adventure Hour, both of which while adequately fun, are nothing of note. But then in 1992 something changed. With the foundation of Fox Kids in the US two years prior, a new kind of animation for Batman was sought. In the end, it was the genius of Bruce Timm and his chums that we got Batman: The Animated Series. Mixing Timm’s appropriate but still gothic and visually amazing art style with engaging stories for all ages, BTAS stands easily as the best animated series for any comic book character. And with that success came the inevitable comic book spin-off!
Strange how an animated series designed as a spin-off from the comics can launch it’s own spin-off comic series. That’s what happens when creativity and money mixes. Regardless, I’ll be looking at The Batman Adventures 1-10 in this review published from October 1992 to July 1993. Written mainly by Kelley Puckett with various artists, I’ve read these stories in The Batman Adventures Volume One trade paperback.
Before we get into the stories, it’s important to note why Batman: The Animated Series was a success. It wasn’t just because of the flawless voice acting from the likes or Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, or the quality of the storytelling, or the liquidity of the art. In fact, it was all three, but they were symptoms an art decision that was integral to the show’s success. The decision taken was that – by and large – the animated series should be a faithful but original translation from page to screen. While the animated series was unique in its visuals, it was very much influenced by the comics. The storytelling could sometimes be one-to-one translation. In short, it converted the fantastic Batman comics of the late-1980s and early-1990s (excluding most visual violence) into animation and to great success. As for the Batman Adventures series, these were aimed at younger readers. But like the animated series, it isn’t targeted wholly at children. It’s for everyone, and that’s what makes it fantastic.
Penguin’s Big Score/Catwoman’s Killer Caper/Joker’s Late-Night Lunacy --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Ty Templeton and Rick Burchett
To kick things off, writer Kelley Puckett launches the title with a three-parter. Sort of. Although the first three issues of the run have their own unique plots, they are all linked by one common foe. That villain is – unsurprisingly – the Dark Knight’s most famous foe.
Penguin’s Big Score begins with Oswald Cobblepot berating his useless underlings. Success hasn’t been coming the Penguin’s way and he needs a scheme to put himself back on the map of Gotham’s underworld. That’s where the Joker comes in. Although trying to work mysteriously, the Joker is revealed as the background threat very early on – he asks the Penguin for help in an elaborate plot to defeat Batman. This is where the Joker’s involvement in the first issue ends, for the Penguin’s presence becomes stronger. The Penguin has decided to rob all the banks in Gotham so he can donate the money to charities. In effect, he wants to become a philanthropist. However, Batman sees through this scheme and by donating more money to charity than Cobblepot, Bruce Wayne reclaims his place as Gotham’s charitable millionaire. This, of course, reveals the Penguin’s true colours as the villain then plans to rob Bruce Wayne of his riches. But as Batman, Bruce defeats the Penguin and ends his plan. All-in-all, it’s a pretty standard Penguin story involving money, fame, and stealing. Very faithfully, Puckett’s plotting feels very similar to the animated series. Structurally, if you’re used to BTAS then the Batman Adventures should not feel very different. Readers aren’t thrown into 20 pages exclusively of action or dialogue. Puckett provides a real mixture here. He also captures the characters well and I like how he manages to incorporate both Batman and Bruce Wayne into the story. The plot may be regular and a bit dull at times, but the presence of an engaging overarching story is grand. During the story, the Penguin obtained something for the Clown Price of Crime. Whatever it is, however, we’ll have to wait and see.
Like The Batman Adventures 1, Catwoman’s Killer Caper follows a very similar pattern. Selina Kyle, otherwise known as Catwoman, is the most dangerous jewel thief in Gotham, but times are hard and she needs money. Once again, the Joker appears and makes her an offer she can’t refuse. From there, Catwoman steals the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Yes, Batman has to go to Britain and yes, American writers still write the UK as if it is still living in the 19th century. Regardless, the story is more unpredictable than the Penguin one. Batman seemingly knows the answer to the mystery behind Catwoman’s plan quite quickly. It’s revealed that Catwoman didn’t in fact steal the Crown Jewels but she hid them underneath the podium they usually rest upon. She did so that security would think they really had been stolen and once the scene calmed down, she would return to take them for real. It isn’t exactly possible to ignore the many faults of this plan (why didn’t the security look under the podium, or why didn’t Catwoman just steal them the first time around anyway?), but the main point is that Batman is victorious and Catwoman leaves emptyhanded. Well, that’s not entirely true, as the next issue shows. But on the whole, despite its pretentiousness, it’s a decent mystery and has some nice moments.
The Batman Adventures 3 is the issue which we’ve all been waiting for. Commissioner Gordon is kidnapped by the Joker, who – by using the stolen items sought by the Penguin and Catwoman – has overridden every TV station in Gotham with Joker TV. Broadcasting live, the Joker tortures Gordon and pledges to seek out a second victim for his show the following night. That poor guest turns out to be Harvey Dent, the DA. Some might have forgotten that Harvey Dent was actually present in the animated series before he became Two-Face. For a few episodes, he wasn’t yet a villain. Puckett writes a kind Harvey Dent, but one who clearly has that nasty streak which becomes highly dominant when he comes Two-Face. Regardless, Harvey Dent and Batman work together and create a fantastic plan. Basically, the two of them swap places in order to stun and defeat the Joker. Both are captured by the Joker, but when the villain unveils the Dark Knight’s mask live on TV, it’s Harvey instead of Bruce.
The captured Harvey Dent is revealed to be Batman, who blows the Joker’s plan. But as ever, the villainous clown escapes to fight another day. The third part of this partly-connected story stands easily as the most enjoyable part. Not only does it connect the dots, but it provides a creative story with many twists and turns. In fact, Puckett’s creativity seems to develop with each issue. The Joker is an entertaining but cruel foe, and the writer continues to respect the animated universe lore. For instance, Harvey Bullock’s hatred for Batman isn’t calmed here. With a good but unoriginal first issue, an enjoyable but illogical second issue, and lastly a flawless third issue, the Batman Adventures gets off to a good start.
Riot Act --- Written by Martin Pasko and Kelley Puckett with art by Brad Rader and Rick Burchett
Out of all 36 issues of The Batman Adventures, issues 4 and 5 easily qualify as the most televisual episodes of the run. That is likely because Riot Act, a two-parter, is written by television writer Martin Pasko, who had enjoyed success writing Swamp Thing (vol 2) 1-19 and was to enjoy even more of it after co-writing The Mask of the Phantasm in 1993. Riot Act feels different in terms of storytelling from the work produced by Puckett, but the plotting is just as engaging and clever.
It's a normal day in Gotham City until suddenly, everyone loses the ability to read. This fantastic concept is made even greater by the inclusion of the most dramatic of human emotions – fear. News reporters, doctors, bankers and everyday men and women enter mass panic as words are now literally meaningless. Already, Pasko’s story hits a high level of quality through its use of characters. While Batman is forced to wake up in the day to try and solve this mystery, Dick Grayson enters the scene. As Robin, he enters Gotham shocked to witness not just panic, but rioting. Soon enough, the young hero himself falls prey to this illness. And just as hopes seem to darken with each page, the villain behind this elaborate scheme is revealed. Enter the Scarecrow, the king of fear. Pasko’s excellent storytelling throughout the first part heightens the stakes for the second part as things just get worse and worse for Gotham. With drama, fear and action, Riot Act’s first part ends with confusion about how the heroes can turn things around.
During the first part, it’s worth mentioning that Robin took out a group of thugs who were taking electrical equipment such as TVs and radios which were blasting out a signal. It’s quickly revealed that this is how the Scarecrow is achieving his goal. For Batman and Robin, it literally becomes a goal about tracking the Scarecrow and taking him out in his headquarters. But along the way, the drama of the first part continues. For example, an old woman takes the wrong pills and falls ill. Although this woman is the son of one of Scarecrow’s henchmen who Batman interrogates in order to create an antidote for the crisis, it’s still a strongly emotional moment. Again, it’s just about suitable for kids while strong enough for adults. Also, Pasko examines the Scarecrow’s personality very closely and his insanity is not as plain as, say, the Joker’s.
His ambition to conquer fear and explore it through torture is an interesting concept anyway, but Pasko explores the anguish within and it makes Jonathan Crane into a far more interesting villain than he usually was in the 1990s, a time when he was fascinated by crows in the mainstream titles. Regardless, despite much of the drama and shocking content homed in the first part, the second part is a decent conclusion to one of the most adult, yet inclusively rich and emotional stories of the whole run.
The Third Door --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Brad Rader and Rick Burchett
From Batman Adventures 6 through to the final three issues of the run, the rest of the stories are all one-offs. That is disappointing, as both Puckett and Pasko have shown how good longform stories can be. Nevertheless, The Third Door is another great mystery story. Puckett hooks us in right from the start as Bruce Wayne is arrested for murder. Interrogated by Harvey Bullock, Bruce is accused of killing Jacob Brenner, a famed American diplomat. Think of him like this world’s Henry Kissinger. He and Bruce get on, but during the party, Brenner retires to his room and is shot dead there. Bruce, hearing the gunshot from the lower floor, secretly climbs up using his Batman athletics. With that, Bruce cannot give a good reason to the police for why he was innocent, otherwise he would reveal himself to be as agile as Batman. Okay, I think that telling the truth here wouldn’t compromise Batman, but still Bruce is seen as the most likely suspect. Regardless, Batman escapes from prison only to find that Brenner was killed by the host of the party, named Crenshaw, who ran an arms business opposed to Brenner’s political views. With this standard political ending, this story is one where the build-up to the conclusion is far better than the ending itself. This just feels too boring as opposed to the excitement and drama of the first half. Once the spotlight lifts from Bruce’s predicament, the rest is rudimentary.
Raging Lizard --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett
The Batman Adventures 7 is a story of few words. In an underworld fight club, Killer Croc reigns supreme as he takes out the strongest villains of Gotham. But then, a new challenger emerges. Enter the Masked Marauder, a villain now hired by a mob boss who once ended Croc’s fighting career once before. So, there are really two stories going on here. Firstly, Croc has to win against the Marauder. Secondly, Batman has to take out the Marauder and the mob boss who hired him. Puckett writes a strange scenario here where, since Croc is more present in the story than Batman, we’re cheering on the latter. There’s even a great moment at the end where Batman defeats the Marauder with Croc’s help, and the two of them decide to leave each other alone.
It’s a rare moment where the hero and the villain team up, but not in any campy or unbelievable away. Overall, while the drama with Batman is standard, the characterisation of Croc is fantastic and by the end, we’re all cheering him on.
Larceny, My Sweet --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett
Unlike many cartoons or animated shows, BTAS could always write emotion well. Episodes like Mad Love and Heart of Ice are ingrained in the memories of many Batman fans as emotional romps which transform the perception of characters. The Batman Adventures 8 – while far from as ground-breaking as those other stories – is similar. While a mysterious thief robs a bank, in the backstreets of Gotham, TV reporter Summer Gleeson is attacked. But suddenly, with the help of another mysterious man, Summer is saved and falls madly in love with her saviour. While Summer spends her time trying to track down this new man, Batman’s hunt for the robber continues. It quickly becomes clear that the two mysterious men are the same person, despite looking very different. And that is because it’s Clayface. As in previous stories, what the villain gets up to isn’t hugely notable, but the human drama is. Summer catches Batman fighting Clayface in the street, but the villain retreats and shies away from her, terrified of her seeing him like that. Although Summer wouldn’t and never does know that her ideal lover was Clayface, that shock and sadness has never been written for Clayface (at least, this Matt Hagen incarnation of the villain) before. In terms of the plotting, I suppose this story isn’t entirely different from the preceding issue, but with another villain and different angle, it works just as well.
The Little Red Book --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett
Were it an episode of the animated series, The Little Red Book would be an enjoyable if highly unmemorable episode. The Batman Adventures 9 focuses on Rupert Thorne, the most dominant crime boss in BTAS besides the Penguin. Throughout, Batman and Gordon work together to obtain Thorne’s little red book, which is full of incriminating information. Although their hopes may at first be dashed when the book falls into the ocean, Batman confronts Thorne at his mansion and manages to arrest the villain and steal his second copy of the book. There’s many action and chase scenes here, but reflecting both Thorne’s slipperiness and my earlier judgement about this story, little change is achieved. With all his money, Thorne walks free – Batman and Gordon’s work was all for nothing. This ending makes sense, but due to it, the story leaves little memorable impression on me. There is no change. It’s a quick read that nicely develops Thorne as a villain, but that’s about it.
The Last Riddler Story --- Written by Kelley Puckett with art by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett
So, we’ve done the Penguin, Catwoman, the Joker, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Clayface, and Rupert Thorne. Aside from Two-Face, who would be next but the Riddler? Featuring only in a handful of episodes in BTAS, this time the Riddler is let out of Arkham Asylum and decides that if he cannot best Batman in his next scheme, he will retire as a villain. This story is vaguely similar to The War of Jokes and Riddles (Batman (vol 3) 25-32) by Tom King, where the Joker and the Riddler declare war on one another, and the Dark Knight is caught in the crossfire. Here, however, the Riddler is working on his own plan while Batman is actually fighting another group of villains. Enter Mastermind, Mr Nice, and Perfesser, a trio with a jewel robbery plan. These three could easily exist in the Batman 1966 world. While there can be irritating, all three have their quirks. The best is easily Mr Nice, a villain who forces himself to be evil despite the strong temptation to be kind. Since these villains attract much of Batman’s attention, the Riddler’s plan to rob the same jewels goes largely unnoticed. Even though Batman wins at the end of the day, the Riddler is in a state of jubilation as the Dark Knight failed to answer his riddle (mainly because he didn’t have the chance to hear it in the first place). Aside from the introduction of three decent new and original villains into the series, the treatment of the Riddler here is mixed. On one hand, his excitement and façade victory at the end is fun, but on the other, his status as a main villain is slightly degraded here. This is just another sign that – like the writers of the animated series – nobody really knew what to do with the character. In fact, in-between Peter Milligan’s Dark Knight, Dark City in 1990 and Hush in 2002/3, no writer in the mainstream titles does anything either original or great with the Riddler. Regardless, Puckett produces some decent fun here and by the end, you’re excited to see more of the new bizarre trio in future issues.
When it comes to the art of The Batman Adventures, there isn’t much wiggle room for the pencillers when it comes to style. Naturally, all the art has to look as similar as possible to the Bruce Timm visuals from BTAS. That said, Ty Templeton, Brad Rader, and Mike Parobeck all manage to enhance the style with their own storytelling. Templeton, while occasionally a tad dull, has a fluent style of art that brings the action to life. Rader’s visuals in the Scarecrow story add some genuine drama and fear into the story, especially those pages focusing on the more psychological side of the tale. As for Parobeck, the main artist of the run, it’s animated, but also dramatic enough to look somehow unique at the same time as following the in-house style. On the whole, Parobeck is a memorable artist and brings the stories to life. Along the way, Burchett plates delicately his inks, which look beautifully accurate to the show. Like the animation, the art is smooth and delicious to look at.
VERDICT
Overall, the first ten issues of the Batman Adventures so far are faithful to the animated series, but they have more to them than the usual spin-off item. They feel like a labour of love. Although some of the storytelling can be similar across the issues, a wide selection of villains are included. A highlight would have to be Pasko’s Scarecrow story, although the Clayface story and Killer Croc tale are two highlights as well. In terms of the weakest issue, that would have to be the Rupert Thorne story, but I would never describe it as terrible or even bad. With a grand mixture of dialogue and action, Puckett writes these stories energetically, aided by some good artists. All-in-all, it’s a strong start for a new title.
Next Week: The Batman Adventures: Ladies Night (The Batman Adventures 11-20). Written by Kelley Puckett, with art by Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett.
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