The Batman Adventures Omnibus

Yikes! This review was an undertaking, but the reality is the DC Animated Universe tie-in comics are the only real superhero comics I ever really enjoyed. I think the 36 issues of The Batman Adventures have their ups and downs. To start off with, the early issues are sometimes poorly written. Thing stabilize midway through the run and we get a decent stream of good stuff. Finally, I feel near the end, the title feels a little too invested in "We can't show this on TV but we can here." I have never been a fan of that so Batman solving gruesome murder mysteries doesn't interest me much.

The real highlights of the Omnibus for me are at the end. I have ALWAYS loved the comic adaptation of the film Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm, and it's even better rereading it again years later. That makes sense because Mask Of The Phantasm is a rare film that gets better every time I see it too. And of course The Batman Adventures: Mad Love by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm themselves, is one of the best Batman stories ever. If there was EVER a better Harley Quinn story, I'd have a hard time believing it. It's essentially comic book perfection and an outstanding use of every part of the medium.

Big, thick, HEAVY book that gives us practically everything. I'm impressed. Overall: 4 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 1 "Penguin's Big Score"

It's simple and charming, and not particularly as clever as the series wound up being. But it's early so that's okay.

The art feels very on-model to the TV show and one of the most refreshing things about it to me is that it's a quick read. I DO love sitting down and getting absorbed in a comic, but there's something to be said for an enjoyable kiddie comic you breeze through in less than ten minutes. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 2 "Catwoman's Killer Caper"

Pretty cool idea to bring Batman to London. Batman rarely left the country (or Gotham) outside of Ra's Al Ghul episodes.

The story is again slight, and Catwoman seems bit less cunning than she should be, but the story still gets the job done. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 3 "Joker's Late-Night Lunacy"

What an unbelievably rushed and terrible ending.

Also the "twist" of Batman dressing like Harvey Dent and vice versa made no sense, especially since Harvey apparently can mimic Batman's fighting style just fine, which is nonsense. Instead of being fun and shocking, the "twist" feels cheap instead.

Having a character voiced on the cartoon by Mark Hamill talk about having to fight Stormtroopers is fun though. Wondering if that was deliberate.

Crappy script. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 4 "Riot Act"

This is an unbelievably cruel plan, even by the standards of the Scarecrow.

Honestly, the entire story feels cruel in general, from Scarecrow naming the delivery system Dyslexus, to him hiring goons because they probably already can't read.

Most Scarecrow stories are mean and unpleasant (that's his entire deal). But I felt this crossed the line a bit. 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 5 "Riot Act II"

I think the script is bad, but it was an interesting choice to end the story by having Robin appeal tp Scarecrow's sense of decency. You can call it out of character that it works if you like (and it is) but it works because it is utterly unexpected for both characters.

The moral of the gang member's mother / grandmother being hit with the illness and unable to take the right medication (and the medics being unable to help her) feels incredibly heavy-handed. As noted in the last review this whole scheme seems MEAN.

On the plus side, the artwork is great. The picture of Batman jumping through the smoke in the climax is pretty sick. 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 6 "The Third"

The credits suggest a Hitchcock tribute.

To be honest, I would have welcomed the idea that there was no murderer and it was an accident. It would have made Bruce's predicament nearly impossible to get out of, which would have been great. I believe the series did challenging things like that later on (particularly Ty Templeton's version of the Riddler) but just the fact that the idea is broached is cool.

Little too much politicizing in the issue. Wouldn't bother me in 1993 but it does now.

Also blood! Murder! This comic is still okay for kids, but it can get away with things the cartoon could not.

I liked it. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 7 "Raging Lizard!"

Interesting. This is a prequel to P.O.V., Killer Croc's first episode.

Honestly, the "encouraging" things his managers tells him to fight the rematch are frankly quite insulting. You might call that interesting character development, but I personally think it was due to the era it was written in. It's SO unintentionally mean, I have to believe its meanness was even WRITTEN a bit unintentionally.

I was having a hard time deciphering the artwork and what was and wasn't a flashback. That usually isn't a problem in this title.

Boxing puns for the credits.

We get a story seeing Killer Croc before he's Killer Croc. Of course on the TV cartoon he and Batman had never met yet so... 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 8 "Larceny, My Sweet"

Wow, that ending was VERY hard--boiled, and Clayface was a genuine surprise (as was the fact that he actually cared about Summer Gleeson).

The fewer panels and brisker pace is really working for the title.

A turning point. A good one, I think. 4 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 9 "The Little Red Book"

Rupert Thorne's design is a little off model but the "four panels per page" thing is REALLY good for the pacing.

The title is hitting its stride. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 10 "The Last Riddler Story"

I ADORE the idea that not only did Batman not solve the Riddle but the answer wasn't revealed to the reader either.

And yeah, whether he was caught by happenstance or not, it means the Riddler actually won for once, or at least in Nygma's mind.

Mr. Nice is pretty hysterical.

The ONLY people who ever wrote the DC Animated Universe Riddler properly were the writers of this comic and its sequels. Riddler only appears in this story in the Omnibus, but when Ty Templeton brings him back in Batman & Robin Adventures and Batman: Gotham Adventures, we are in for a good time. 4 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 11 "The Beast Within!"

Artwork was a little confusing. Perhaps the idea of a second Man-Bat would have worked better in animation.

One of the cool things about this specific tie-in book is that all of the characters are seen in rotation. Man-Bat literally only appeared twice on the show and he makes multiple appearances in the comic. As far as tie-ins go, The Batman Adventures really knows how to sell itself. 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 12 "Batgirl: Year One"

This was clearly before "Shadow Of The Bat" aired and is an alternate origin story.

Barbara is slightly off-model but the costume is roughly the same. Weird to see Harley Quinn in a red mask.

Speaking of Harley, this was literally her first comic book appearance. The mix of her, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman shows the first early iteration of the Gotham Girls too.

Barbara is a total sociopathic liar here which was also one of the most unpleasant things about her on the show.

Neat comic though. 3 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 13 "Last Tango In Paris"

I loved the montage of Bruce and Talia spending the day together.

The artwork in the climax was great too. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 14 "Public Enemy"

Speaking of effective tie-ins, here's the Ventriloquist!

He didn't have the b/g problem on the show so it's a little silly to see it here. As is the silly notion that superspy Alfred Pennyworth wanted to be an actor.

Interestingly, the ending proves this issue takes place during the same timeframe as the last one.

Solid. 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 15 "Badge Of Honor"

Very hard-boiled Commissioner Gordon outing.

Unfortunately the lettering in his mind narration squares is sometimes a bit hard to read. I got there, but that shouldn't ever happen in a comic. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 16 "The Killing Book"

Sort of a meta issue about comic creators, but feels pretty hamfisted and not the slightest bit realistic.

My favorite bit was an injured Batman bragging to Alfred he's fine, he dodged all the knifes, didn't he? And Alfred's like, "You were trying to CATCH them, sir."

Batman: The Animated Series has definitely done Joker episodes this dumb. Which is why even though the comic sucks, it still remains the best possible tie-in for that show ever. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 17 "Tangled Web"

Batman on horseback on the cover means the issue understands its own selling point.

Ironically, the cover isn't literal. Batman is not in his costume in the issue itself and is in an undercover guise when escaping on horseback!

Cool Ra's Al Ghul story, with some intriguing set-up at the end, which is something ALL great Ra's stories do. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 18 "Decision Day"

It's always fun to remember how much more legit training Robin has over Batgirl, and why their crimefighting styles differ so much at this point. He's better at it only because he's been doing it so much longer.

He trained for seven years before entering the field? Gotta say THAT is outside of other young Robin interpretations for sure.

Pretty cool story. Although, frankly, the cover is underwhelming. 3 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 19 "Troubled Dreams"

The greatest mass experiment since World War II? The book is REALLY pushing the evil mad scientist button there, isn't it?

The solution is simple, but if you ask me, that's the entire value of the book.

Love the theater billboard saying "Hamlet Starring K. Conroy". People know Conroy is a Shakespearian actor NOW. They probably didn't in the early 1990's.

Decent. 3 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 20 "Smells Like Black Sunday"

One of the coolest things I remembered about the tie-in comics is they would sometimes come up with gimmicky original villains, and bring them back recurringly. Now I would neither buy an action figure of OR recommend Mr. Nice, the Perfessor, and Mastermind for Batman: The Animated Series...

But recurring in Batman Adventures? Why not?

I love the corner of Timm and Randomski and Kelley's Pub. The comic has the best Easter Eggs.

Batman doesn't save the day. The dog does. Considering who he's going up against, that's actually appropriate. 3 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 21 "House Of Dorian"

Man-Bat only appeared on the cartoon twice and Tygrus and Romulus only appeared once each. But the comic is great because it brought them all back for a three-way fight with Batman!

For the record, Tygrus is my second favorite guest character on Batman: The Animated Series. My favorites are the Sideshow characters from "Sideshow".

Tygrus isn't bad. But he can be convinced to do bad things if he believes those bad things are the least worst option. The comic understands that beautifully.

Fun issue. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 22 "Good Face, Bad Face"

You know the explanations of Harvey Dent's psychiatric problems on Batman: The Animated Series left much to be desired. Not just for feeding into the stigma of mental illness, but also because what was happening to Harvey doesn't fit the definitions of either schizophrenia OR dissociative disorder. And I guess I like this issue for laying out the problems clearly all at once. And seeing them all here suggests whatever Harvey is suffering from is singularly unique. If you've never heard of a mentally ill person thinking and behaving like Harvey before, that's because he's the only person with his specific problems. I felt better about the whole lousy situation after reading this.

I especially like the idea that the coin is actually Harvey fighting back and refusing to have his own reputation ruined. Heady stuff for a kiddie comic.

Favorite moment was Two-Face grabbing the Joker through the cell and demanding he remember his name is "Two-Face". I don't know if he actually scared the freaking Joker, but Joker didn't push back against it either, did he? Cool moment.

I loved the issue in general. 5 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 23 "Toxic Shock"

Sort of paint by numbers, but it's solid, and this is a good franchise, so that's okay. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 24 "Grave Obligations"

New villain but it's kind of cool this is a sequel to the stuff with the Ninja.

I found Batman's kind actions at the end VERY unsatisfying. I know he's a hero, but there had to be a different way to save those two's life other than blowing up his debt. I would think Batman is the kind of conniving manipulative person who would RELISH a chance to think up another option.

The whole idea felt a bit poorly written to be truthful. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures Annual No. 1

"Going Straight"

Wait, wasn't Roxy Rocket created for The New Batman Adventures? But Paul Dini actually created her in this Batman Adventures spin-off story first, and upgraded the character to canon once the show became The New Batman Adventures. What a complicated character history. 3 1/2 stars.

"Puppet Show"

I hate the b-to-g thing for the Ventriloquist in the comics. Not just because it's annoying and hard to read at times. But because it's not a thing in the actual cartoon so what's the freaking point?

"Hell" as a curse is uttered here. 3 stars.

"24 Hours"

This Harley short is a big bucket of nothing. 2 stars.

"Study Hall"

Two part story. First half is a Scarecrow spot-light, second half wraps up Roxy Rocket's story.

As far as Scarecrow goes, I have to say one of the reasons Paul Dini is The Animated Series' MOST problematic writer is he doesn't actually see the problem of making SCARECROW of all people a defender of an abused woman. A more politically aware writer would know he (and the Mad Hatter and Joker for that matter) are the characters you can NEVER do that with.

Roxy attempting to turn into a hero fits with the fact that her motivations on The New Batman Adventures always seemed strictly harmless. Not canon yet, but it still fits. 2 1/2 stars.

"Laughter After Midnight"

This is basically the Joker doing scummy Joker things and getting away with everything.

That being said, the John Byrne art is nice to look at, isn't it? 2 1/2 stars.

Issue Overall: 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 25 "Super Friends"

Out of all of the non-canon The Batman Adventures Batman Adventures, this one is the non-canonest Batman Adventure of them all!

Long-haired Superman! Red-haired and bearded Lex Luthor! Groan! Batman and Superman actually MEET here!

On the plus side, Maxie Zeus only appeared once on the series, but because this is a good tie-in, they bring him back like it's no big deal. Weird to make HIM the guy to go up against Superman, but this is a pretty freaking weird issue in general.

Sigh. That simply never happened. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 26 "Tree Of Knowledge"

The classroom rivalry between Barbara and Dick is really well-written, and it's an interesting idea for Morton to suggest criminologists can't actually be decent people. That kind of tracks with what we see of them in the rest of popular culture. The "gift / curse" shtick always mean the criminologist in question is majorly damaged.

I like how Morton says he'll never do anything like that again and begs Batgirl to let him go. She has every reason to do him this specific favor for that reason. And it's to Barbara's credit, she doesn't. The rules apply to everybody, no matter their real intentions. That's really cool. What I especially like about it is The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond sort of hint in the background that Barbara Gordon is kind of immoral when it comes to her reasonings for putting on the cape. And I think the tie-in comics have value for showing her NOT taking the easy way out but the morally just one.

Don't be shocked. The comics writers are the only people who can do great DC Animated Universe Riddler stories too. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 27 "Survivor Syndrome"

What an excellent shock opening scene and neat conceit. I thought it was a great issue. 4 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 28 "Twelve Days Of Madness"

It's an uncommonly crappy story but the resolution of Batman asking the Joker if he REALLY wanted to face him when he was psychotic didn't exactly make me forgive the crap, but it means it's not ALL crap. 1 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures Holiday Special No. 1

Intro

Cute. 3 stars.

"Jolly Ol' St. Nicholas"

I love the script to this one. It's no wonder they cribbed most of this issue for The New Batman Adventures' "Holiday Knights". Harvey calling Clayface "Frosty the Lawn Cigar" remains one of the funniest jokes of the entire series. 4 1/2 stars.

"The Harley And The Ivy"

Bruce's anger and frustration is more readily apparent in the comic.

First place we've ever learned Harley Quinn is Jewish.

Fun. 4 stars.

"White Christmas"

This bit was never adapted, mostly because I don't feel like it's very strong. Making it so Mr. Freeze is the bad guy but not a monster is more than The New Batman Adventures remembered to do. But the motivation to make it snow for Nora on Christmas feels incredibly soft.

Also, I hate to be blunt, but I strongly dislike Glen Murakami's artwork here. Every panel is ridiculously off-model. That's super weird considering who it is, right? 2 1/2 stars.

"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"

There is no bigger demonstration that The New Batman Adventures' Joker skull design is a bust than seeing that segment from "Holiday Knights" using the proper Animated Series design. Damn, the character has personality. Pay attention. This observation will come up again later when I review "Mad Love". Holy poop what an unforced error Skull Joker was. 4 stars.

"Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot"

Nice ending. Not enough nice things in Batman. 4 1/2 stars.

Issue Overall: 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 29 "Demon Seed"

The artwork is great, but Ra's is stupid to have revealed himself before Talia actually went through with it.

Why did he do it? The writers had him do it because of he hadn't he would have won.

Like I said. Stupid. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 30 "Natural Born Loser"

Return of no-name villains exclusive to the tie-in? Check!

But Batman isn't even in this one and THIS is the issue they chose to do that! It has NONE of the characters from the Animated Series present! The writers are insane! And that is a very good thing!

You knew you were in for a good time with the Precious Bodily Fluids thing. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 31 "Anarky"

This wants to have its cake and eat it too.

Bruce Wayne being squeaky clean is in character, as is the idea that he's still in trouble with Anarky for the company he keeps. But having Bruce be the one defending the heartless executives as "just people like you and me," is b.s.. At the end even Robin thinks Anarky might have a point. But while Bruce is delivering that false equivalence sermon that is right on the facts, but absolutely irrelevant, he's not. And maybe 30 years ago when this comic was published I might have bought it. When I read it for the first time in 2025 I do not.

Anarky is one of the newer Batman villains The Animated Series never got around to. The tie-in did though. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures Annual No 2 "Demons"

It's dedicated to Jack and yeah, I was getting SERIOUS Kirby vibes from Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami's art.

But I was disappointed it appears Etrigan's annoying DCAU habit of not rhyming began here. And it SO easy to make dialogue and words rhyme. Meter is harder, but a lazy writer can make a proper (if clunky) Etrigan easily. It's bothers me it was too much work for the producers of both The New Batman Adventures and Justice League.

Also the Etrigan incantation isn't just wrong here, but Jason Blood is supposed to be the one who says it.

The beginning is freaking dark and would not only never pass muster on network Saturday morning TV. They wouldn't have gotten away with it in weekday syndication either.

Batman's extended wordless dream / nightmare sequence was amazing, and using the extra pages of the Annual to their fullest extent.

This version of Etrigan is imperfect, but the truth is I liked everything else. I felt the last comic Murakami drew in this series was a bit off-model. But this felt right. 4 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 32 "A Soldier's Story"

The cover is boss but I feel the rest of the story is too dark. Murders, blood, even cursing. That's not why I dug Batman: The Animated Series. I feel like The Batman Adventures is moving away from why the series was great in the first place. 2 1/2 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 33 "Just Another Night"

Oh, good, Ty Templeton is here! Things are about to get back on track! Can't wait for The Batman & Robin Adventures Omnibus!

Let me offer an unkind opinion of Bruce Wayne. Veronica was right to dump Bruce at end. What Bruce has wrong is he thinks she did it because he was unable to tell the truth that he was Batman and going after the mugger. The truth is even if he had told her that, and even if she believed him, she'd dump his ass anyways. And she'd be right to.

Bruce is a bad boyfriend because he thinks it's about getting the purse and hat back. It never ONCE occurs to him it's about comforting his girlfriend and her son after they've been through a traumatic experience. The fact that Bruce is delusional enough to believe that she would have forgiven him even knowing he was Batman is b.s.. Bruce failed the relationship test because he valued the wrong things. And considering the actual reason he does what he does, I personally find that quite unforgivable.

Make no mistake. Bruce sucking in no way detracts from the quality of the issue or my enjoyment of it. As a matter of fact suggesting Bruce Wayne has such negative character flaws attached to his hero complex, and that his need to punish criminals often has him missing the bigger picture is quite interesting. 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 34 "In Memoriam"

Wow! Lots of suspense and unanswered questions! To Be Continued! I'm hooked! 4 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 35 "The Book Of Memory"

Honestly, the premise here feels like it's gonna get needlessly tragic. Am I right? Let's find out! 3 stars.

The Batman Adventures No. 36 "The Last Batman Adventure"

Tragic, but not needlessly so. Ty Templeton knows how to thread the needle.

Still unsure of how to feel about Hugo Strange's arc. He only appeared on the cartoon once (and had a cameo on Justice League Unlimited) but he was so freaking LOATHSOME it feels odd to extend legit sympathy to him. Weird issue.

The ending with Catwoman was completely right. In fact, I felt the promise she extorted from kid Batman was dumb and misguided for that very reason. A Batman who looks the other way? Where is the FUN in that, I ask? 4 stars.

Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm: The Animated Movie No. 1

I've always loved this adaptation. It really is like reading the movie in comic form. And the artwork is amazing.

I guess this time out the thing that impresses me is a line from the movie I kind of overlooked. But when Bruce is at his parent's grave crying that he never counted on being happy, that was a punch in the gut. And that pathos was the biggest thing that hit me during that scene. But the truth is after he's begging and hoping they can hear him, Andrea coming up and saying, "Maybe they did. Maybe they sent me," now gives me freaking CHILLS. The good kind. The Good Hurt I chase. How did I miss how awesome this is?

Bruce Timm has always expressed some disappointment in how the movie turned out. Just because of that scene I think he's wrong.

How did one animation magazine at the time put it? If Batman '89 had been made with Mask Of The Phantasm's exact script it would have made five times the money it did. People always talk about what a box office success Batman '89 was. Imagine how well it would have done if it was actually GOOD.

Yeah, I love Mask Of The Phantasm and this remains one of my very favorite comic adaptations of all time. 5 stars.

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love No. 1

The undeniable high point of The Batman Adventures. In fact, Batman's "Why You Suck" speech to Joker at the end might be the high point of the entire DC Animated Universe.

The irony is how weak the animated adaptation, the very thing that makes that pivotal speech canon, actually is. I think I ought to point out some of the reasons why.

First of all "Everything must go!" is one of the most shocking and scary drawings I have ever seen in a comic book, It, and a lot of the Joker's deranged muggings here are probably the high point of Bruce Timm's career.

And in the cartoon the Joker giggles while saying it and holding the drill limply up to the side.

Y'know, I GET kiddie show censors, but damn that hurt.

Also it feels weird to point out that while Kevin Conroy delivers perhaps his best performance EVER, and Arlene Sorkin DEFINITELY delivers her best work ever, for some reason Mark Hamill seems a bit off his A-game. Every actor is entitled to that once in awhile. People get sick, have off days, it happens. It's just REALLY unfortunate this was the episode it happened on.

Third, I think even if the censors forced the producers to Nerf a ton of the scariness, I think a lot would have still remained if Joker was either still in his old Batman: The Animated Series design, or even his revamped design from "Batman: Beyond: Return Of The Joker" and Justice League. The Skull design has always been far less expressive than either design, and considering this is Joker's most expressive DCAU story ever, it hurt things big time.

One of the things I notice upon this reread is the fact that Harleen Quinzel is probably a lousy psychiatrist. I get as far as fiction go, this is not exactly a Hannibal Lecter-level of narrative psychological intricacy, but a halfway decent shrink would have seen through the Joker's therapy sessions as bullcrap and a way for him to manipulate them the entire time. The fact that it never even once occurs to Harley to second-guess what she's been told, even just to mentally protect herself from this person everyone warns her is completely violent and dangerous, means she's bad at her job.

The comic is amazing and the art even better. This is a knock-out. 5 stars.

Batman: Black & White No 1 "Two Of A Kind"

Not my jam. Too dark. Not why I watched Batman: The Animated Series or read The Batman Adventures. 1 star.

Pin Up Gallery

With all of the different artists, a ton of this stuff is off-model. That's the nitpicker in me speaking, not the comic book fan. Because the nitpicker part of me is bigger. 3 1/2 stars.