Review: Batman: The Adventures Continue Season One

Pastors also need a break from heavy theological reading!  Haven’t done one of these for months, so here’s a Batman comic book review!  I actually read this back in January but forgot to write a review! 

 

Paul Dini and Alan Burnett.  Batman: The Adventures Continue Season One. Burbank, CA: DC Comics, June 1, 2021. 208 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Do you like the Batman Animated Series from the 90s?  If so this comic might be for you!  One of the screen writers for the Animated Series is one of the writers for this “Batman: The Adventures Continue” series and there’s a feel of the 90s Animated Batman: Its gritty but also not over the top or gory, it has stories that are interesting and other characters are explored including villains.  This trade paperback collects issues 1 through 8.   

I appreciate the various stories on here and also how they are sequential.  The series kicks off with a two issue story titled “Mentors” with Batman fighting a robot and Clayface and instantly I was reminded of the Batman I love from my childhood watching the Fox animated series.  Having also the sudden appearance of the mercenary Deathstroke we also know there’s more going on which helps Segway into the other stories.  Later in the other chapters we have the story of “Red Son Rising” with Red Hood’s appearance and also his backstory.  This is where the pace of the book really picks up with Jason Todd as the current Robin and Red Hood being a former Robin who ended up being jaded.  There’s a theme of looking up to mentors, father figure, doing the right thing and fighting villains all roll into one.

I really really enjoyed this.  It was kind of refreshing to see issues that did not feel like fillers like some of the more recent Batman I have read; hence I have read less comics lately and also when I do read comics I read older Batman comics.  I also really like the artwork. I love the colors and the contrast with bright colors and dark colors and even if it was more cartoon than some of the more realistic or darker feel of some Batman comics today I thought the simplicity (in comparison, I know illustrating comics is not easy!) and the plot was enough for me to enjoy it.  I thought there wasn’t as much navel gazing as some of the more recent comics I read over the years and it did a good balance of characters’ reflection and internal turmoil while also still being an action adventure and great stories. 

I enjoyed this enough that I’m looking forward to the next volume paperback coming out in June 2022.

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