Comic Review: Batman: The Adventure Continues #1

Batman: The Adventure Continues #1

DC Comics

Writers: Alan Burnett & Paul Dini

Artists: Ty Templeton

If you’ve seen our monthly picks article then it should come as no surprise that this is a positive review. I’ve loved the Batman Animated Series ever since I was a small child. Like many comic readers, it played a huge part in introducing me to the superhero genre. To this day I still feel giddy seeing that intro and get goosebumps from hearing Mark Hamill’s Joker laugh. Given all that it shouldn’t shock anyone that I’d be picking up a comic series continuing on from the show. Batman: The Adventure Continues is a new 6-part series that brings Jason Todd into the world of the animated series. Let’s get into the review.

The premise of this issue is fairly simple. After a battle with Bane, our protagonist comes across a giant robot rampaging through the city. At the same time, Lex Luthor is visiting Gotham and Superman has gone missing. Batman is left to deal with the robot, keep an eye on Lex, and work out what’s happened to the man of steel.

Burnett and Dini share writing duties here and they do an amazing job. This feels just like the cartoon. The issue is written as a one-shot story just like most episodes of the series. I believe this is going to be how each issue is laid out moving forward. The only thing linking them being the brief appearances from Jason Todd which will no doubt build to the finale. Still, this issue just works so well. Dini and Burnett clearly get not only the style of the show but the characters featured. Every character featured from Batman to the supporting cast feels accurate to their animated versions. That shouldn’t really be a surprise though given Dini’s history with the DC animated universe.

The art is handled by Ty Templeton. He previously worked on “The Batman Adventures” which was another comic book based on the animated series. If you’ve read those comics then it’s pretty much the same cartoonish art style here. It isn’t quite the same as the art displayed in the DC animated universe shows but it’s very close. Fans of the cartoon are bound to love it and it’ll appeal to first-time readers and children too.

The one complaint I have is the sky. The Batman cartoons were famous for their use of a red sky. It contrasted with the buildings, the characters, and things like the bat-signal and helped them stand out more. It also added to the dark, gothic feel the show went for. It’s here but it’s very inconsistent. During the opening fight with Bane for example we have a blue sky. Once Batman encounters the robot immediately after this fight and chases it through a building the sky turns red though. It’s constantly changing colour throughout the story, even when no time has passed to justify it. I’m not one of those people that thinks the red sky is essential but some consistency would be nice. The constant back and forth of the colour of the sky can get pretty distracting. Hopefully, this won’t be as bad through the next five issues.

The lettering throughout the issue is solid. We have dark grey narration boxes to show us what Batman is thinking. At the same time when Jason is on a page, a lighter grey box is used for his thoughts. It’s a nice way to keep the readers from getting mixed up about who’s thinking what. There’s liberal use of sound effects to add some extra impact to the action scenes. We also get a lot of individual words in speech bubbles in bold. It helps put emphasis on these particular words and their importance. In some cases, it even helps highlight how certain characters are feeling towards others. These may all be fairly basic examples of lettering helping a comic but they’re still much appreciated here.

Overall Batman: The Adventure Continues #1 is a great comic. Despite the inconsistencies, I mentioned about the artwork I’d recommend this issue to anyone. The characters and the settings look amazing aside from the ever-changing sky. The story itself is fantastic. It’s a basic idea but it’s worked into a nice little action/mystery that’ll keep you entertained. Whether you’re a fan of Batman, a fan of the cartoon, or a first-time reader this will be a fun, accessible story. I definitely recommend picking this up if you have even the slightest interest in Batman or the DC animated universe.