{"id":15015,"date":"2016-07-01T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-01T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=15015"},"modified":"2016-06-30T15:03:53","modified_gmt":"2016-06-30T15:03:53","slug":"batman-adventures-volume-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2016\/07\/01\/batman-adventures-volume-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman Adventures volume 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Kelley Puckett<\/strong>, Paul Dini<\/strong>, Mike Parobeck<\/strong> & Rick Burchett<\/strong> with Michael Reaves<\/strong>, Bruce Timm<\/strong>, Matt Wagner<\/strong>, Klaus Janson<\/strong>, Dan DeCarlo<\/strong>, John Byrne<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-5872-6<\/p>\n

The brainchild of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Batman: The Animated Series<\/strong> aired in the US from September 5th<\/sup> 1992 to September 15th<\/sup> 1995. The TV cartoon – ostensibly for kids – revolutionised everybody’s image of the Dark Knight and inevitably fed back into the printed iterations, leading to some of the absolute best comicbook tales in the hero’s many decades of existence.<\/p>\n

Employing a timeless visual style dubbed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dark Deco\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, the show mixed elements from all eras of the character and, without diluting the power, tone or mood of the premise, re-honed the grim avenger and his team into a wholly accessible, thematically memorable form.<\/p>\n

It entranced young fans whilst adding shades of exuberance and panache that only the most devout and obsessive Batmaniac could possibly object to.<\/p>\n

A faithful comicbook translation was prime material for collection in the newly-emergent trade paperback market but only the first year was ever released, plus miniseries such as Batman: Gotham Adventures<\/strong> and Batman Adventures: the Lost Years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, however, we’re much more evolved and reprint collections have established a solid niche amongst the cognoscenti and younger readers\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

This third inclusive compendium gathers issues #21-27 of The Batman Adventures<\/strong> comicbook (originally published from June to December 1994) plus that year’s Batman Adventures Annual<\/strong>: a scintillating, no-nonsense frenzy of family-friendly Fights ‘n’ Tights fantasy from Kelly Puckett, Mike Parobeck & Rick Burchett and a few fellow-pros-turned-fans\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Puckett is a writer who truly grasps the visual nature of the medium and his stories are always fast-paced, action packed and stripped down to the barest of essential dialogue. This skill has never been better exploited than by Parobeck who was at that time a rising star, especially when graced by Burchett’s slick, clean inking.<\/p>\n

Although his professional career was tragically short (1989 to 1996 when he died, aged 31, from complications of Type 1 Diabetes) Parobeck’s gracefully fluid, exuberantly kinetic, frenetically fun-fuelled, animation-inspired style revolutionised superhero action drawing and sparked a renaissance in kid-friendly material and merchandise at DC\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and everywhere else in the comics publishing business.<\/p>\n

The wall to wall wonderment begins with the contents of Batman Adventures Annual <\/strong>#1: a giant-sized gathering of industry stars illustrating Paul Dini’s episodic, interlinked saga ‘Going Straight’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Illustrators Timm & Burchett set the ball rolling as jet-propelled bandit Roxy Rocket<\/em> is released from prison, prompting Batman and faithful retainer Alfred<\/em> to discuss whether any villains ever reform\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Apparently one who almost made it was Arnold Wesker<\/em>, who played mute Ventriloquist<\/em> to his malign dummy Scarface<\/em>. Tragically in ‘Puppet Show’<\/em> (art by Parobeck & Matt Wagner) we see how even a good job and the best of intentions are no defence when Arnold’s new boss wants to exploit his criminal past\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Harley Quinn<\/em> is insanely devoted to killer clown The Joker<\/em> and Dan DeCarlo & Timm wordlessly expose her profound weakness for that bad boy as she’s released from Arkham Asylum<\/em> but is seduced back into committing crazy crimes in just ’24 Hours’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The Scarecrow<\/em>‘s return to terrorising the helpless resulted from his genuine desire to help a girl assaulted by her would-be boyfriend in the chilling, poignant ‘Study Hall’<\/em> (with art by Klaus Janson), after which ‘Going Straight’<\/em> concludes with Timm detailing how Roxy Rocket is framed by Catwoman<\/em> and Batman has to separate the warring female furies\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The melange of mayhem even came with its own enthralling encore with The Joker solo-starring in ‘Laughter After Midnight’<\/em> as the Mountebank of Mirth goes on a spree in Gotham, courtesy of artists John Byrne & Burchett\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The Batman Adventures<\/strong> #21 then saw Michael Reaves join Kelley Puckett to script tense thriller ‘House of Dorian’<\/em> for Parobeck & Burchett as deranged geneticist Emile Dorian<\/em> escapes from Arkham and immediately turns Kirk Langstrom<\/em> back into the marauding Man-Bat<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Moreover, although the Mad Doctor’s freedom is bad news for Gotham, Langstrom and Dorian’s previous beast-man Tygrus<\/em>; for a desperate fugitive afflicted with lycanthropy, the insane physician is his last chance at a cure for his curse\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Dorian couldn’t care less. All he wants is revenge on Batman and Selina Kyle\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Like the show, most stories were crafted as a three-act plays and the conceit resumes with #22 as Puckett, Parobeck & Burchett settle in for the long haul.<\/p>\n

‘Good Face Bad Face’<\/em> sees the return of Two-Face<\/em>; also busting out of Arkham in ‘Harvey Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’<\/em> to settle scores with Gotham’s top mobster Rupert Thorne<\/em>. His first move is to set free his gang in ‘Nor Iron Bars a Cage’<\/em>, but this time Batman is waiting\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Poison Ivy<\/em> is back in #23, spreading ‘Toxic Shock’<\/em> as she teams up with the Dark Knight in ‘Strange Bedfellows’<\/em> to save a famed botanist and ecologist dying from a mystery toxin. ‘Fighting Poison with Poison’<\/em>, she and Batman search for a cure, forcing the mystery assassin into more prosaic methods in ‘How Deadly Was my Valley’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

‘Grave Obligations’<\/em> sees the Gotham Guardian’s past come back to haunt him when a ninja clan invades the city. They seem more concerned with fighting each other in ‘Brother’s Keeper’<\/em>, but a little digging reveals how one has come ‘From Tokyo, With Death’<\/em> in mind for Batman, and it takes the force of a much higher authority to halt the chaos in ‘Cancelled Debts’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

An inevitable team-up graces Batman Adventures<\/strong> #25 as Puckett, Parobeck & Burchett reintroduce legendary ‘Super Friends’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

With Lex Luthor<\/em> in town and bidding against Waynetech for a military contract, a mystery bombing campaign begins in ‘Tik, Tik, Tik\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6’<\/em><\/p>\n

Even as unwelcome guest Superman<\/em> horns in, Batman realises his old foe Maxie Zeus<\/em> might be taking the credit but is certainly not to blame for the ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Zeus!’<\/em><\/p>\n

A little deduction and a grudging alliance with the Caped Kryptonian results in the true scheme being unravelled in ‘The Gods Must be Crazy’<\/em> and Batman rejoices in having made a powerful friend and a remorseless and resourceful new enemy\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

‘Tree of Knowledge’<\/em> focuses on college students Dick Grayson<\/em> and Babs Gordon<\/em> as they score top marks in a criminology course. ‘Pop Gun Quiz’<\/em> sees them singled out for special study by their impressed Professor Morton<\/em> and on hand in ‘Careful What You Wish For’<\/em> to experience an impossible crime in the University Library. Despite all their investigations, it’s only as Robin and Batgirl that a devilish plot is unravelled and crucial ‘Lessons Learned’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

The last tale in this terrific tome revisits the tragedy of Batman’s origins as ‘Survivor Syndrome’<\/em> sees an impostor risking his life on Gotham’s streets in search of justice or possibly his own death.<\/p>\n

‘Brother, Brother’<\/em> reveals how athlete Tom Dalton<\/em>‘s wife was murdered and how he surrendered to a ‘Call to Vengeance’<\/em>. Everything changes once the real Dark Knight takes charge of Tom and trains him to regain ‘The Upper Hand’<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

With a full compliment of covers by Timm and Parobeck & Burchett – plus a ‘Pin-Up Gallery’<\/em> with stunning images by Alex Toth, Dave Gibbons, Kelley Jones, Kevin Nowlan, Mark Chiarello, Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner and Chuck Dixon & Rick Burchett – all coloured by the astounding Rick Taylor – this is another stunning treat for superhero lovers of every age and vintage.
\n\u00c2\u00a9 1994, 2015 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kelley Puckett, Paul Dini, Mike Parobeck & Rick Burchett with Michael Reaves, Bruce Timm, Matt Wagner, Klaus Janson, Dan DeCarlo, John Byrne & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-5872-6 The brainchild of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Batman: The Animated Series aired in the US from September 5th 1992 to September 15th 1995. The TV … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Batman Adventures volume 3”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[92,10,76,97,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-batgirl","category-batman","category-dc-superhero","category-kids-all-ages","category-superman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-3Ub","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15015\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}