{"id":36492,"date":"2026-09-14T17:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T17:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=36492"},"modified":"2026-09-14T17:17:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T17:17:49","slug":"batmans-mystery-casebook-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/09\/14\/batmans-mystery-casebook-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Batman\u2019s Mystery Casebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Sholly Fisch<\/strong>, Christopher A. Uminga<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-7795-0586-6 (TPB), 978-1-7795-0878-2 (Digital edition)<\/p>\n

In recent years DC opened up its shared superhero universe: generating Original Graphic Novels featuring its many stars in stand-alone adventures for the demographic so sadly misnamed Young Adult. To date, results have been rather hit or miss, but when they\u2019re good, they are very good indeed\u2026<\/p>\n

One sublime example of the process at its best is this cheery practical class in crimefighting which picks the brains and capitalises on the experience of Gotham\u2019s gaggle of gangbusters and delivers life-defining details in the form of a comics activity book for all ages\u2026<\/p>\n

Author Sholly Fisch is no stranger to comics, having splendidly scripted Scooby Doo<\/strong> in various print incarnations and almost every DC superhero in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold\u00a0<\/strong>and other animation-based spin-offs, Superman<\/strong>, Star Wars <\/strong>and so much more. When not doing that, he\u2019s a developmental psychologist consulting for companies making digital games and toys, with clients including Sesame Street<\/strong>, Cyberchase<\/strong>, The Magic School Bus Rides Again<\/strong> and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That<\/strong>. If you love fun superheroics and vintage comics trivia, you should seek out his work.<\/p>\n

Cartoonist\/designer\/visualiser Christopher A. Uminga has worked for numerous media giants including DC Comics\/Warner Bros., Lucasfilm, Foot Locker, Disney\u2019s WonderGround Gallery and more, and is assisted in making this complex and arresting tome work by colourist Silvana Brys and lettering entity Andword Design (Morgan Martinez, Justin Birch & Deron Bennett)\u2026<\/p>\n

A quick word to the wise:<\/em><\/strong> Although for years DC\u2019s mainstream continuity has depicted the Dark Knight as a driven, tormented borderline(?!) sociopath doing good for what seems to be all the wrong reasons, Batman<\/strong> has always been a heroic archetype who works for all ages and on vastly differing levels of intensity. This version is far more Caped Crimecrusher than Bat out of Hell, and reaffirms his reputation as \u201cthe World\u2019s Greatest Detective\u201d in a series of \u201cfair play mystery\u201d vignettes with the reader invited to pay close attention and participate at every moment of each case. Kids can enjoy alone or with the grandparents who watched the 1966 Batman<\/strong> TV phenomenon unfold and parents who watched the 1990s movies and stunning Batman: The Animated Adventures<\/strong> series they spawned\u2026
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\nIt begins in \u2018Prologue: Whodunit?\u2019<\/em> as Batman<\/strong>, Robin<\/strong> & Batgirl<\/strong> examine a crime scene and talk the readers through the clues left behind that lead to their deft deduction of the culprit\u2026<\/p>\n

With every reader fully briefed \u2018Chapter 1: The Case of the Perilous Puzzles\u2019<\/em> sees The Riddler<\/em> running riot, obsessively dropping his verbal hints for us to solve, but don\u2019t get so caught up that you miss the cunning visual clues scattered around, since the Dynamic Duo might be too busy escaping death traps to spot them\u2026<\/p>\n

Each adventure is augmented by a quick lesson in historical criminology, deduction and data gathering (just like the old Dick Tracy Crime Stoppers<\/strong> feature) beginning with a foundation in forensic science courtesy of \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: Crime Scene Investigation\u2019<\/em> with Clayface<\/em> inadvertently assisting enquiries…<\/p>\n

Of course Two-Face <\/em>stars in piratically-positioned second chapter \u2018The Case of the Dual Identity\u2019<\/em> and the hunt offers many chances to study modus operandi before the boom is lowered, after which \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: Fingerprints\u2019<\/em> reveals the secrets of the ancient and hallowed system.
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\nWorld-weary cop Harvey Bullock<\/em> and Catwoman<\/strong> are involved in third chapter \u2018The Case of the Art Attack\u2019<\/em> but Batgirl – and the reader! – can\u2019t be rushed to hasty conclusions if they think things through, before \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: Tracks\u2019<\/em> offers a quick refresher on Locard\u2019s Exchange Principle (weren\u2019t you paying attention last chapter?) as we learn to watch where we – and everybody else – steps…<\/p>\n

Bruce Wayne<\/em> & Alfred Pennyworth<\/em> show off their sleuthing skills in civilian style for \u2018The Case of the History Mystery\u2019<\/em>, taking us back to WWI and an encounter with Enemy Ace<\/strong> Hans von Hammer<\/em>, augmented by some modern milestones in \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: DNA\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re back in supervillain territory for chapter 5 as \u2018The Case of the Cold Cash\u2019<\/em> seems to prove chilly Mister Freeze<\/em> is the bad guy… until our heroes take a closer look; all complemented by the Terrific Trio taking stock of fraud in \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: Fakes and Phonies\u2019<\/em>.
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\nBatgirl and Robin have their wits truly tested in\u00a0\u2018The Case of the Digital Ghost\u2019<\/em> before \u2018Batcave Crime Lab: Eyewitness Testimony\u2019<\/em> wonderfully tests every reader\u2019s memory and visual acuity – with helpful hints from\u00a0Commissioner Gordon<\/em> – as we rush to the conclusion in Chapter 7 as The Joker<\/strong> & Harley Quinn<\/strong> threaten appalling consequences for all in \u2018The Case of the Perilous Parade\u2019<\/em>: a thrilling manhunt that literally demands your full attention…
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\n\u2018Epilogue\u2019<\/em> then provides a summation wrap-up from Batman, plus a so-cool poster to declare \u201cCase Closed!\u201d on this vivid and vibrant anticrime primer… for now!<\/p>\n

The caseload is done-in-one (hopefully only until we get a sequel and series puh-leeeze!) but this thrilling tome also offers a tantalising peek at Sara Farizan & Nicoletta Baldari\u2019s Gotham-set tale of bullying and being the new kid My Buddy Killer Croc <\/strong>that\u2019s also worth some of your time and attention.<\/p>\n

Smart, compelling, brilliantly entertaining, astoundingly infectious and deliciously addictive, Batman\u2019s Mystery Casebook <\/strong>is a superbly challenging activity and adventure romp packed with charm and wit to captivate fans and nervous neophytes alike: one introducing a new wondrous world with a rousing reminder that all is never as it seems…
\n\u00a9 2022 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sholly Fisch, Christopher A. Uminga & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-7795-0586-6 (TPB), 978-1-7795-0878-2 (Digital edition) In recent years DC opened up its shared superhero universe: generating Original Graphic Novels featuring its many stars in stand-alone adventures for the demographic so sadly misnamed Young Adult. To date, results have been rather hit or miss, but … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Batman\u2019s Mystery Casebook”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[92,10,33,75,76,286,97,225,172,385,325,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-batgirl","category-batman","category-catwomman","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-harley-quinn","category-kids-all-ages","category-mystery","category-robin","category-sea-stories","category-the-joker","category-war-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-9uA","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36492","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=36492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36498,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36492\/revisions\/36498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}