Batman: Gotham Adventures #16

Batman: Gotham Adventures

by Bob Smith (Cover (Pencils)), Terry Beatty (Inks/Cover), Lee Loughridge (Colors/Cover)

Alfred's been kidnapped, but why doesn't Batman seem concerned? That's the question on the minds of Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin, who can't come to Alfred's aid until they battle their way through hordes of heavily armed thugs.

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Batman

40 pages, Comic Book

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice cover, but I hope it doesn’t give away the story!

“Captive Audience“ has an even better splash page!

Batman calls Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl who are in the middle of a huge fight. Robin calls it a ‘Volgstad Situation’ which means nothing to me!

He tells them Alfred’s been kidnapped. The team wraps it up pretty quickly.

The police called Bruce Wayne and told him to deliver 5 million in cash by dawn or Alfred will never be seen again. Now I’m no millionaire but that seems an awful lot for a butler….

Alfred, even though tied to a chair, is quizzing the kidnappers on the sitch. There are three other domestic employees tied up with him. Apparently they couldn’t figure out which one was Alfred so they took everyone nearby.

Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl meanwhile are delayed by an seemingly endless stream of more thugs!

Alfred says to the kidnappers that Bruce Wayne never pays ransoms but he knows a secret of Bruce Wayne’s that he might pay to keep quiet. He also hypnotizes two of his guards.

Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl finally break away from their fight and go after Alfred. Batman says he knows exactly where he is. Nigthwing says’s it’s because Alfred always carries a tracker.

Well, yes, the cover does give away the story, but it’s actually still a fun read. The art is very good too. 4 stars.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am slowly reading my way through the Batman: Gotham Adventures series with my kids and this one is issue sixteen. I can’t believe this issue is from twenty six years ago! That’s a long time ago but it feels so fresh reading them.
The story here is titled “Captive Audience” and it involves Batman, Batgirl, Robin and Nightwing but truth be told they are more on the sideline as this is more focused on a typically “sideline” character of Alfred the Butler! I love how this focuses on Alfred as he’s a cool character that makes all the superhero work possible for the Bat team! Here Alfred is kidnapped by criminals who want to demand Bruce Wayne for a ransom. The Bat team are all caught up fighting criminals and they are racing to try to save Alfred. But with time ticking it is up to Alfred to save the day!
Again it is so cool that we see how Alfred can defend himself! I like the drawing that reminds me of the Batman animated series. It was a nice short story. I recommend the issue.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to see Alfred hold his own, though the ending feels abrupt.