Batman: Gotham City's Guardian

DC Backstories

by Matthew K. Manning, Steven Gordon (Illustrator)

What was Bruce Wayne's childhood like? Why does he dress up like a bat? What compels him to protect Gotham City? How did he become the world's greatest detective? Who are his most trusted allies and fearsome foes? In this biography--complete with black-and-white illustrations, timelines, and fact boxes--young readers will delight in learning the complete history of Gotham's fearless protector.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2016

About the author

Matthew K. Manning is the author of over eighty books and dozens of comic books. He has written books for Scholastic, Disney Press, Abrams, Amazon, Capstone, DK Publishing, Insight Editions, Andrews/McMeel, and Running Press, dividing his time between writing original chapter book series and coffee table books. His chapter books include the six-book series Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns (Capstone), the four-book Drone Academy series (Capstone), Backstories: Batman and Backstories: Batgirl (Scholastic), and Artemis Fowl: How to be a LEPrecon (Disney Press), released in both paperback and on Audible. Many of his books have reached best-seller status on Amazon, including DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman, DC Comics Encyclopedia, and Batman: A Visual History. In addition, Manning specializes in comic books, writing for the titles Beware the Batman, Teen Titans Go!, The Batman Strikes!, Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Justice League Adventures, Scooby-Doo, and Looney Tunes for DC Comics, Marvel Action: Avengers for IDW/Marvel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures and TMNT: New Animated Adventures for IDW, and the top-selling Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures for DC/IDW, nominated by the Diamond Gem Awards for comic of the year. Manning’s work has received acclaim in Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and The Washington Times. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife Dorothy and his daughters Lillian and Gwendolyn.

Buy his books and support independent booksellers on Bookshop at https://bookshop.org/shop/matthewkman...

Reviews

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason, I have been pretty hesitant to read this story but it was a very good background introduction to all things Batman. The details to the drawings and the summaries were great.

[Andrei Stejereanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short resumé of Batman's origin, allies, enemies, gadgets and technology. It is concise and points out the important data about Batman.

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the second chapter book our 3 and 5 year old picked out after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'd describe this as a prose source book about Batman. Although there are nine chapters, there is no real story after the first chapter which is Batman's origin. After that it's just "here are some of villains," then "here are some of his sidekicks," and "here are some of his gadgets."

For very young kids, it's not great. We ended up skipping over a lot of the bonus material as the boys interest wouldn't last for a whole chapter Some of the content is also not great for young kids. I don't really want to explain the history of Jason Todd to my boys but this gives just enough to make a kid want to ask some questions. Also, some of the history given here is based on the New 52 DC Universe which has already largely been retconned.

[Christopher Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute to give someone as a quick rundown of the universe and dynamics.

[Joseph Sanchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Backstories because I have learned some amazing things about characters that I grew up with but never really read the comics or followed all of the movies. This book about Batman reveals some interesting things like that he had a son and many different crime-fighting partners who were versions of Robin. However, I still find his whole story quite a mystery. Where did he learn to be a detective? Where did he study and with whom for him to develop such a sharp mind with the abilities to create engineering wonders and solve problems that compensated for his relatively normal body? Does he age? He has no superpowers. When does a man like him find time to sleep? As mysterious as Batman is, we actually learn a lot about his enemies and why he dresses as a bat in this book. Overall, this is fun to read, but I would only recommend it for 4th-6th graders who have an interest in the origin stories of some popular comic book heroes.

[Christ Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I like this book quite a lot, as it does not really talk about one single story from the various adventures of Batman. But rather talks more about different stories and the development or beginning to Batman. The book mainly tells us readers how Batman transformed from an ordinary person to a extraordinary person who although did not have special powers, but had different talents and skills to protect Gotham city from intruders and criminals. Batman started developing into the brave and responsible guardian for Gotham city due to the death of his parents, who were both shot by a minor criminal when Batman finished watching a movie with his parents when he was small. Then, he made an oath to protect the city and let no more innocent die like his father and mother.I recommend this book for junior secondary students as it is a fun and interesting book to read, which is also suitable for all Batman lovers!

[Al Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my little dude who really liked it, and I guess I liked it too. It's not really a novel, nor even a biography, but a rundown on Batman's backstory and also has chapters on his allies/foes and so forth. It's well told and deals with the events that made Bruce Wayne/Batman who he is today. A warning for parents of younger kids though, it does focus a lot on the death of his parents, but then again, that is his main driving force as a super hero. It ties in a number of Batsources to create his history, and some of it may be new to older readers (you adults), which is a good thing. I really liked it, thought it captured the essence of Batman really well. More importantly, my son (who's 7), really enjoyed it, and we talked a lot about the story for a few days afterwards.

PS I also wrote a review on the Superman edition, and copied (and pasted) some of it for this review.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick easy to follow reference book, does not go into too many details, just gives a little background on Bruce Wayne's youth and his journey to becoming Batman. Show some of his crime-fighting gadgets and transpiration. Show all of his enemies and his fellow crime fighters.

[Hopson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book on the origins of Batman and the villains he battles. Excited to read this one to my son who loves the Caped Crusader even more than his dad does!

[Elizabeth Tessier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really awesome but the only thing that kinda bugged me was that there was pages of drawings in between the chapter pages

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the tragic loss of his parents at a young age, Bruce Wayne knew that he would end up pursuing justice in any form possible. Without the help of super powers, Bruce needed to find other ways to fight the criminals in Gotham City with: special skills, tools, gadgets and vehicles. With the only person left in his life, his butler, Alfred helped guide, Bruce with a life saturated in education and training, molding him into the Dark Night we know today as, Batman. None-the-less, even without super powers, Batman still is a force to be reckoned with, in the fight against his overwhelming number of villains.
While people may know the stories behind the lives of Superman and Batman, this book is perfectly suited to share with a younger generation. Written with the young reader in mind, this one step guide is filled with: individual backstories, glossaries, time-lines, black and white illustrations, and fast facts. From: realistic newspaper clippings, letters, illustrated photographs and snip-it’s from their lives, there are plenty of avenues to keep a young reader engaged and excited. Young readers will be able follow alongside each super hero as they grow into adulthood, gaining insights into their lives, along with the villains that fight them.
With an astute knowledge on the superheroes and their backgrounds, these books are a great resource, as well as asset for those wanting to gain knowledge and backstories on their favorite DC comic book characters. With the new DC movie coming out to theaters, this is the perfect way to get young minds engaged in books where their stories began.

you can find more of my reviews and giveaways in my syndicated newspaper column: For the Love of Books-Dixon's Independent Voice and with www.mpg8.com; as well as more of my reviews in: San Diego Book Review & San Francisco Book Review

[Niki Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scholastic is launching a new line of superhero biographies called Backstories, and boy oh boy are kids gonna go bonkers for these.

Complete with interspersed character sketches, timelines, and newspaper clippings, this text, summarizing Bruce Wayne's background from childhood to his days as Gotham City's Dark Knight, gives new meaning to nonfiction as form and genre.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute introduction to the Caped Crusader! Read this quick book since it's a homework assignment for one of my students. It gives a brief and watered down history of the Dark Knight that makes it easy to read/understand for young readers. Covers the multiple Robins, the various villains, and even some of the Bat's unique gadgets. Definitely a fun little book and worth a glance.

[Sharie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very high Lexie (1070) for early ish chapter book