Batman: Adventures of the Dark Knight

by Billy Wrecks

Join the Dark Knight on his dangerous crusade for justice.

96 pages, Library Binding

First published February 2, 2016

Reviews

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat little compendium of current Batman characters. A little too advanced for my kids to enjoy just yet, but I certainly did.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Billy Wrecks superhero book - this one despite the title is adventure free and basically tells you who Batman is how he became Batman, and talks about his equipment and his allies and the roster of villains he faces. It is describing the Batman universe rather than a specific story. It has a series of questions at the end to test the reader as well. It would be effective for the younger reader, and gives a decent introduction to Batman.

[Marcel Alamán · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think is a good book to introduce my children to Batman. Unfortunately I noticed that the origin story of some characters was changed.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book, lots of interesting facts about Comic Gotham characters and cool Batman story’s

[Drew Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a kids' book that my 10-year-old son picked out at the library. He liked it a lot and asked me to read it so we could discuss it.

I totally see the attraction and would have loved it as a ten-year-old. This isn't a story. It's a summary of Batman lore as it stands at the time of publication in 2016 (or at least stood prior to the "Rebirth" comics over the summer of 2016). There are tons of "facts" about Batman, his allies, enemies, devices, locations, etc. -- all in an easy to read format with full color illustrations. The artwork is very good.

What's interesting as a long-time Batman fan who read the comics as a kid from the late '70s through the early '90s is seeing the various genetic bits and pieces spliced into the current "cannon" of Batman lore. The vehicles are clearly inspired by Burton's 1989 film and its sequel. Detective Bullock and Officer Montoya from Batman: the Animated Series (which was also heavily inspired by the Burton films) are there too. To my knowledge, they were not regular characters before that series. The origin of the Joker references the "Red Hood," which is a story that originally was published in 1951 (and which I just read in "Batman: Secrets of the Batcave").

Seeing all these familiar bits and pieces combined into a cohesive, single story is like seeing how a child is a blend of features from all four grandparents. This isn't the Batman cannon that I grew up with, but people have been saying that for 70 years. It's neat to see where things stand. I was, however, surprised to learn that Jason Todd isn't dead (apparently as of 2005 according to Wikipedia).

I'm giving this four stars, not from my perspective as an adult reading this for my own amusement, but as a parent who is very impressed with the quality and content of this book. It is perfectly appropriate for younger children.

[Shun]

This book was fun because it's not only a story and there is some information about other guys too.