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Batman One-Shots
Batman: The 1989 Movie Adaptation Deluxe Edition
In time for the 30th anniversary of the blockbuster movie Batman, DC reprints the official comics adaptation. Written by Dennis O'Neil, the dean of Batman writers, with lush artwork by Jerry Ordway, this story faithfully brings to comics the story from the Academy Award-winning 1989 movie! Collects BATMAN: MOVIE SPECIAL #1, plus high-quality scans of each page of original art presented in black and white to accompany the final colored pages.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Dennis O'Neil
1,757 books276 followers
Dennis "Denny" O'Neil
was a comic book writer and editor best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retirement.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
His best-known works include Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman with Neal Adams, The Shadow with Michael Kaluta and The Question with Denys Cowan. As an editor, he is principally known for editing the various Batman titles. From 2013 unti his death, he sat on the board of directors of the charity The Hero Initiative and served on its Disbursement Committee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
December 23, 2023
Pretty straight forward adaptation with nothing that really added to the film. Minus one star for not including the Batwing/moon scene.
February 25, 2017
Not as good as Tim Burton's movie (still my most favourite ones cinematic Batman/Joker), but I really enjoyed for good this comic adaptation of the 1989 movie.
A cheesy novelization, far better than other ones published in the 80/90s.
May 21, 2018
A totally needless adaptation but some amazing lines that were added for absolutely no reason, e.g. "I suppose the media would label it a Batarang."
August 18, 2024
Batman: The 1989 Movie Adaptation Deluxe Edition
A new kind of criminal is stalking Gotham City - a twisted murderer known as the Joker. But rumours of a Bat Man hunting in the night night may bring Jack Napier's crazed reign to an end.
The adaptation of the movie is really good, stripping it back to its core. The character work is accurate to the actors' likenesses and the artwork in general is good. The problem for me with this book is that the black and white and colour pages are interleaved, meaning each page turn is a double click on the Kindle. A small problem, but one that could have been addressed.
A new kind of criminal is stalking Gotham City - a twisted murderer known as the Joker. But rumours of a Bat Man hunting in the night night may bring Jack Napier's crazed reign to an end.
The adaptation of the movie is really good, stripping it back to its core. The character work is accurate to the actors' likenesses and the artwork in general is good. The problem for me with this book is that the black and white and colour pages are interleaved, meaning each page turn is a double click on the Kindle. A small problem, but one that could have been addressed.
April 1, 2023
That was quite.. expendable.
February 23, 2024
I got this because I liked the Jerry Ordway illustrations I had seen in the blu-ray case and because I figured it would be closer to the shooting script, which meant some iconic lines (I'm Batman) would be absent. However, the adaption is rather crammed. This is likely due to space. It is perplexing since the film had little plot. Tim Burton's Batman was a deliberately paced film that relied on atmosphere and style to invoke a world that was a reflection of ours but not the same. The action scenes that were peppered throughout were there to entertain and serve as set pieces, but they were not the heart of the film unlike most superheroes films. Here the action is sparse, iconic scenes are missing or short, and the atmosphere is slight. That said, Ordway did a good job with what he had and nearly everyone was well drawn. Michael Keaton comes off stiff. That is not a surprise though as his performance in the film was very subtle, and was mostly in movement of his eyes and mouth, something the comic cannot do justice.
December 16, 2022
"Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?" Honestly now...Have you ever watched this amazing movie with the devil in the pale moonlight? Because it's one of my most favorite films I have ever seen in my life.
In this major 1989 blockbuster hit, Batman, our favorite masked vigilante from Gotham City, rises to fight against evil in order to keep its citizens safe. He must battle Jack Napier, who turns into the Joker (as you have learned, of course, in The Killing Joke) and threatens to take over Gotham City.
This is the first dark comic book movie ever made and the one which set the trend of modern dark superhero movies. It prompted the creation of the hugely popular 1992-1994 Cartoon Network TV show Batman: The Animated Series, which in turn led to the formation of the DC Animated Universe, and influenced its design.
The full plot is given below:
It is almost time for the 200th-anniversary bicentennial festival of Gotham City and for this special day, the city's mayor wants the city safe from all the criminals who run rampant in the streets. It's in this scenario that rumors about a masked vigilante dressed in a bat costume begin to be heard, leading reporters Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox to investigate this mysterious character who seems to be seriously interested in cleaning up the city by himself.
Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter-ego, hosts a fundraiser in Wayne Manor and it is on this occasion that he meets Vicki Vale for the first time falling in love with her. Prior to these events, the notorious mob boss Carl Grissom discovers an affair between his second-in-command Jack Napier and his woman Alice therefore he decides to have his top man killed by the police by setting him up in a raid at Ace Chemicals with the aid of a corrupt policeman.
Batman arrives at the place and during a fight with Jack Napier the latter accidentally falls in a chemical vat full of acid and is presumed dead both by Batman and Gotham City's police Commissioner Gordon.
Unbeknownst to them, Jack Napier has survived what should have been a lethal incident but his appearance is grotesquely disfigured: his face now resembles the one of a clown due to a completely white skin, green hair and a permanent unsettling grin on his now scarlet red lips leading him to call himself...you guessed it..."The Joker".
Using his new persona and now completely insane, Jack Napier exacts his revenge on his former boss and manages to take over his criminal empire. Using this new resource, the Joker begins terrorizing Gotham's population with a lethal venom injected in hygiene products but this plan is promptly countered by Batman.
The Joker begins investigating his enemy and casually discover a photograph of Vicki Vale, eventually falling in love with her. Batman's battle against the evil madman has now become personal but it will get even worse when he'll find out something about his nemesis that will make the old but never forgotten ache of the murder of his parents resurface and even more difficult when the Joker hosts the bicentennial festival and is backed up by the greed of the people that Batman is trying so hard to protect.
Bob Kane has hired as a creative consultant during the film's production, meaning that the creator of Batman himself had an important role in the making of the movie. Kane approved the design of Gotham City, Batman's costume, Jack Nicholson's casting as the Joker, and Sam Hamm's script. According to some early alternative scripts, other characters like the Penguin, Robin, Silver St. Cloud and Rupert Thorne would have made an appearance in this movie but were later deleted during development.
The movie doesn't only show Batman as being one who fights and cares for justice: Commissioner J. Gordon, District Attorney H. Dent, and the two reporters are two examples of this, the latter ones especially in the bicentennial festival scene. The sceneries are very good expressionist sceneries that suit the rather dark nature of the comics, and the ending climax during the sequence at the cathedral is amazing. Although it's an integral setting in the comic books, Arkham Asylum is nowhere to be seen here nor in its sequel, which is a wasted opportunity given that its eerie and grim atmosphere could match Tim Burton's style, but as pointed out below, what purpose the Asylum could have if Batman kills his enemies all the time here? This was ultimately rectified later. The film also doesn't flesh out Batman's backstory to the fullest, only showing a flashback of when Bruce went to the movies with his parents only to be ambushed by Jack Napier and Joe Chill at Crime Alley. This can be ignored, since a lot of us know about Bruce Wayne's tragic backstory, and it was more focused on, years later, in Batman Begins.
It features Danny Elfman's iconic musical score which became the trademark "Batman music" used in many Batman related franchises, especially its animated series. The score is a masterpiece and Danny Elfman composed it beautifully. He's just on another level. Also, the film's theme song actually inspired the Fox NFL theme. We even get songs by Prince (or it could actually be Michael Jackson, I don't really know for sure) during the Joker's scenes that help creating the weird and unsettling feeling of the Joker being both funny and spirited while still being a dangerous criminal.
In regards to Batman, the movie seems to focus on the Joker more than on Batman, to the point that even Jack Nicholson's name is on both the credits and the poster before Michael Keaton's. Speaking of, Jack Nicholson's Joker is an excellent portrayal of that character due to his blend of spiritedness and insanity, this version of the character influenced the Joker of the animated series; additionally, the Joker provides some incredibly entertaining moments also thanks to the intelligent use of harmless-looking deadly gadgets, thus offering a good grasp of the source material. Even the Joker's "commercial"...need I say more? What else need be said? On the other hand, Two-Face, who acts as a minor character in this movie, is played by black actor Billy Dee Williams. This casting choice (different from the comics, where Two-Face is white) was made with the intention to eventually present the villain Two-Face as a dichotomy of black and white in a sequel. Tommy Lee Jones was later cast as Two-Face in the sequels, much to the dismay of Williams.
Michael Keaton does a good job with his Batman due to his peculiar facial expressions that seem particularly suited for Batman's gloomy attitude. The actor also came up with the idea to perform his Batman voice at a lower register in order to differentiate him from Bruce Wayne, setting the trend for every actor who played the character after him, Christian Bale included. Two cinema veterans additionally participated in this movie: Hammer Film Productions (if you've never heard of them, they're a film company from the United Kingdom founded in 1940 known usually for their fantasy, horror, and sci-fi films) legend Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth and western legend Jack Palance as mob boss Carl Grissom. Alfred letting Vickie Vale in the Batcave, however, nonchalantly is an out-of-character moment for him, even if it is functional to the movie's plot and Bruce Wayne/Batman's relationship with Vickie Vale in particular. Also, despite that one of Batman's core rules in the comic books is to never kill, in this film he doesn't seem to worry about this, not caring either when he kills some of the Joker's goons or when he ties up the Joker's leg to the gargoyle so it drags his enemy to his death hundreds of feet below. Keep in mind, though, that Joker's actions did ultimately lead to his death.
The movie spawned three awesome video games (one on the TurboGrafx-16, one on the NES, and one on the Sega Genesis, each one different from one another) and due to being a hit and bringing back the superhero genre, it spawned three sequels: Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin.
It may seem too dark at first, but nonetheless, Tim Burton's Batman is highly regarded as the best of the films before The Dark Knight trilogy. If you want to see the best of Batman, begin with this film. The caped crusader will rise...and the choice is between good and evil.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2023
Based on the memorable cinematic achievement from 1989, Dennis O’Neil, and Jerry Ordway’s adaptation of Tim Burton��s classic reunites two of the most memorable names of the time, to deliver a faithful-yet-flawed visual representation of the iconic film. As any movie-comic book adaptation, there are omissions, additions, and a certain sense of summary within each page, with the objective of being concise and direct to the point.
In this case, O’Neil’s script is exactly what you might’ve expected, when it comes to adapting a film material to the format. However, it is clear that O’Neil’s approach to Burton’s Batman was more in tone with his own style of comic book writing. Batman, from 1989, is a movie that certainly took a lot of liberties when adapting the character for the big screen, although more in tone with the darker, gothic, and noir-like essence from the comics, Burton managed to reshape the character in an almost drastically innovative way, offering a uniquely reinvented vision of the Cape Crusader. O’Neil’s script, however, tries to make this look more like a version of his own vision of the Batman, since he is one of the most influential and successful writers of the character, and in many respects, he’s responsible of some of the first reinventing evolutions given to Batman’s comic books, way before even Frank Miller stepped in the property with his timeless ‘Year One’, and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’. So, honestly, you couldn’t have had a better choice to adapt the 1989 film into a comic book, since O’Neil, at that point, was already one of the bigger names in the industry.
Ordway, on the other hand, deploys a stupendous display of artwork in order to recapture the very best aesthetic elements from the Tim Burton film. His character designs are essentially the same as in the movie; Keaton, Basinger, Nicholson, everyone looks as their real life counterpart, even the secondary characters look as they should, with Ordway’s characteristic vintage style that mimics the physical aspects, as well as the expressions and shapes, not to mention, his perfect recreation of the film’s locations and landmarks, basically capturing the haunting gothic atmosphere that defined the film’s successful production identity. If I might have a nitpick on Ordway’s art it’ll be on how some of the moments that I anticipated from the film lack certain visual impact in the panels presented, compared to the photography in the movie. Other than that, Ordway’s pencils, combined with Steve Oliff’s colors, result in the perfect mix to achieve a genuine pulp-comic book strip style, which goes more than adequately with the tone the movie uses.
However, and as much a fan as I was of the art, regarding O’Neils take on the adaptive level of his script, there are some key-moments omitted completely from this that keep this from being a perfect comic book adaptation of a film; the absence of Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent (aside of a quick mention at the beginning), the Batmobile chase-sequence, along with the fight of Batman against the Joker’s thugs afterwards. I guess I wouldn’t mind those if O’Neil wouldn’t have omitted one of my favorite sequences in the film: Joker’s takeover of Grissom’s mob-empire, killing Antoine Rotelli in the creepiest and gruesome way possible. My only guess is that the editorial forbid O’Neil from including that sequence in the final script of the comic, since it is quite dark and disturbing, and let’s not forget, the main target-audience for this were kids, back in the day. A shame, really, since I consider it a key moment that’ll help the film define it’s darkest potential- something that ‘Returns’ would successfully outmatch-, so having it completely gone from the comic book adaptation truly makes it feel incomplete.
In the end, this product truly captures the elements that made the film so attractive, and beloved by its audience; it’s a fairly crafted complement that’ll be the object of appreciation for any diehard fans-such as myself-of the classic film, and with a properly effective combo of writing and art, this is a valuable collectible item for both: fans, and comic book readers.
In this case, O’Neil’s script is exactly what you might’ve expected, when it comes to adapting a film material to the format. However, it is clear that O’Neil’s approach to Burton’s Batman was more in tone with his own style of comic book writing. Batman, from 1989, is a movie that certainly took a lot of liberties when adapting the character for the big screen, although more in tone with the darker, gothic, and noir-like essence from the comics, Burton managed to reshape the character in an almost drastically innovative way, offering a uniquely reinvented vision of the Cape Crusader. O’Neil’s script, however, tries to make this look more like a version of his own vision of the Batman, since he is one of the most influential and successful writers of the character, and in many respects, he’s responsible of some of the first reinventing evolutions given to Batman’s comic books, way before even Frank Miller stepped in the property with his timeless ‘Year One’, and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’. So, honestly, you couldn’t have had a better choice to adapt the 1989 film into a comic book, since O’Neil, at that point, was already one of the bigger names in the industry.
Ordway, on the other hand, deploys a stupendous display of artwork in order to recapture the very best aesthetic elements from the Tim Burton film. His character designs are essentially the same as in the movie; Keaton, Basinger, Nicholson, everyone looks as their real life counterpart, even the secondary characters look as they should, with Ordway’s characteristic vintage style that mimics the physical aspects, as well as the expressions and shapes, not to mention, his perfect recreation of the film’s locations and landmarks, basically capturing the haunting gothic atmosphere that defined the film’s successful production identity. If I might have a nitpick on Ordway’s art it’ll be on how some of the moments that I anticipated from the film lack certain visual impact in the panels presented, compared to the photography in the movie. Other than that, Ordway’s pencils, combined with Steve Oliff’s colors, result in the perfect mix to achieve a genuine pulp-comic book strip style, which goes more than adequately with the tone the movie uses.
However, and as much a fan as I was of the art, regarding O’Neils take on the adaptive level of his script, there are some key-moments omitted completely from this that keep this from being a perfect comic book adaptation of a film; the absence of Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent (aside of a quick mention at the beginning), the Batmobile chase-sequence, along with the fight of Batman against the Joker’s thugs afterwards. I guess I wouldn’t mind those if O’Neil wouldn’t have omitted one of my favorite sequences in the film: Joker’s takeover of Grissom’s mob-empire, killing Antoine Rotelli in the creepiest and gruesome way possible. My only guess is that the editorial forbid O’Neil from including that sequence in the final script of the comic, since it is quite dark and disturbing, and let’s not forget, the main target-audience for this were kids, back in the day. A shame, really, since I consider it a key moment that’ll help the film define it’s darkest potential- something that ‘Returns’ would successfully outmatch-, so having it completely gone from the comic book adaptation truly makes it feel incomplete.
In the end, this product truly captures the elements that made the film so attractive, and beloved by its audience; it’s a fairly crafted complement that’ll be the object of appreciation for any diehard fans-such as myself-of the classic film, and with a properly effective combo of writing and art, this is a valuable collectible item for both: fans, and comic book readers.
February 24, 2023
2.5/5
"Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
I never was a huge fan of this movie. I love what Tim Burton did for the character with his amazing visuals but as stories go, this is pretty mid. Basically, I simply agree with Burton's statement:
From IMDb: "Shortly after completing the film, Tim Burton said "I liked parts of it, but the whole movie is mainly boring to me. It's okay, but it was more of a cultural phenomenon than a great movie." He also wasn't enthusiastic about how Prince's songs were used in the film. As time has distanced him from the stressful production of the film, he has become more favorable of it."
So, great aesthetics, great soundtrack, but weak story and characters. Iconic, yes, fun, absolutely, but just weak. This comics adaptation is an okay read and quick too, even though it seems a little rushed at times. I wanted to read "Batman '89" so I decided to jump a little back before starting.
"Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
I never was a huge fan of this movie. I love what Tim Burton did for the character with his amazing visuals but as stories go, this is pretty mid. Basically, I simply agree with Burton's statement:
From IMDb: "Shortly after completing the film, Tim Burton said "I liked parts of it, but the whole movie is mainly boring to me. It's okay, but it was more of a cultural phenomenon than a great movie." He also wasn't enthusiastic about how Prince's songs were used in the film. As time has distanced him from the stressful production of the film, he has become more favorable of it."
So, great aesthetics, great soundtrack, but weak story and characters. Iconic, yes, fun, absolutely, but just weak. This comics adaptation is an okay read and quick too, even though it seems a little rushed at times. I wanted to read "Batman '89" so I decided to jump a little back before starting.
August 2, 2023
I liked the art style. Straight forward. Condensed but it hits all the main points of the movie.
July 2, 2024
Okay, it was not totally bad, the artwork was quite nice, condensed a bit too much, but still nice. But as a book itself, it was not needed.
Want to read
March 10, 2025HAHA WHAAAT??? BATMAN??? SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!
April 30, 2025
Nice adaptation of the Movie. Recommended
January 2, 2025
3.5⭐️
December 14, 2023
Very enjoyable with some great artwork and a few differences from the Movie.
April 11, 2024
Excellent Adaptation. For the art and the dialouge with a few things added to make it work dialouge wise. YOU wanna Get Nuts and read this!
September 14, 2022
Lo que vamos a encontrar en este cómic no es ni más ni menos que lo que ofrece, una adaptación oficial de la película de 1989 dirigida por Tim Burton. Quizás en este sentido se me antoja más como un objeto de coleccionista que como una obra que aporte realmente algo inédito a la figura de Batman. De esta manera, “Batman 1989” fue publicado por primera vez en 2020 con guion de Dennis O’Neil y gráficos de Jerry Ordway. Yo reconozco que tengo especial cariño al Batman encarnado por Michael Keaton y que todavía me da escalofríos ese Joker que, pese a actuaciones estelares posteriores, para mi siempre va a tener la apariencia de Jack Nicholson. Precisamente por este motivo me ha encantado revivir esa atmósfera que, en ese sentido, sí debo reconocer que me ha transmitido el cómic.
La obra se encuentra publicada en blanco y negro con el texto original en una versión en blanco y negro a la izquierda y su traducción y edición en color a la derecha. Me parece curioso que se hayan eliminado algunas de las escenas más terroríficas como esa en la que un Jack Napier recién convertido en Joker se reúne con los mayores representantes del crimen en Gotham. Igualmente se han cambiado otras como la historia que concierte a Alicia, la que fuera amante del villano y tristemente habría de convertirse en un boceto de su particular forma de entender el “arte”. Por lo demás, es comprensible que el cómic se haya convertido en una versión “revisionable” de la clásica película.
Por supuesto, reconozco que la edición en tapa dura y con esos bocetos de la obra que incluye al final me han gustado mucho. Lo más destacable en este sentido son las anotaciones del propio Jack Nicholson sobre estas pruebas de dibujo que me han arrancado (muy apropiadamente) más de una sonrisa. Respecto a los gráficos en sí, me han traído la misma esencia que la película y admito que todos los actores son perfectamente reconocibles. ¿Aporta algo nuevo a los amantes de la película? Yo realmente diría que no, incluso cambia pequeños detalles cuya motivación no comprendo. Puede que merezca la pena como elemento de colección, pero (en palabras del propio Nicholson cuando se refiere a su representación gráfica) podría estar mejor.
La obra se encuentra publicada en blanco y negro con el texto original en una versión en blanco y negro a la izquierda y su traducción y edición en color a la derecha. Me parece curioso que se hayan eliminado algunas de las escenas más terroríficas como esa en la que un Jack Napier recién convertido en Joker se reúne con los mayores representantes del crimen en Gotham. Igualmente se han cambiado otras como la historia que concierte a Alicia, la que fuera amante del villano y tristemente habría de convertirse en un boceto de su particular forma de entender el “arte”. Por lo demás, es comprensible que el cómic se haya convertido en una versión “revisionable” de la clásica película.
Por supuesto, reconozco que la edición en tapa dura y con esos bocetos de la obra que incluye al final me han gustado mucho. Lo más destacable en este sentido son las anotaciones del propio Jack Nicholson sobre estas pruebas de dibujo que me han arrancado (muy apropiadamente) más de una sonrisa. Respecto a los gráficos en sí, me han traído la misma esencia que la película y admito que todos los actores son perfectamente reconocibles. ¿Aporta algo nuevo a los amantes de la película? Yo realmente diría que no, incluso cambia pequeños detalles cuya motivación no comprendo. Puede que merezca la pena como elemento de colección, pero (en palabras del propio Nicholson cuando se refiere a su representación gráfica) podría estar mejor.
December 28, 2023
Después de unos años algo desapercibidos, nuevamente el cómic de Batman volvió a recuperar a finales de los ochenta, otra vez, un cierto estatus con la obra de Alan Moore (La broma asesina). La película -espléndida- de Tim Burton dio la oportunidad de hacer la adaptación al cómic. Así que Warner y DC Comics colaboraron en la producción y el resultado fue excepcional. Hasta el punto que pienso que es uno de los mejores cómics que jamás adaptó una película de superhéroes.
El guion de Dennis O´Neil hace lo más importante, que es ser fiel a la película, y eso es lo fundamental cuando otros muchos escritores quieren dejar su impronta personal traicionando al original. Pero lo que convierte en magnífico el cómic es la obra gráfica de Jerry Ordway y Steve Oliff. De hecho es un cómic, que como dice el viejo refrán, sobran las palabras, con verlo es suficiente.
En España, ediciones Zinco, se encargo de llevar a cabo la traducción, maquetación y venta del tebeo, y desde luego hoy en día es una joya y un verdadero tesoro para los coleccionistas que tenemos la suerte de tenerlo. Y poco más, disfrutar del mejor Batman de la historia, que es el de Tim Burton -junto con la segunda de Nolan-, y desde el punto de vista del cómic disfrutar de una joyita en toda regla. Ya la portada con Joker Nicholson, un Batman gótico y una gárgola te invita a devorarlo.
El guion de Dennis O´Neil hace lo más importante, que es ser fiel a la película, y eso es lo fundamental cuando otros muchos escritores quieren dejar su impronta personal traicionando al original. Pero lo que convierte en magnífico el cómic es la obra gráfica de Jerry Ordway y Steve Oliff. De hecho es un cómic, que como dice el viejo refrán, sobran las palabras, con verlo es suficiente.
En España, ediciones Zinco, se encargo de llevar a cabo la traducción, maquetación y venta del tebeo, y desde luego hoy en día es una joya y un verdadero tesoro para los coleccionistas que tenemos la suerte de tenerlo. Y poco más, disfrutar del mejor Batman de la historia, que es el de Tim Burton -junto con la segunda de Nolan-, y desde el punto de vista del cómic disfrutar de una joyita en toda regla. Ya la portada con Joker Nicholson, un Batman gótico y una gárgola te invita a devorarlo.
November 13, 2024
Batman: The Official Comic Adaptation #1 is a prestige-format one-shot comic written by Dennis O’Neil, based off the screenplay by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, art by Jerry Ordway, and colors by Steve Oliff. It was originally released June 1989.
Gotham City is the crime capital of the world but a mysterious vigilante known as Batman is believed to be cleaning up the city at night. Reporter Alexander Knox and photographer Vicki Vale are on a mission to uncover the scoop on who the Batman is and what drives him.
Jack Napier is the right hand man to Crime Lord Grissom. After being betrayed by his boss and a botched raid, Napier falls into a vat of industrial chemicals and surfaces as a changed man, The Joker. Joker quickly sets out on a path of revenge climbing to the top ranks of Gotham’s criminal underworld before setting his sights on the beautiful Vicki Vale and drawing the attention of Batman.
This is a fast paced adaptation of Tim Burton’s classic 1989 Batman film which still stands as one of the best Batman films 35 years later. The adaptation hits all the big moments of the film and most of the iconic lines. There a few lines changes and added panels that were later cut from or changed from the film. The one thing that stood out to me that was missing was Billy Dee William’s Harvey Dent does not make an appearance in the comic. Because it’s so fast paced, a lot of the big plot points seem glossed over and don’t resonate with the same meaning behind them.
I was actually very impressed with the art throughout the book. DC Comics could have easily phoned it in here but they put the book in Ordway’s capable hands as one of DC’s top artists at the time. All the predominant actors’ likenesses are depicted in the comic including Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Jack Nicholson, and Robert Wuhl.
Gotham City is the crime capital of the world but a mysterious vigilante known as Batman is believed to be cleaning up the city at night. Reporter Alexander Knox and photographer Vicki Vale are on a mission to uncover the scoop on who the Batman is and what drives him.
Jack Napier is the right hand man to Crime Lord Grissom. After being betrayed by his boss and a botched raid, Napier falls into a vat of industrial chemicals and surfaces as a changed man, The Joker. Joker quickly sets out on a path of revenge climbing to the top ranks of Gotham’s criminal underworld before setting his sights on the beautiful Vicki Vale and drawing the attention of Batman.
This is a fast paced adaptation of Tim Burton’s classic 1989 Batman film which still stands as one of the best Batman films 35 years later. The adaptation hits all the big moments of the film and most of the iconic lines. There a few lines changes and added panels that were later cut from or changed from the film. The one thing that stood out to me that was missing was Billy Dee William’s Harvey Dent does not make an appearance in the comic. Because it’s so fast paced, a lot of the big plot points seem glossed over and don’t resonate with the same meaning behind them.
I was actually very impressed with the art throughout the book. DC Comics could have easily phoned it in here but they put the book in Ordway’s capable hands as one of DC’s top artists at the time. All the predominant actors’ likenesses are depicted in the comic including Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Jack Nicholson, and Robert Wuhl.
December 21, 2025
I liked Batman 89 as a kid, fine Batman film, not as good as Returns but it’s cool, my wife and I tried to watch it this year and we quit about halfway through. It just hasn’t aged well and Denny O’Neil can’t save it.
The art is whatever, the dialogue is god awful often, here’s some bangers
“You made me! You killed my parents” Batman acting hella reckless with his identity, confronting Joker
“I say you made me so you say I made you? How childish!” -Joker
Vicki: “what do you call this thing?”
Batman: “I suppose the media would label it a Batarang” wtf bih
There’s also the recurring Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight bit which had my wife and I separately singing Fishin in the Dark
We also have the pencil pages included before every comic page, so you’re flipping two pages to continue reading, instead of just having them compiled at the end
This book suuuuuucks but I kinda think Batman 89 sucks period, but without it we wouldn’t have Batman 89 by Sam Hamm and that’s some good stuff
The art is whatever, the dialogue is god awful often, here’s some bangers
“You made me! You killed my parents” Batman acting hella reckless with his identity, confronting Joker
“I say you made me so you say I made you? How childish!” -Joker
Vicki: “what do you call this thing?”
Batman: “I suppose the media would label it a Batarang” wtf bih
There’s also the recurring Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight bit which had my wife and I separately singing Fishin in the Dark
We also have the pencil pages included before every comic page, so you’re flipping two pages to continue reading, instead of just having them compiled at the end
This book suuuuuucks but I kinda think Batman 89 sucks period, but without it we wouldn’t have Batman 89 by Sam Hamm and that’s some good stuff
February 20, 2022
Dennis O’Neil’s comic adaptation of the original Tim Burton Batman film is a quick nostalgic read.
It’s very faithful to the film though sped up to fit in just a small number of pages and with some subtle differences in dialogue.
The art from Jerry Ordway is fantastic and the panels really pop on the page. The first page in particular does something cool with movie film to show its panels.
Seeing the film in comic highlighted a few things: how iconic certain Joker lines are, but also how much Jack Nicholson’s performance brought them to life, what a brilliant idea it was to have Batman already active and to explore his origin later in the story, and how much of an elseworlds or even start of an ultimate/earth one universe, this feels like.
If you’re a big fan of the film, as I am, then this is a fun read that brings back fond memories. The film was a strong story so the comic is no exception.
It’s very faithful to the film though sped up to fit in just a small number of pages and with some subtle differences in dialogue.
The art from Jerry Ordway is fantastic and the panels really pop on the page. The first page in particular does something cool with movie film to show its panels.
Seeing the film in comic highlighted a few things: how iconic certain Joker lines are, but also how much Jack Nicholson’s performance brought them to life, what a brilliant idea it was to have Batman already active and to explore his origin later in the story, and how much of an elseworlds or even start of an ultimate/earth one universe, this feels like.
If you’re a big fan of the film, as I am, then this is a fun read that brings back fond memories. The film was a strong story so the comic is no exception.
April 30, 2023
My goodness has it really been over 30 years?!! I remember buying the original premium version at the time it was on glossy paper and had that great cover. It's interesting revisiting this adaptation as I'd forgotten which bits they had changed or omitted. Although I think some differences may have been a result of earlier drafts or edits of the film. Artwork is amazing throughout and it's nice to compare the original sketches alongside the completed pages. I particularly enjoyed spitting where the Artis had had to redraw certain faces or move speech bubbles. It does make the reading experience a little strange as you have duplication of narrative on each double spread but it helps with the comparison.
July 20, 2023
(3.5 stars)
Basically just a worse version of the film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but the condensed story and some of the changes don’t really gel with me, for example, everything is so rushed, and doesn’t effectively capture the pace of the film, and it can sometimes ruin the mood of scenes. But I absolutely love the artwork, it is so great, and I could hang every panel on my wall, the visual transition from screen to page was by far the best part of it, and at the end of the day, it’s still the classic Batman 89, which I will always love watching (reading though? Maybe the one time was enough).
Basically just a worse version of the film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but the condensed story and some of the changes don’t really gel with me, for example, everything is so rushed, and doesn’t effectively capture the pace of the film, and it can sometimes ruin the mood of scenes. But I absolutely love the artwork, it is so great, and I could hang every panel on my wall, the visual transition from screen to page was by far the best part of it, and at the end of the day, it’s still the classic Batman 89, which I will always love watching (reading though? Maybe the one time was enough).
September 30, 2021
This is a really great adaptation of the 1989 movie Batman. It’s not exactly a note for note adaptation which I think is great. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you can definitely appreciate this Graphic novel. I find it especially meta because it is an adaptation of a movie in comic book form that was originally in comic book form. In a way it is sort of like taking water, making coffee and then turning that coffee back into water. It’s a cool thing to do if you can do it but it’s got a Lotta extra effort.
January 7, 2021
There are no surprises with this graphic novel. It is an adaptation of the movie and it is very faithful to the movie. There are some minor line or scene changes, but that's about it, and it's not very jarring. Otherwise it looks like the movie it plays out like the movie and frankly that makes me so happy. I didn't get this wanting something new and totally different. I got this fully expecting a version that was just like the movie except I could read it. The art is wonderful and I love it.
January 29, 2021
I read this hoping I would get some insight into the mind and thoughts of Bruce Wayne during the events of the movie as I don’t see why anyone likes it but I was sadly disappointed. Unfortunately this is no more than a bare bones recap of what happened in the movie with some good art by Jerry Ordway. Reader beware this is not an adaptation as that word insinuates change but there is none here beyond the fact that 50% of the story is removed for times sake.
August 28, 2023
Quase um storyboard do filme.
O'Neil fez um bom trabalho em adaptar algumas cenas mais obscuras do filme, pois Tim Burton é um cineasta com estilo próprio e muito difícil de manter quando a ideia da edição é ser um adaptação.
A arte de Ordway toca no realismo e casa muito bem com rostos nada fáceis de retratar como os de Keaton e Basinger. O destaque fica no cuidado com os personagens secundário que são igualmente reconhecíveis no traço do desesenhista.
Recomendado aos fans.
O'Neil fez um bom trabalho em adaptar algumas cenas mais obscuras do filme, pois Tim Burton é um cineasta com estilo próprio e muito difícil de manter quando a ideia da edição é ser um adaptação.
A arte de Ordway toca no realismo e casa muito bem com rostos nada fáceis de retratar como os de Keaton e Basinger. O destaque fica no cuidado com os personagens secundário que são igualmente reconhecíveis no traço do desesenhista.
Recomendado aos fans.
May 31, 2021
A really abridged version of the film. If the movie had been made of this comic it would've been 20 minutes long. Some odd changes from the movie and some really dumb ones like in the very end Batman trying to frame Knox as the Batman for some reason. Artwork is decent, especially The Joker looks a lot like in the movie.
Read
April 18, 2023Enjoyable adaptation
This is an enjoyable adaptation of the film. There are some minor changes to sequences but no major changes to the plot. The artwork is brilliant. The likeness of the actors is very impressive. It is split into black & white version and then colour. Takes getting used to but it's still a good read.
This is an enjoyable adaptation of the film. There are some minor changes to sequences but no major changes to the plot. The artwork is brilliant. The likeness of the actors is very impressive. It is split into black & white version and then colour. Takes getting used to but it's still a good read.
August 1, 2023
I found this book to be fine. It's exactly like it says it is, the 1989 movie but in comic form. I thought the story was fine. What I really enjoyed from this book was the art style. I found it unique and different. A product of it's time if that makes since. This was honestly a very quick read for me that left me feeling indifferent about it.
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