Written by Alan Burnett & Paul Dini
Art by Ty Templeton and Monica Kubina
Published by DC Comics
Any 90s kid, whether they went geek or not, at least watched an episode of Batman: The Animated Series; the definitive cartoon of a generation. The visionary team behind the show continued the adventures in one of 2020’s hit comic books. They run it back for an all-new season of this digital-first series, now available in print.
Those who remember DC Comic’s New 52 will fondly remember Scott Snyder’s well-received story arc that introduced the Court of Owls.
Alan Burnett and Paul Dini bring this secret and deadly cabal to the adventures of the animated series. Boston Brand, aka Deadman, joins in on the festivities as Batman investigates the murder of Mayor Hill.
I wondered if the creative team would present a more kid-friendly version of the Court, but everything pretty much matches the mainline continuity. Deadman’s ability to possess the living effectively reveals the dead, not dead nature of the Talons, assassins of the Court.
Just like before, Batman was unaware of the Court’s existence until now, which is a fascinating aspect of the story. It’s crazy to think that there is something about Gotham’s criminal element that Batman doesn’t know.
Besides some character work earlier on in the book, the illustrations of Ty Templeton and Monica Kubina are essentially still images from the show. Page layouts, action scenes, and color pallet invoke all the feel-good moments of simpler times that will have readers humming Danny Elfman’s main title theme.
It’s not all nostalgia, though. This series is written for older fans as much as it is for contemporary fans.
Smartphones and ghosting bring a little modern flair while the Dark Knight still poses a menacing figure on stone gargoyles, and Nightwing has his beautiful 90’s ponytail.
Burnett, Dini, Templeton, and Kubina pick up where they left off last season by adding to the mythology of its iconic predecessor. The Court of Owls fits perfectly with the series’ noir aesthetics and darker tone.
Overall, this season premiere simultaneously serves as an excellent return to the animated series and a good Batman comic for the uninitiated.
Rating: B+
