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Batman: Li'l Gotham (Printed Edition) #1-12
Batman: Li'l Gotham, Vol. 1
Make it li'l!Life in the big city just got crazier with this year-round, all-ages holiday fun, featuring Batman and all of his adorable allies and adversaries! Crimefighting and celebrating go hand-in-hand in Gotham with Batman, Robing, Nightwing, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and more!
Heartfelt heroism and jubilant justice await you in BATMAN: LI'L GOTHAM (collects issues #1-6) from Dustin Nguyen (Batman, Justice League Beyond) and Derek Fridolfs (Batman: Arkham City). Mark your calendars!
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2014
14 people are currently reading
1080 people want to read
About the author
Dustin Nguyen
595 books151 followersDustin Nguyen is a comic book writer/artist who has worked for DC Comics and WildStorm since 2000. He has since worked on such titles as Jet with Dan Abnett, Wildcats v3.0 with Joe Casey, Batman with Judd Winick, Manifest Eternity with Scott Lobdell, and the latest revamp of The Authority, The Authority: Revolution, with Ed Brubaker. He was the artist on a six-issue arc of Superman/Batman entitled "Torment", with writer Alan Burnett.
With issue #840, Nguyen became the regular ongoing artist with writer Paul Dini on one of DC's flagship titles, Detective Comics until issue #852. He is now the ongoing artist along with Derek Fridolfs and writer Paul Dini on the series, Batman: Streets of Gotham.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
With issue #840, Nguyen became the regular ongoing artist with writer Paul Dini on one of DC's flagship titles, Detective Comics until issue #852. He is now the ongoing artist along with Derek Fridolfs and writer Paul Dini on the series, Batman: Streets of Gotham.
Photo by Luigi Novi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
December 10, 2013
One of my biggest issues with DC’s New 52 is the total lack of humour in their titles. They’re almost all “dark and gritty” comics that are unpleasant and not fun to read most of the time. Thankfully DC’s digital side has done a lot to alleviate that this year, publishing the excellent Batman ’66, Scooby-Doo Team-Up with Batman and Robin, The Adventures of Superman, and Batman: Li’l Gotham. Following the popular trend of chibi (meaning small/cute) versions of characters, DC have miniaturised Batman and his world and hired writer/artist Dustin Nguyen to create a series of excellent all-ages comics.
Batman is wearing his pre-New 52 outfit, Damian is still alive, and Barbara is back in the chair as Oracle so Li’l Gotham is set a few years ago, definitely pre-New 52. The stories are based around public holidays and are very gentle, as you would expect from an all-ages book. So in the Joker story here, set on Valentine’s Day, rather than face-hanging-off Joker from Death of the Family, you’ve got classic face painted Joker, running away from a lovelorn Harley, accidentally tipping a potent pheromone from Ivy’s lab on himself, and becoming irresistible to all of Gotham’s women – it’s like that Lynx ad!
Nguyen has packed the book full of feel-good Batman moments that fans will love. Damian learns about trick or treating and makes a new animal friend – Jerry the Turkey – whom he saves from becoming a Thanksgiving dinner (no such luck for the many others though!). Nightwing and Oracle go on a date on Cinqo de Mayo and have a dinner of roasted habaneros – damn, Barbara looks cute in this book! – while Alfred reminisces about the early days of Batman pre-Robins when he was a Kato-like chauffeur to Bruce(!). Catwoman tries making some positive New Year’s Resolutions but is led astray by the other Gotham City Sirens, Harley and Ivy, and Katana turns out to be an expert taco chef!
The most moving scenes are in the Mother’s and Father’s Day stories. If you read Paul Dini’s Streets of Gotham series you’ll remember a character called Colin the orphan who could turn himself into a giant, powerful man and, dressing in trenchcoat and hat, called himself Abuse. A terrible name for a superhero, but Colin befriended Damian and in this story Damian tries to help his buddy and track down Colin’s birth mother. I won’t tell you how that plays out but it’s stories like this that made readers love Damian so much. It’s so damn sweet and bless Dustin Nguyen for giving Damian fans a story like this – if you want to read more Damian stories, ignore the current Damian Son of Batman series by Andy Kubert which is total rubbish, read Li’l Gotham instead.
The Father’s Day story might be the best if only for the final scene. Barbara takes her old dad out for a meal only to find the restaurant overbooked and has to share a table with Talia and Ra’s Al-Ghul – awkward dinner conversation ensues! Meanwhile Bruce and the four Robins are trying to make dinner for Alfred, and making a mess of it. The story ends with the five of them sat on the floor eating Chinese takeout and then hugging Alfred. Not all the stories in the book hit home but I can overlook a lot when I read stories like this.
Obviously Li’l Gotham is firmly outside continuity but Nguyen knows what Batman fans want and delivers, even if he has to make the characters look like munchkins to do it! I think his painted style is really lovely and the bright colours – rare in Batman books – further accentuate its accessibility to younger readers while his facial expressions are really emotive and sharp. Nguyen’s doing a fine job drawing the backups on Batman Zero Year and Superman Unchained but Li’l Gotham shows that he’s also an enormously gifted writer too. Li’l Gotham may be aimed generally at kids but I think a lot of adult DC readers will enjoy it too, especially if you’re looking for something a lot less grim and melodramatic than DC’s current fare.
Batman is wearing his pre-New 52 outfit, Damian is still alive, and Barbara is back in the chair as Oracle so Li’l Gotham is set a few years ago, definitely pre-New 52. The stories are based around public holidays and are very gentle, as you would expect from an all-ages book. So in the Joker story here, set on Valentine’s Day, rather than face-hanging-off Joker from Death of the Family, you’ve got classic face painted Joker, running away from a lovelorn Harley, accidentally tipping a potent pheromone from Ivy’s lab on himself, and becoming irresistible to all of Gotham’s women – it’s like that Lynx ad!
Nguyen has packed the book full of feel-good Batman moments that fans will love. Damian learns about trick or treating and makes a new animal friend – Jerry the Turkey – whom he saves from becoming a Thanksgiving dinner (no such luck for the many others though!). Nightwing and Oracle go on a date on Cinqo de Mayo and have a dinner of roasted habaneros – damn, Barbara looks cute in this book! – while Alfred reminisces about the early days of Batman pre-Robins when he was a Kato-like chauffeur to Bruce(!). Catwoman tries making some positive New Year’s Resolutions but is led astray by the other Gotham City Sirens, Harley and Ivy, and Katana turns out to be an expert taco chef!
The most moving scenes are in the Mother’s and Father’s Day stories. If you read Paul Dini’s Streets of Gotham series you’ll remember a character called Colin the orphan who could turn himself into a giant, powerful man and, dressing in trenchcoat and hat, called himself Abuse. A terrible name for a superhero, but Colin befriended Damian and in this story Damian tries to help his buddy and track down Colin’s birth mother. I won’t tell you how that plays out but it’s stories like this that made readers love Damian so much. It’s so damn sweet and bless Dustin Nguyen for giving Damian fans a story like this – if you want to read more Damian stories, ignore the current Damian Son of Batman series by Andy Kubert which is total rubbish, read Li’l Gotham instead.
The Father’s Day story might be the best if only for the final scene. Barbara takes her old dad out for a meal only to find the restaurant overbooked and has to share a table with Talia and Ra’s Al-Ghul – awkward dinner conversation ensues! Meanwhile Bruce and the four Robins are trying to make dinner for Alfred, and making a mess of it. The story ends with the five of them sat on the floor eating Chinese takeout and then hugging Alfred. Not all the stories in the book hit home but I can overlook a lot when I read stories like this.
Obviously Li’l Gotham is firmly outside continuity but Nguyen knows what Batman fans want and delivers, even if he has to make the characters look like munchkins to do it! I think his painted style is really lovely and the bright colours – rare in Batman books – further accentuate its accessibility to younger readers while his facial expressions are really emotive and sharp. Nguyen’s doing a fine job drawing the backups on Batman Zero Year and Superman Unchained but Li’l Gotham shows that he’s also an enormously gifted writer too. Li’l Gotham may be aimed generally at kids but I think a lot of adult DC readers will enjoy it too, especially if you’re looking for something a lot less grim and melodramatic than DC’s current fare.
August 29, 2018
This is pretty cute.
I'm treating it as a complete AU. Damian is in it quite a bit but doesn't really behave like Damian. The little Batfam stories are really cute. Especially the Thanksgiving and Halloween ones. The Gotham City Sirens & Harley/Joker stories were kinda meh for me because I don't really dig that set up.
But this is definitely a recommend if you're looking for something cute.
I'm treating it as a complete AU. Damian is in it quite a bit but doesn't really behave like Damian. The little Batfam stories are really cute. Especially the Thanksgiving and Halloween ones. The Gotham City Sirens & Harley/Joker stories were kinda meh for me because I don't really dig that set up.
But this is definitely a recommend if you're looking for something cute.
April 25, 2014
Cute, light, silly... Basically everything that New 52 DCU isn't. I kind of wish I'd been able to read this right after Batman: Death of the Family, as a palate cleanser. The holiday-themed stories make for a fun read, and I was surprised at how effective this version of Mr. Freeze was. The characters aren't far from their canonical (pre-Flashpoint) versions, they're just in a sunnier, sitcom version of Gotham. I was unsure about the painted art at first, but it grew on me quickly. The aesthetic definitely sets it apart from the main Batman books. And I had fun reading it, which is really all I ask for from an all-ages book.
March 9, 2017
3 Stars.
Okay, this was sweet and cutesy... and I actually found the first three or four stories quite charming and fun, but theeeeeeen it just gets super... repetitive? No, that's not how I'd describe it. I don't wanna say it gets boring, but... it just loses the magic and charm it had in the beginning.
The jokes don't work, the stories are not entertaining anymore and, well, it's Li'l Gotham. I'm not expecting something thrilling, but the idea just doesn't hold up.
Not if you're reading this in one sitting at least. The silliness gets old pretty damn fast.
Every issue here is a different holiday-themed story. It's light and silly and I chuckled here and there, but I guess it's all about being cute instead of fun or interesting. I knew this was aimed towards a younger audience, but I thought it was going to be more ''adult-friendly''.
Eh, not so much.
But you know what's the one constant great thing in here? The artwork.
Gosh I love Nguyen's artwork. I follow the guy on twitter and everytime he shows his art I just love it so much. I love the coloring and I love his pretty chibi character designs, they are adorable and when the jokes land, it's because the artwork is so entertaining too.
I wouldn't really recommend this, not unless you reeeeeeeeally wanna read something childish.
Dunno, guess I was going to like it more. Maybe it's better if you read the stories individually and give it time, 'cause like I said, I was really enjoying the beginning and then, as a whole, this volume just loses its fun pretty quickly. Same old same old I guess. Still, I did like a few stories, there were some heart-warming moments and like I said before, the artwork is beatiful.
Okay, this was sweet and cutesy... and I actually found the first three or four stories quite charming and fun, but theeeeeeen it just gets super... repetitive? No, that's not how I'd describe it. I don't wanna say it gets boring, but... it just loses the magic and charm it had in the beginning.
The jokes don't work, the stories are not entertaining anymore and, well, it's Li'l Gotham. I'm not expecting something thrilling, but the idea just doesn't hold up.
Not if you're reading this in one sitting at least. The silliness gets old pretty damn fast.
Every issue here is a different holiday-themed story. It's light and silly and I chuckled here and there, but I guess it's all about being cute instead of fun or interesting. I knew this was aimed towards a younger audience, but I thought it was going to be more ''adult-friendly''.
Eh, not so much.
But you know what's the one constant great thing in here? The artwork.
Gosh I love Nguyen's artwork. I follow the guy on twitter and everytime he shows his art I just love it so much. I love the coloring and I love his pretty chibi character designs, they are adorable and when the jokes land, it's because the artwork is so entertaining too.
I wouldn't really recommend this, not unless you reeeeeeeeally wanna read something childish.
Dunno, guess I was going to like it more. Maybe it's better if you read the stories individually and give it time, 'cause like I said, I was really enjoying the beginning and then, as a whole, this volume just loses its fun pretty quickly. Same old same old I guess. Still, I did like a few stories, there were some heart-warming moments and like I said before, the artwork is beatiful.
March 23, 2024
It pains me to rate this so low but while the art was pretty unique and eye-catching, the stories seemed way too superficial, short and ultimately meaningless. I should give it half a star more just for the art.
July 15, 2016
Y'know...some things are probably better left for the kids.
Thing is, I've been hearing about Li'l Gotham for a really long time. Pretty much every comics person I follow recommends it. I see it on starter lists all the time, I see the art reblogged on tumblr...everyone seems to love this one. Everyone loves to talk about how cute it is and how much batfamily interaction there is in it. Being a huge fan of both cuteness and the batfam, I decided to pick it up.
But unfortunately, this one really, really missed the mark for me.
So first of all, I will say that yes, the art is gorgeous and amazing and cute and everything that everyone said it was. The art deserves every shred of praise that it's been getting. It's beautiful and it perfectly fits the tone of the book. A+
But the stories? Not so much. So many of the characters in Li'l Gotham behave so wildly out of character I can't really understand why people love it so much. I love the batfamily, but that doesn't come at the expense of their characters for me. The worst of the lot to me was Damian, who I felt they got entirely wrong. In regular canon, Damian is a devastatingly dangerous and intelligent ten-year-old. He masks the fact that he has feelings and emotional turmoil with violence and barbed insults. He can hurt members of his family both physically and emotionally--and he does, regularly--but it's not out of simple meanness or the fun of hurting someone. It's more complicated than that.
The Damian in Li'l Gotham, on the other hand, is a petty child who just likes to laugh at other people's misfortune. He's a schoolyard bully, nothing but a bratty child. None of the complexity is there, but more importantly, none of the character is. This Damian is unobservant enough to mistake schoolchildren dressed in costumes for super villains, he pouts when he can't eat as much candy as he likes, he takes pleasure in tormenting Alfred with Christmas decorations, is stupid enough to stick his tongue to an icicle, and constantly whines. Canon Damian might act superior, entitled, and be overly violent, but he never bullies for the sake of it and he never whines. The only thing that felt like they got right was his love for animals.
But beyond that, none of the other characters, except maybe Barb, really resemble their canon counterparts (and maybe except Tim and Dick too--they're hardly in it, so it was difficult to say). In this universe, Jason regularly hangs around the manor, all the boys get along, Batman plays pranks on villains and plays scrabble with the team, blah blah blah.
Am I being too critical of something made for kids? Maybe. Okay, probably. But I just don't get it. Yeah, this is fine for kids. It's a sort-of cute collection of simple stories with boiled down and simplified characters for children. That's fine. I just don't get why it's so popular with everyone else.
The stories bored me. They bored me so much that I put the book down in March and I didn't pick it up again until July. I actually had to force myself to finish this, despite that my collective reading time on it was probably only about an hour.
Besides all that, there was a glaring production flaw in my ebook version of this. For about a solid three or four pages, speech bubbles from a few pages away were overlaid on the incorrect image. So that was fun. I really have no idea how they didn't catch it.
And I never actually found out what the real text was supposed to be for these pages...bleh.
Anyways, the only story I actually enjoyed was the Fathers Day story, and really only for the bits with Barb. The others were largely boring and forgettable to me. I say, if you want a good Batman story focused around holidays, go read Batman: The Long Halloween instead. It may not be as cute and fluffy, but at least there's some actual character substance in it.
I will say in its favor that I enjoyed that it was mainly set in a preboot-like universe, and again, I really did like the art. I'll also say that many of the panels I found to be a lot more enjoyable out of context--I still enjoy seeing that panel of the kids & Batman in the kitchen whenever it pops up on my dash:
That's not to say this book isn't for you. Clearly, it's for a lot of people, judging by its popularity. If you want to read something cute with no plot and just have fun with it, then by all means, this is exactly for you. But it certainly wasn't for me.
Thing is, I've been hearing about Li'l Gotham for a really long time. Pretty much every comics person I follow recommends it. I see it on starter lists all the time, I see the art reblogged on tumblr...everyone seems to love this one. Everyone loves to talk about how cute it is and how much batfamily interaction there is in it. Being a huge fan of both cuteness and the batfam, I decided to pick it up.
But unfortunately, this one really, really missed the mark for me.
So first of all, I will say that yes, the art is gorgeous and amazing and cute and everything that everyone said it was. The art deserves every shred of praise that it's been getting. It's beautiful and it perfectly fits the tone of the book. A+
But the stories? Not so much. So many of the characters in Li'l Gotham behave so wildly out of character I can't really understand why people love it so much. I love the batfamily, but that doesn't come at the expense of their characters for me. The worst of the lot to me was Damian, who I felt they got entirely wrong. In regular canon, Damian is a devastatingly dangerous and intelligent ten-year-old. He masks the fact that he has feelings and emotional turmoil with violence and barbed insults. He can hurt members of his family both physically and emotionally--and he does, regularly--but it's not out of simple meanness or the fun of hurting someone. It's more complicated than that.
The Damian in Li'l Gotham, on the other hand, is a petty child who just likes to laugh at other people's misfortune. He's a schoolyard bully, nothing but a bratty child. None of the complexity is there, but more importantly, none of the character is. This Damian is unobservant enough to mistake schoolchildren dressed in costumes for super villains, he pouts when he can't eat as much candy as he likes, he takes pleasure in tormenting Alfred with Christmas decorations, is stupid enough to stick his tongue to an icicle, and constantly whines. Canon Damian might act superior, entitled, and be overly violent, but he never bullies for the sake of it and he never whines. The only thing that felt like they got right was his love for animals.
But beyond that, none of the other characters, except maybe Barb, really resemble their canon counterparts (and maybe except Tim and Dick too--they're hardly in it, so it was difficult to say). In this universe, Jason regularly hangs around the manor, all the boys get along, Batman plays pranks on villains and plays scrabble with the team, blah blah blah.
Am I being too critical of something made for kids? Maybe. Okay, probably. But I just don't get it. Yeah, this is fine for kids. It's a sort-of cute collection of simple stories with boiled down and simplified characters for children. That's fine. I just don't get why it's so popular with everyone else.
The stories bored me. They bored me so much that I put the book down in March and I didn't pick it up again until July. I actually had to force myself to finish this, despite that my collective reading time on it was probably only about an hour.
Besides all that, there was a glaring production flaw in my ebook version of this. For about a solid three or four pages, speech bubbles from a few pages away were overlaid on the incorrect image. So that was fun. I really have no idea how they didn't catch it.
And I never actually found out what the real text was supposed to be for these pages...bleh.
Anyways, the only story I actually enjoyed was the Fathers Day story, and really only for the bits with Barb. The others were largely boring and forgettable to me. I say, if you want a good Batman story focused around holidays, go read Batman: The Long Halloween instead. It may not be as cute and fluffy, but at least there's some actual character substance in it.
I will say in its favor that I enjoyed that it was mainly set in a preboot-like universe, and again, I really did like the art. I'll also say that many of the panels I found to be a lot more enjoyable out of context--I still enjoy seeing that panel of the kids & Batman in the kitchen whenever it pops up on my dash:
That's not to say this book isn't for you. Clearly, it's for a lot of people, judging by its popularity. If you want to read something cute with no plot and just have fun with it, then by all means, this is exactly for you. But it certainly wasn't for me.
May 7, 2016
Very cute, short vignettes about Gotham (and it's cape population) during the holidays. I liked the shorts with Mr. Freeze especially well, and the moment in Thanksgiving with Penguin in a jail cell next to a bunch of orange jump-suited penguins, one of which was playing harmonica, cracked me up! :)
July 26, 2021
Dustin Ngyuen je jeden z top troch ilustrátorov na mojom zozname a tak bolo toto pre mňa neskutočné potešenie čítať. Ide o sériu zošitov, kde v každom jednom je opísané ako Bat-family a tí na druhej strane prežívajú rôzne sviatky v roku (Vianoce, Halloween, atď..) Celé je to neskutočne chutnučké a zábavné. Nebudete sa chytať za brucho a roniť slzy, ale minimálne vás to donúti pousmiať sa. Príjemné na prečítanie, nádherne nakreslené a kolorované.
August 1, 2014
Loki is not impressed...and neither am I.
I guess I should have known I wouldn't like this when I saw that this wasn't Little Gotham, it's Li'l Gotham...
No it's not a rap title...
That would have probably been better.
What this book actually is, is an overly cutesy explosion to the point that it's saccharine and may cause diabetes.
Don't get me wrong I love cute, bring on the kitties and puppies, and I had no problem with the cutesy artwork. It was fun to see a sort of infantilized version of Batman and his villains.
But boy did this get old real fast! The book begins with Halloween and continues on to provide a story for every holiday including holidays like Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year, and Mother's Day. The dialogue is lame, the stories are boring, and Gotham as a whole has been sanitized beyond recognition. It was trying very hard to be funny and cute and adorable and felt almost desperate in its attempts.
Perhaps the most annoying thing in this comic was Damian Wayne who has always annoyed me. I see him as little more than a 'cousin Oliver' character. However, in this book I want to strangle him and his crappy Scrappy Doo personality.
Overall, I just didn't get it. It wasn't funny, many of the jokes made me cringe. The stories seemed to have no plot beyond, it's a holiday so lets be cute. Everything about this book was just trying way too hard. As previously mentioned I enjoyed the art, and the cover is really the reason I picked up the book, but it was so boring it took me way to long to get through what should have been a quick read.
March 16, 2014
What the heck did I just read??! I *thought* I was going to be reading a Batman aimed at little kids but then as I started reading I decided, no, this is a parody of Batman, aimed at adults, that kids could read but wouldn't get the adult jokes. But after a while I just gave up on trying to guess what it was. The only thing I truly knew was that it wasn't for me. Not funny, when it was obviously trying to be. Damian came off as a super-jerk. Mr. Freeze's "heartfelt" Christmas scene gave me the creeps and had overtures of John Wayne Gacy. The art, sploshy, unclear watercolour painting was just not nice to look st for a total of 128 pages in a row. A collection of little stories, each based on a holiday, all the ones you'd expect plus a few others such as Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo, had odd tales to tell with a huge cast of the Bat Family and all their regular villains make appearances. All the characters are portrayed as pint-size, child-like, yet not as children, I guess reflecting the title "Li'l" and the continuity is before the current New 52 universe. It tries, but not too hard. If there's a point to all this I missed it.
May 21, 2014
I wanted to rate this higher because I've enjoyed seeing pictures from this comic online for a long time. However, I found it much more enjoyable as individual pictures than all put together as sometimes weak, unfunny stories. The art was less appealing put together as comics as well. Something about the chibi watercolor style just seemed to hurt my eyes... I think reading it as the 10 page comics online would probably be more enjoyable than as a volume. I also think that while it seems like it would be good for kids it actually requires a lot of background Bat-knowledge to know who people are.
Want to read
March 2, 2017I found a copy of it in the library and the artwork is great! All of those 'Batman and son' stories are light-hearted and funny too! I guess kids will love this series.
June 11, 2018
I friggin’ love this series so much, so much so that I need 1,000 more volumes just so I can drown in over-the-top Batfamily cute-ness. There’s a clear favouritism for Nightwing over the rest of the off-and-on Bat brood (ex. Tim, Jason, Steph, Cassandra...etc) but he’s my favourite so no complaints over here.
April 8, 2019
This is by far the cutest thing I’ve read of DC and I loved every second of reading it! Nothing too serious or super deep, just some lighthearted filler that I’m 100% okay with.
September 11, 2023
Damian was occ but this was fun to read.
April 2, 2024
This was so cute and funny. I dislike most of the doom and gloom from Batman comics. So this was really nice. The artwork is adorable and the characters are great.
October 19, 2016
This series is an actual gift god bless
April 16, 2020
This was a bit long. The Art was light and if you enjoy Descender, than you will love it. The stories are true to each character, but a bit dramatized. Damien Wayne has been my new favorite Robin and this just adds to it. Sweet, cute, and fun. I do wonder why Katana and Babs are portrayed as younger (Katana) and In a wheelchair (Babs).
March 2, 2014
First Reads Review - Batman: Li'l Gotham Vol 1
I was quite pleased to read this volume of Batman: Li'l Gotham from the Goodreads First Reads program. I'm a little hit or miss on Batman most of the time, having loved the animated series growing up and liking most of the movies but not really ever getting too into the comic books. For me, especially since the New 52 started, I just haven't seen much of a point, in part because a lot of what I do remember is no longer the case. But this series actually takes place pre-New 52, as evidenced by Barbara Gordon still being Oracle and a number of other factors. And, more to the point, this series is most interested in providing some fun, continuity light stories that ooze charm.
It's the art, though, perhaps more than the writing, that steals the show. Li'l Gotham is basically just that, a more Chibi version of the Batman world where everything is lighter, not dominated by the darkness that the main series steeps itself in. There are still the striking visuals that make it very much Batman, but there is also a lot of light, a lot of silliness, with a good sense of movement and style. And the characters smile a lot. With actual happiness. It's a small thing, but those elements do make this series a lot less a chore to get through when there's more than just doom and gloom. It's like the animated series bumped up with the 1966 TV show and then shrank it down in the drier.
The volume is framed as a series of holidays, each story taking place on a different one, so there's a Halloween story and a Thanksgiving story as well as Mothers' and Fathers' Day stories. Some hit more than others, but all of them come across as rather fun and hopeful. The stories with Mr. Freeze are more sad and poignant, while those with the Penguin are more ridiculous, and those with Catwoman, Harley, and Poison Ivy are just fun. There's variety and, more importantly, each feels like a complete story, each having a conflict and things happening. These are not just vignettes but rather complete stories, and the plots are tightly paced and entertaining. Throw in Batman and a slew of Robins and the action is fast and well drawn, the stories satisfying, and the overall package able to be digested slowly or all at once.
And because these are all stand-alone stories (or at least can all be read as stand-alone stories), there is a feeling of completion upon finishing the volume that manages to satisfy in ways that many single volumes of superhero comics just don't. There might be more to come, but the volume is a complete whole and works. There is no to be continued, no unresolved tensions. The volume is sweet and moving and works both as a story and a Batman story. It's not what I would call simple, but rather it cuts away the unnecessary and maintains its tone and focus throughout. These are compressed stories, and better for it, offering a lot of bang for the price of admission. And with all that, I'm giving it four stars out of five.
I was quite pleased to read this volume of Batman: Li'l Gotham from the Goodreads First Reads program. I'm a little hit or miss on Batman most of the time, having loved the animated series growing up and liking most of the movies but not really ever getting too into the comic books. For me, especially since the New 52 started, I just haven't seen much of a point, in part because a lot of what I do remember is no longer the case. But this series actually takes place pre-New 52, as evidenced by Barbara Gordon still being Oracle and a number of other factors. And, more to the point, this series is most interested in providing some fun, continuity light stories that ooze charm.
It's the art, though, perhaps more than the writing, that steals the show. Li'l Gotham is basically just that, a more Chibi version of the Batman world where everything is lighter, not dominated by the darkness that the main series steeps itself in. There are still the striking visuals that make it very much Batman, but there is also a lot of light, a lot of silliness, with a good sense of movement and style. And the characters smile a lot. With actual happiness. It's a small thing, but those elements do make this series a lot less a chore to get through when there's more than just doom and gloom. It's like the animated series bumped up with the 1966 TV show and then shrank it down in the drier.
The volume is framed as a series of holidays, each story taking place on a different one, so there's a Halloween story and a Thanksgiving story as well as Mothers' and Fathers' Day stories. Some hit more than others, but all of them come across as rather fun and hopeful. The stories with Mr. Freeze are more sad and poignant, while those with the Penguin are more ridiculous, and those with Catwoman, Harley, and Poison Ivy are just fun. There's variety and, more importantly, each feels like a complete story, each having a conflict and things happening. These are not just vignettes but rather complete stories, and the plots are tightly paced and entertaining. Throw in Batman and a slew of Robins and the action is fast and well drawn, the stories satisfying, and the overall package able to be digested slowly or all at once.
And because these are all stand-alone stories (or at least can all be read as stand-alone stories), there is a feeling of completion upon finishing the volume that manages to satisfy in ways that many single volumes of superhero comics just don't. There might be more to come, but the volume is a complete whole and works. There is no to be continued, no unresolved tensions. The volume is sweet and moving and works both as a story and a Batman story. It's not what I would call simple, but rather it cuts away the unnecessary and maintains its tone and focus throughout. These are compressed stories, and better for it, offering a lot of bang for the price of admission. And with all that, I'm giving it four stars out of five.
May 29, 2015
L'il Gotham has some really charming watercolor art. However, the stories are pretty weak. It seems that the stories are just vehicles for snarky one-liners and puns. Unfortunately, the jokes aren't that good.
April 6, 2015
Adorable, light, and fun.
Totally out of continuity, but one of my favorite Bat books in ages.
Totally out of continuity, but one of my favorite Bat books in ages.
May 4, 2014
I thought this would be charming and amusing, but it just gave me a headache.
March 22, 2024
I highly doubt I would enjoy this even as a kid (which it’s ostensibly aimed at). It’s far too shallow, and not half as clever as it seems to think it is.
July 6, 2016
I found it hard to get through.
July 23, 2016
Thought the story was childish and boring.... but the artwork is sooo beautiful =)
August 7, 2018
The Li'l Gotham universe is a version of Gotham City where everything is smaller and cuter, including members of the Batman Family and their villains. Created by Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen this series was first published on Digital First as online comics and later collected in two trade paperbacks with two digital chapters merging into one. This trade paperback collects the first six chapters (12 digital chapters) of the on-going 2009 series.
Each digital chapter focuses the Batman Family celebrating a particular holiday observation or event. The first chapter deals with Damian Wayne as Robin learning about Halloween and Thanksgiving. It is quickly followed by Christmas and New Year's Eve (Batman: Li'l Gotham #2), Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year (Batman: Li'l Gotham #3), St. Patrick's Day and Easter (Batman: Li'l Gotham #4), April Shower's and Cinco de Mayo (Batman: Li'l Gotham #5), and Mother's and Father's Days (Batman: Li'l Gotham #6).
Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen penned the entire trade paperback and for the most part, it was written rather well. The target audience for this series is for everyone – particularly for children. Therefore, there is not much violence – the traditional Batman villains are more misunderstood than villainous and their so-called crimes are rather goofy, funny, and nonsensical.
Dustin Nguyen does double duty as he penciled the entire trade paperback as well and because he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. The penciling was done exceptionally well. It has a quality of watercolor like coloring and the character designs are rather cute and almost chibi-like, which is rather apropos to this series.
All in all, Batman: Li'l Gotham, Vol. 1 is a rather wonderful beginning for the series and I can't wait to read the next trade paperback.
Each digital chapter focuses the Batman Family celebrating a particular holiday observation or event. The first chapter deals with Damian Wayne as Robin learning about Halloween and Thanksgiving. It is quickly followed by Christmas and New Year's Eve (Batman: Li'l Gotham #2), Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year (Batman: Li'l Gotham #3), St. Patrick's Day and Easter (Batman: Li'l Gotham #4), April Shower's and Cinco de Mayo (Batman: Li'l Gotham #5), and Mother's and Father's Days (Batman: Li'l Gotham #6).
Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen penned the entire trade paperback and for the most part, it was written rather well. The target audience for this series is for everyone – particularly for children. Therefore, there is not much violence – the traditional Batman villains are more misunderstood than villainous and their so-called crimes are rather goofy, funny, and nonsensical.
Dustin Nguyen does double duty as he penciled the entire trade paperback as well and because he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. The penciling was done exceptionally well. It has a quality of watercolor like coloring and the character designs are rather cute and almost chibi-like, which is rather apropos to this series.
All in all, Batman: Li'l Gotham, Vol. 1 is a rather wonderful beginning for the series and I can't wait to read the next trade paperback.
March 17, 2018
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would! It’s not the best comic book I’ve ever read but it was really enjoyable. The art was bright and colorful. The actual drawing style wasn’t my favorite but with the colors and just keeping on reading it I definitely got used to it and it grew on me and works with the story. This is a much more light hearted read than what Batman stories can be sometimes, and I really appreciated that. This was just so much fun. For me, the best part of the Batman universe isn’t Batman himself, but his villains. The best part of this was that it had an amazing assortment of stories dealing with practically all of our favorite villains. I think that if I’m ever craving the light feeling that this has and to just have stories with a wide variety of characters, I will pick up another volume of this. I’m not dying to continue and it’s certainly not on the top of my list of comics to continue, but I will have it in the back of my mind and I am open to continuing! I would definitely recommend this if you are a Batman fan, or if you really like the Batman villains, like me, and you just want to have a little fun, quick, and easy read.
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would! It’s not the best comic book I’ve ever read but it was really enjoyable. The art was bright and colorful. The actual drawing style wasn’t my favorite but with the colors and just keeping on reading it I definitely got used to it and it grew on me and works with the story. This is a much more light hearted read than what Batman stories can be sometimes, and I really appreciated that. This was just so much fun. For me, the best part of the Batman universe isn’t Batman himself, but his villains. The best part of this was that it had an amazing assortment of stories dealing with practically all of our favorite villains. I think that if I’m ever craving the light feeling that this has and to just have stories with a wide variety of characters, I will pick up another volume of this. I’m not dying to continue and it’s certainly not on the top of my list of comics to continue, but I will have it in the back of my mind and I am open to continuing! I would definitely recommend this if you are a Batman fan, or if you really like the Batman villains, like me, and you just want to have a little fun, quick, and easy read.
June 10, 2018
Jeez, I've just lost the review I wrote! So, what did I write after my computer crashed?
I think Derek Fridolfs' art is way better in black and white. When there are colors involved it tends to get messy. Don't get me wrong, the colors are beautiful - sort of watercolorish - but the mix doesn't work well together. Fridolf's other DC series - the one when young Batman attend a weird school - was better.
I rated this one so low because I didn't know most of the characters appearing on the page. I mean, superheroes comics are not really my stuff and I don't know that much about them. And these little story drew ample reference from the canon. Jeez, I kept asking myself who Damian was... I didn't even know Batman had a son.
The stories were... I don't know... not interesting? Silly? I couldn't relate to any of them. Maybe because of the characters. I think that they weren't exactly intended for children despite the colorful art.
I guess I'll read the second one, as well. But only because I can finish the series in this way.
I think Derek Fridolfs' art is way better in black and white. When there are colors involved it tends to get messy. Don't get me wrong, the colors are beautiful - sort of watercolorish - but the mix doesn't work well together. Fridolf's other DC series - the one when young Batman attend a weird school - was better.
I rated this one so low because I didn't know most of the characters appearing on the page. I mean, superheroes comics are not really my stuff and I don't know that much about them. And these little story drew ample reference from the canon. Jeez, I kept asking myself who Damian was... I didn't even know Batman had a son.
The stories were... I don't know... not interesting? Silly? I couldn't relate to any of them. Maybe because of the characters. I think that they weren't exactly intended for children despite the colorful art.
I guess I'll read the second one, as well. But only because I can finish the series in this way.
June 6, 2017
This graphic novel felt like a bit of a guilty pleasure while I was reading it. To put it simply, it was...cute. There's no other way to explain it. The idea of Batman teaching Robin (specifically Damian) about trick-or-treating is just adorable, even if doesn't feel exactly canon. In many ways, these stories felt like fan fiction...but in a good way. So many Batman stories are dark and intense, so it was nice to see this lighter, fluffier take on these characters. The Mr. Freeze stories were also nice, as they took a kinder look at a character who, deep down, is really more tragic than criminal. Plus, the idea of the former and current Robins plus Batman all attempting to cook for Alfred on Father's Day is simply too cute and too fun, and in my nerdy little imagination, I'd like to pretend something like that could happen in the Batman canon. Because, come on, even Batman can't be dark and serious all the time, right? ;)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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