The Batman Adventures: Shadows and Masks

Batman Adventures #5-9

by Dan Slott, Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett (Illustrator)

The animated adventures of the Dark Knight Detective make up the newest addition to DC's expanding line of digest-sized books. These two volumes, inspired by the hit Batman Adventures TV show, feature Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman, and a host of the most famous villains ever to permeate pop culture. Age 12+.

Genres: Comics, Batman, Dc Comics, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still charming, still fun, but the overarching narrative format struggles slightly to tell a consistently compelling story. Whilst there are definitely worse stories out there, this feels like even more of a let down when considering the quality of the material it spins off from. With a ton of fun cameos, callbacks and easter eggs, it's a good experience that doesn't quite reach its full potential.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little digest edition that combines issues 5-9 of "Batman Adventures" based on the TV Cartoon. Great cast of characters, edgy and dark but not overly, leaving room for fun and humour. Harvey Bullock is a good guy here, just like in the New 52, and I like him that way. The main story line for most of this book is False Face Society an underground crime family run by Black Mask and Batman is infiltrating it with his "Matches Malone" persona. I don't know if he does this identity anywhere else but I love him as Matches. Some great scenes, one where he and Alfred take a look back at all his past loves and the criminals they turned out to be. This is an all ages comic, perfect for kids but the story is plenty entertaining enough for adults also. I hate these little digests though as they are just too hard to read. Vol. 1 and 2 combined give us up to issue #9, but all 17 issues can still be purchased individually online, which would be my preferred choice to buying the complete series.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Slott can do no wrong in my opinion. This book deals with the False Face society, Bruce Wayne's love life and Batman's 3 identity balancing act. The storyline was great with a few fun flashbacks but really the 2 stories I enjoyed the most didn't deal with the False Face plot but were just stand alone, "DeathTrap" by Gabe Soria and "The Couch" written by Vito Delsante. I'm pretty sure the latter appeared in another book as well. It is only a few pages with Bruce Wayne doing word association with a shrink, the juxtaposition of what Bruce thinks and what he answers is both humorous and poignant. The Former, "DeathTrap" involves a dangling on the edge of peril Batman and Robin with flashbacks of Batman going through a list of some of his closest calls, this story has a lot of humor with the heroes giving a big wink and nod to the reader! Love it!

***Also, be on the lookout for a reference to the famous painting "Nighthawks"

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writer Dan Slott does a marvelous job of creating a Batman story accessible to anyone. Told in the visual style of the excellent animated Batman cartoons of the 90s, this collection of comics explores more of the fan-favorite characters of the DCU. The initial arc focuses on Roman "Black Mask" Sionis, as he attempts to discern the traitor amongst his False Face society. Kudos for the team in bringing Eel O'Brien (the future Plastic Man), Matches Malone, Bronze Tiger, Black Spider, and even the mysterious Red Hood into an animated style. With appearances by Phantasm, Penguin, Firefly, Deadshot, and a host of other underused characters, Slott's writing proves why he was tapped for bigger and better things. A nice little volume that shows how valuable the animated DC universe has become to contemporary DC comics.

[Jace · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Batman stories were extremely good for appearing in a "kids" comic. Of course, they were written by Dan Slott, so I'm not surprised. That's the whole reason I picked them up to begin with. This book contains a number of stand-alone stories that are each good in their own right but also fit into an over-arching narrative. I wish more modern "adult" Batman stories were written like this. I'd like to be able to just pick up a Batman comic off the rack and enjoy it, without having to jump on board for a 12-issue crossover miniseries. Sigh...

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman goes undercover to thwart evil as a gang of hoodlums tries to take over Gotham. A great collection of Batman stories where he infiltrates the enemies lair becoming one of them and fooling even Albert. Some decent twists involving a girlfriend. Speaking of girlfriends even Albert gets into that act. I enjoyed this compilation with its dark colored panels and intelligent dialog. Batman never disappoints.

[Jess (GJ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun stuff. Didn't really connect with issue 9 but the rest is really amazing.

[Tue Le · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute anthology of stories suitable for readers of all ages.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of dark and edgy stories, balanced with fun and humor. Bruce Wayne temporarily ditches the Batsuit in favor of a simple disguise consisting of sunglasses and a moustache. He penetrates a new gang of criminals led by the villain Black Mask (yes, he wears a black mask). Wayne partners with an annoying and naive criminal named Eel O’Brien and, in the process, manages to find out all about this outfit’s planned crimes and manages to stop them whenever he finds an opportunity to do so without blowing his cover.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Scott Snyder books. I've liked some of the Batmans I've read -- Alan Moore and so on.

But this might be the best straight storytelling. Afterward, I desperately wanted a Matches Malone omnibus.

Oh, and much more of this.

There's basically no-kids only here at all.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty cool. Nice to see Phantasm show up and I'm always a Barbara Gordon fan. I liked how the format switched between the ongoing storyline and short interlude tales.

[Lynn DiFerdinando]

Good stuff!! Silly but with serious themes, the stuff good superhero comics are made of. My favorite part was the one page where batman talks about wrestling alligators in a carnival in florida.