Batman: The Gotham Adventures
Gr. 5-10. Half a dozen short stories offer both new and veteran Batman readers a healthy dose of superhero adventure and humor. In sharply shaped and dramatically shadowed style, the full-color illustrations, by Rick Burkett and others, depict Batman in both his superhero and civilian guise, as well as Robin and Catwoman and the usual bad apples, the Joker, Two-Face, the Riddler, and others. As Bob Kane originally conceived the Batman legend, these stories offer ethical issues at the heart of popular-culture-strewn plots, making them easily accessible as well as mildly thought-provoking. The New York City backdrop is as traditional as the techniques of illustration and story development, showing vintage automobiles, mid-twentieth-century costuming, and mostly white faces. There's a lot of gun power and hard-hitting fists, but folks usually get up and run away after such contact--if they're not being held for well-deserved imprisonment. The puns flow as freely as the punches, adding literary richness.Francesca GoldsmithCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved