Batman is undoubtedly one of the best comic book characters in history. Despite what the movie industry (aka Joel Schumacher) has done to the Caped Crusader's reputation in the past few years, the original roots for the comic book series are fantastic. The original comic book presented an array of original villains that Batman and his sidekick Robin had to pit themselves against. These colorful nemeses included The Joker, The Penguin, Two-Face, and the Riddler just to name a few. Every villain had some sort of sick, twisted, fun agenda, and Batman always used his expert fighting skills and bat gadgets to foil their plots.

As I mentioned, Hollywood has not done much to make this legendary character look good. Tim Burton did a decent job portraying Batman's Gotham City as a morbid, scary place, but it hit the fan when Joel Schumacher decorated the series with sick flamboyancy. Luckily during this period the Fox Network ran an animated series that stayed true to the comic book roots of Batman. Now being released in a second volume, these cartoon episodes are available in a smashing four-disc set.

Bruce Wayne (voiced by Kevin Conroy) is the head of a major corporation by day, but fights crime in the streets of Gotham City by night as Batman. Keeping in touch with city lawman Commissioner Gordon, Batman takes on a different villain every episode to prevent crime from spreading. With the assistance of family butler Alfred, Bruce Wayne keeps his identity concealed while trying to make Gotham a better place.

If anything, the animated series is more similar to Tim Burton's pictures with its darker style. The buildings of Gotham City are presented as towering structures with tall shadows looming over the streets. A majority of the time, the show's characters lurk in these shadows where they are sometimes presented as faceless silhouettes with eyes. Batman: The Animated Series is done in a stylish noir manner reminiscent of Todd McFarlane's work, but a little more on the kid-friendly side.

Batman certainly is a kid friendly show. Rather than bringing villains to a fatal end, Batman enforces justice by sending the baddies away in handcuffs. I mean, after all, how can a villain return for another episode if they are dead? While not going overboard on the violence side, Batman really has a lot to offer a more mature audience. Kids will love watching the comic book action and Batman laying down the law, but the content of the episodes is sometimes quite deep. One such episode touches up on Poison Ivy's anti-corporate agenda to make forest-plowing CEO's pay. Another episode is strikingly similar to the premise of Vanilla Sky where Bruce Wayne is imprisoned in a fantasy dream world. Considering that I know people in their 30's that didn't understand Vanilla Sky, I am sure younger ones would have a hard time putting a finger on some of the more sophisticated episodes.

Bringing life to the animated villains is an assortment of somewhat known actors. Mark "Skywalker" Hamill provides voice talent for The Joker, Roddy McDowall is The Mad Hatter, Richard Moll is Two-Face, and John Glover is The Riddler. While these actors are better known in insignificant, smaller roles in film today, they bring a great deal of talent to the animated characters featured here.

Robin Rising

The cartoon creators talk about the origins and characteristics of Dick Grayson, also known as Batman's sidekick Robin. Topics include the character's costume design, and his evolution from childhood to adulthood.

Gotham's Guardians

A very creative piece that pays tribute to the supporting heroic characters in the series. This includes Commissioner Gordon, Alfred, and various law enforcement characters. The idea is to give credit to the other heroic characters that make Batman's job easier, and I am all about this documentary. This is quite the clever idea.

Voices of The Knight

Being that I enjoyed trying to place the voice actors with the characters, I quite enjoyed this documentary about studio voice recording for the show. It is a fun time to sit and recognize actors such as Mark Hamill and Adrienne Barbeau while talking about the voicing process.

Commentary

Producers and creators provide commentary on about one episode per disc. Most of the speakers are enthusiastic and have a ton to say about the animation process, and have fun discussing comic nerd high jinks such as the Penguins poisonous humming birds.

The cartoon is presented in its original full screen format. The noir animation is presented very well on DVD.

Presented in original 2.0 sound, the series sounds great. Although the comic action would have sounded sweet in 5.1, the standard television sound is fitting for what originally aired on television.

Four discs are kept together in a fold-out, cardboard holder, which is packed in a DVD slip sleeve. The entire packaging is decorated with comic book art from the series.

I am slightly biased due to my love for the Batman comic series, but I will say it anyway: this volume of episodes make for a solid purchase. Not only did it bring back memories from watching Batman: The Animated Series everyday after school, but it reintroduced me to mature thematic elements buried in every episode. For a terrific venture into the world of comic book animation, I would strongly recommend this DVD. You will not find many cartoons as bizarre and original as Batman.

Questions? Comments? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com