Batman has always been one of the most well known of comic book heroes. In the early nineties the caped crusader experienced a surge in popularity. Appearing on afternoon cartoon blocks, Batman the Animated series presented a unique style with scripts, voices, backgrounds and character designs that were deemed an immediate success.
Warner Brothers has been releasing certain episodes in various sets on DVD. Now Batman is appearing in a series of Volumes beginning with Volume 1. Volume 1 might irks some fans of the series as Disc One of the set begins with episode 2 then jumps all the way to episode 38, then back to 10, 15, 9, 27 and finally 13! Subsequent discs follow no more of a logical order either.
What the set offers, though, is some of the highlights of the series best moments. While trying to follow the evolution of the caped crusader might be difficult at times, Batman is nonetheless one of the most exciting heroes to hit the small cartoon screen. This isn't the wimpy Batman that is more of a joke. No there's a darkness here that is almost a step above what one would expect from a series in the middle of after school programming.
Even mild fans of Batman will find some of the best writing and stories here to capture your attention.
The Disc:
Being a television show, the series is presented here in a standard screen format that looks quite good actually. The show always had a certain sharpness to it and this shines in this four disc set. Sounds on the disc are also pretty good though the sounds don't really take full advantage of the surrounds as one would hope.
Extras on Volume 1 begin with Audio Commentary on the 2 Episodes "On Leather Wings" and "Heart Of Ice". While I won't say these are the best episodes on the disc, I will say that the two of these commentaries are interesting.
"The Dark Knight's First Night" - Pilot promo Hosted by Bruce Timm. Bruce Timm is one cool dude and I enjoyed looking at this beginning of sorts once again. Fans will get a kick out of going back to where it all started.
Next up is "Batman: The Legacy Continues". This special gives fans a look at how the show came to be with it's creators. Creating a show based on a loved character sounds difficult but these guys certainly proved they were up to the task.
Next up is "Tour of the Batcave". These short video clips give us an inside look about various aspects of Batman. I must admit that the batcave itself is quite cool despite not really being the focus of the short.
Finally we have a special called "Other DC Super Hero Favorites" which is basically trailers for other DC characters on video or coming soon to video.
bottom line:
Batman the Animated Series was a success because of solid writing, a badass art style and great voices that screamed authenticity. This Volume 1 collection could have been organized better perhaps but is still worth a purchase for fans and new fans.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
