I'm still ambivalent about this series. Frankly, I do not see why anyone except Bruce Timm is allowed to be anywhere near a DC superhero, especially Batman. I found "THE Batman" an abominable waste of time and money, at least until they producers got smart and hired Timm's staff to rescue their show.
Okay, that said, I'm willing to give this a shot. For starters, it's a pleasant evocation of the late-Silver Age, early-Bronze Age comics series THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.
http://comics.org/covers.lasso?seriesID=1098&skip=50&show=50
Although the series had started off as a generic adventure anthology, by the mid-60s the comic had settled on a format of Batman paired with a different guest each issue. (WORLDS FINEST was the monthly Batman-Superman team-up.) The stories were a good way to give a spotlight to lesser characters and to give Batman a different style of story. Robin almost never appeared in this series. Ironically this series was responsible for the revamping of Batman into the character we now know, when artist Neal Adams was able to make aesthetic changes through this series that he could not make in the main books DETECTIVE COMICS and BATMAN. When fan reaction preferred Adams' B&B look to that of the the other books, the other books finally gave in and we finally had the rise of "The Dark Knight."
The art style of the animated B&B is a pleasant surprise. It evokes the distinctive style of the great but under-appreciated RAMONA FRADON, the woman Darwyn Cooke copies, and the great but quirky DICK SPRANG, with aspects of Paul Dini's inimitable designs.
The storytelling is aimed at a younger and definitely non-cynical audience. I have no problem with that. This is a Batman who is well-established in his world, who is comfortable with his role, and is looking to expand his legacy by interacting with others. Depending on the status of the guest, the interaction can be that of mentor-student or that of equals.
In brief, this is a really good 1960s-era TV series crafted with modern budgets, skills, and sensibilities.
Okay, that said, I'm willing to give this a shot. For starters, it's a pleasant evocation of the late-Silver Age, early-Bronze Age comics series THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD.
http://comics.org/covers.lasso?seriesID=1098&skip=50&show=50
Although the series had started off as a generic adventure anthology, by the mid-60s the comic had settled on a format of Batman paired with a different guest each issue. (WORLDS FINEST was the monthly Batman-Superman team-up.) The stories were a good way to give a spotlight to lesser characters and to give Batman a different style of story. Robin almost never appeared in this series. Ironically this series was responsible for the revamping of Batman into the character we now know, when artist Neal Adams was able to make aesthetic changes through this series that he could not make in the main books DETECTIVE COMICS and BATMAN. When fan reaction preferred Adams' B&B look to that of the the other books, the other books finally gave in and we finally had the rise of "The Dark Knight."
The art style of the animated B&B is a pleasant surprise. It evokes the distinctive style of the great but under-appreciated RAMONA FRADON, the woman Darwyn Cooke copies, and the great but quirky DICK SPRANG, with aspects of Paul Dini's inimitable designs.
The storytelling is aimed at a younger and definitely non-cynical audience. I have no problem with that. This is a Batman who is well-established in his world, who is comfortable with his role, and is looking to expand his legacy by interacting with others. Depending on the status of the guest, the interaction can be that of mentor-student or that of equals.
In brief, this is a really good 1960s-era TV series crafted with modern budgets, skills, and sensibilities.