Batman: The Movies

(DC, 1997)
™ and ©1997 DC Comics

Four motion pictures featuring Batman were filmed from 1989 through 1997: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. DC Comics in turn produced comic adaptations of each movie, which are collected in this trade paperback.

Since these are comic adaptations of movies (albeit movies based on a comic), they are by necessity, imbued with the changes, alterations and some would say, limitations, that movies normally inflict upon their source material. Consequently, these four comic adaptations should be judged by their success as products of a movie. Fans of the comics may by disturbed by some of the inconsistencies, especially regarding the identity of Batgirl in “Batman and Robin,” but even that is a small matter compared to the over-the-top storyline and villain stampede that served as replacements for characterization and theme.

Denny O’Neil teamed with some of the top artists in the industry to produce these comics. The artists, Jerry Ordway, José Luis Garcia-López and Bill Seinkiewicz, and Scott Hanna, among others, do a credible job of capturing the actors’ likeness, which is always a consideration when adapting a movie.

— George Haberberger

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