Comics Korner: Batman: Li’l Gotham Volume One

Batman Li’l Gotham Volume one is a home run from DC Comics. It combines the action and characters election from the Batman world with a cute and fun art style and story telling.

Volume one breaks up into holidays and situations in the world of Li’l Gotham. They are small stories, only a few pages long, but they are able to capture the essence of the characters. The art style is very different form the average comic book, with an almost unfinished look to them. It really works to bring this world to life. The minimal look of the book reminds me of a sketch book of an artist stuck in class, doodling away to keep their minds from drifting too far. The colors in the book are the same as the art simple with each character owing their colors, helping to not mix them up and help them stand out in each panel.

The stories ramp up the personalities of each character, playing up the most recognizable traits of each character. Robin is a brat, Batman is the dad, Alfred the granddad of the bunch, Dick the older brother, and so on. The villains also play huge role in the book, also bringing out the core of the characters, One story that stuck out to me was the release of Mr. Freeze from Arkham. As he leaves Arkham, he is not though of by the people of Gotham as a villain, but the old man next door who likes it cold. He is man only trying to save his wife, unable to stay out of trouble and forced back to Arkham, just in time to see Ivy leaving to embark on her own crime spree. The whole book reminds me of what Warner Bros did with the Looney Tunes when they created Tiny Toons. It boiled the world down to the basic aspects of the characters, shrunk them to kid size, and let they play.

It was a fun read and a great break from all the seriousness of the DC Universe. I recommend picking up the book, and the new figures this year, you won’t regret it.