DC's Batman Adventures Omnibus: First Look

Exactly 31 years after Batman: The Animated Series premiered in September 1992, DC Comics will reprint The Batman Adventures in a new omnibus edition. Available on September 5th, the 1200-page omnibus collects all 36 issues of The Batman Adventures, the comic book run based on the Emmy award-winning animated series produced by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and Eric Radomski. DC Comics launched the 32-page, all-ages tie-in comic in October 1995, after Batman: TAS concluded its run with 85 episodes across two seasons. (The Batman Adventures was relaunched as Batman & Robin Adventures and later Batman: Gotham Adventures, with stories featuring the Bat-Family as seen in The New Batman Adventures animated series.) 

Pre-orders for the Batman Adventures: Vol. 1 omnibus display 1995's Batman Adventures #1 as the cover, but that appears to be a placeholder. Richard Starkings, a comic book letterer on The Batman Adventures, revealed the official cover artwork on Facebook (see it below). 

The artwork highlights the striking, black-and-red imagery of Batman: The Animated Series, showing the silhouette of the Dark Knight. You can practically hear Danny Elfman's main title theme.

A first look at be upcoming Batman Adventures Omnibus from @RichStarkings FB page pic.twitter.com/EMDK4kD8UO

— Cool Comic Art (@CoolComicArt) August 2, 2023

"I've worked on a lot of Batman books, but this might be my favorite," Starkings shared on Facebook. "[Comicraft co-founder] John Roshell and I were pioneering digital lettering and creating an art deco look for this title that the creative team, including the brilliant [writer] Mike Parobeck, very enthusiastically responded to… we were so sad when the title was cancelled."

"[Who] would've thought this bumper collection would exist all these years later?" Starkings added. "Me. I thought it would."

From writers Kelley Puckett and Martin Pasko, and artists Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett, Brad Rader, and Mike Parobeck, The Batman Adventures: Vol. 1 omnibus collects The Batman Adventures #1-36, The Batman Adventures Annual #1, The Batman Adventures Annual #2, The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1, The Batman Adventures: Mad Love #1, and stories from Batman: Black & White Omnibus. The collection includes the first comic book appearance of Harley Quinn, the Dini and Timm co-creation who debuted in the "Joker's Favor" episode of the animated series.

DC describes the first volume: "From the padded cells of Arkham Asylum to the mean streets of Crime Alley, one truth is whispered wherever evil gathers: Gotham City belongs to the Batman. Until now! The crimelord formerly known as the Penguin is now Mayor Oswald Cobblepot -- elected to be Gotham's leader by promising to outlaw vigilantes and villains alike. The immortal mastermind Ra's al Ghul has ordered an invasion of assassins – not to destroy the Dark Knight, but to eliminate his enemies…permanently. And a two-bit hood called the Black Mask is forming a deadly new masked mob. Outlawed. Outnumbered. On the run. Batman's greatest battle for the soul of Gotham City is about to begin!"

The Batman Adventures: Vol. 1 Omnibus is on sale September 5th from DC Comics.