So much batman...

Batman

The dark knight...

Where to start...

I've been playing a lot of Batman Arkham city lately, after finally getting around to finishing Arkham asylum and wow, its a good game, maybe even the perfect batman game, the combat system flows very well, detective mode is awesome and you really get the feeling of being the dark knight while playing it.

That got me thinking, I should do a look at Batman, in the style of my Back To The Future, or Ghostbusters posts, but then I realised just how much batman is around, comic books, films, games, live action TV series, animation... you name it, there is probably some Batman on it.

So instead I’m going to highlight one bit o' batman for every format I can think of, and give you some suggestions of what else to check out.

Animation.

Batman: The Animated Series

not the most inventive name, but one of the best animated series going on any subject. Created by Warner brothers back in 1992 Batman: the animated Series is still being re-run on The Hub (home of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)

This animated series while aimed at the children’s market is complex dark and gritty handling difficultly subject matter and being one of the most faithful adaptations of a comic book series of all time. So great was the reach of this series that not only did it spawn a theatrical film it won 4 Emmys and was nominated for 6 others.

In an another almost unheard of turn of events several story aspects that originated in the animated series eventually made there way into the official Batman cannon, the most famous being the jokers sidekick/lover Harley Quinn.

Batman: The Animated Series is widely available, at the time of this writing, you can get it all on the iTunes store, so you have no excuse not to check it out.

What other Animation should you check out?

The New Batman Adventures

Batman Beyond

The Batman

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Live-action television

Batman.

You will probably start to notice a theme in the way Batman things are named pretty quick...

I'm talking now about the 1960's batman tv show starring Adam West and Burt Ward. An all together sillyer series than the animated one, but reflective of the comic book style of the time. This series made no mention of Batman or Robins traumatic origin storys and instead focuses on light hearted action and comedy.

This version of batman was wildly popular in its day, prehaps even the biggest TV series of the 60's in ran prime time twice a week at the high of its popularity and parts of it still hang around in pop culture today.

It is not however, one of my favourite bits of Batman history, I have always liked Batman for its dark nature I like the dark knight and when Batman is presented in such a campy fasion I have to admit I tend to cringe a little bit. That said I can't argue with its league of fans and I hope that eventually the legal issues surrounding its home entertainment release of put to rest and the people who want to buy it can do.

What other Live-action television should you check out?

Legends of the Superheroes

Birds of Prey

Live-action film

The dark knight.

Released in 2008 and directed by Christopher Nolan this is the second film in the Nolan's batman trilogy.

There is not much I can say about this film that has not already been said, its a excellent film and considering it made over a billion dollars in its theatrical run you have probably already seen it.

It had one of my favourite depictions of the joker in any format Heath Ledger injected so much malice in the role that he left a lasting impression on both casual film fans and comic book nerds alike, and while I will always like Mark Hamill and the animated series joker best, Heath Ledger is a close second.

The movie is not without its faults however, don't get me wrong, it has very few, but Christian Bale's batman voice will never sit right with me...

What other Live-action film should you check out?

Batman (1989)

Batman Returns.

Batman Begins.

The Dark Knight Rises (not even out yet, but it should be epic)

Comic books

The Batman Adventures: Mad Love

I'm including graphic novels in this, because while it would be great to highlight my favourite single issue in all of Batman long run since his first appearance in Detective comics #27 way back in 1939 (for the record, its batman #423)

Instead I want to talk about Mad love. Mad love in a one shot comic book by paul Dini (the writer on the animated series) and it tells the origin story of Harley Quinn. My favourite of all the Batman characters.

She started off as the psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel who after trying to treat the joker instead falls in love with him. She turns to crime to try and win his affections and helps the joker escape Arkham on many occasions. Eventually she attempts to kill the Batman in a desperate bid for his affections, only for the joker to almost cause her death infuriated that she would attempt to kill his greatest foe.

Mad love is close to being a perfect example of comic book art, its story is great, its dialogue superb and its art is fantastic. Mad love is the comic I use to introduce others to comics, and if you have never read it I highly recommend checking it out. If you don't feel like reading, its available as a motion comic on iTunes, and was adapted into an episode of The New Batman Adventures

What other comic books should you check out?

The killing joke.

Batman R.I.P.

The Dark Knight returns.

Video Games.

Batman: Arkham city

I've already touched on this up top so i'm not going to say much about it here.

In this 2011 Batman game you play the Dark Knight investigating the truth between the super prison “Arkham City”

its graphics are amazing, its stealth is fantastic and its combat system while simple is surprisingly in-depth and hard to master.

Its not only probably the perfect Batman game, but if you got it brand new, or brought the dlc, its also probably the perfect catwomen game as well.

Go buy it.

What other games should you check out?

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Lego Batman

Gotham City Impostors