Most Unusual Batman: The Animated Series Comic Stories

In September 1992, mere weeks after the release of Batman Returns, Batman: The Animated Series premiered on Fox Kids. With a magnificent “Dark Deco” animation style, consistently excellent voice acting, well-developed takes on classic Batman heroes and villains, and more mature and varied approaches to storytelling, it became one of the most acclaimed animated series of all time, and a must-watch for anyone who wants to be seen as a Batman fan. Its success led to a handful of spin-off films (Most notably Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, two sequel series (Soft Reboot The New Batman Adventures – and the futuristic Batman Beyond) and further series for Superman and the Justice League, all from the same creative team. The complete universe became known as the DC Animated Universe, or DCAU for short.

The comic book spin-off The Batman Adventures began just days after the series began airing, running for 36 issues. There would be four more spin-off comic series, plus several annuals and miniseries.* The 31 years of Batman: The Animated Series comic spin-offs have just concluded with the final issue of Batman: The Adventures Continue. The third and final 'season' of these reboot miniseries concluded with 'The Offer', a three-part story which features Batman investigating a mysterious “miracle grain” created by Ra's Al Ghul, whilst simultaneously trying to protect Catwoman from The Court of Owls. Although spin-off comics are expected to be a notch below the source material, Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures spin-offs have often demonstrated a greater degree of creativity and ambition. The various creative teams have provided some gems and some duds, but there have also been plenty of opportunities to do the sort of unusual adventures which would not translate to animated TV. Here are ten of the most unconventional – in various ways, these represent a contrast to the predominantly serious and angsty tone associated with Batman. This isn’t necessarily a countdown of the best stories (although some are legitimately excellent), but it is a countdown that shows just how the Batman: The Animated Series comics added to the diversity of the incredible universe created by the DCAU creative team…

For simplicity’s sake, this article is focusing on stories from the comic spin-offs of Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS for short) and the sequel series/soft reboot The New Batman Adventures (TNBA for short). All of these can be read online on comic book sites. If you wish to pay for them and support the comic book experience, you can read them on online comic reading services like Comixology, read them in Trade Paperbacks (TPBs) collecting selected issues** or purchase them second-hand from Comic Book shops.

(Note: This article contains minor spoilers)

10 Unusual Batman: The Animated Series Spinoff Comics

'Batgirl: Day One' - Batman Adventures (Issue 12)

(Written by Kelley Puckett. Published 4th August 1993)

Kelley Puckett – writer of the initial The Batman Adventures comics – was not a fan of the classic Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl, believing it was incredibly implausible that an amateur crimefighter could “do the exact thing that Batman does every night without getting her head blown off.” However, when Barbara began appearing on Batman: The Animated Series, it became inevitable that she would eventually start to adopt her superhero persona. Therefore, Puckett had to swallow his frustrations and create stories for Batgirl. Approximately a month before Barbara became Batgirl in the BTAS two-parter 'Shadow of the Bat', The Batman Adventures provided a spin on her traditional “costume party” origin story. Barbara attends a costume party to meet a friend called Sandy, choosing to go in a Batman costume. Unfortunately, Harley Quinn (making her first appearance in a Batman comic) and Poison Ivy are also there, aiming to kidnap Sandy for ransom money. Even worse, it turns out they are not the only female Batman villains using the party as an opportunity to make a quick fortune…

The most unusual thing about this “Test Run” for Batgirl is the portrayal of Barbara as completely out of her depth, which actually makes a nice change of pace for a character often seen as “too perfect”. Barbara defeats Harley merely by coming out better in a clash of heads, and shamelessly bluffs her way past Ivy and Catwoman. It’s not the most sophisticated story, but it’s certainly a fun read – Barbara seems a bit too naïve at the start, but it kind of fits with the story and the realisation that being a crimefighter can be pretty challenging. The idea of pitching Batgirl against Gotham’s three standout femme fatales seems a bit tokenistic, but it provided the basis for further DCAU adventures (including the Batman: The Animated Series episode 'Batgirl Returns' and The New Batman Adventures episode 'Girls Night Out') and the enjoyable Gotham Girls webseries, which were all able to develop the relationships between these four characters in greater detail. Puckett created further Barbara Gordon Batgirl stories for DC Comics, but his preference for a “cooler” version of the character persisted, and this inspired him to create the Cassandra Cain incarnation of Batgirl, who debuted in 1999.

'Smells Like Black Sunday' - The Batman Adventures (Issue 20)

(Written by Kelley Puckett. Published 7th April 1994)

In Issue 10 of The Batman Adventures, The Riddler tries to rediscover his self-confidence by pulling off a heist Batman won’t be able to expose, only to find a trio of rival villains at the same location. The Perfesser, Master Mind and Mr Nice were mere supporting players in this issue, but they made such an impression that they quickly got a spotlight story of their own. With all other Batman rouges out of the way, and Batman himself having a minimal role, the first starring vehicle for the Threatening Three is inevitably zany (The storyline is something about them breaking out of prison to steal warheads from a military base) – those who like more complex Batman stories will inevitably dislike it, but some of the comedic bits do land, such as the Perfesser creating a panic in the prison mess hall by saying “fire” without raising his voice, and Mastermind’s childish reaction when his ludicrously overcomplicated plans seem to work. A little goes a long way with characters like the Threatening Three, but they were given enough funny moments to justify making multiple appearances.

The Batman Adventures comics created a few original villains of its own – Roxy Rocket made it into The New Batman Adventures, whilst The Adventure Continues hardman Muscle became a central member of their new version of Task Force X (The Suicide Squad, but with the name toned down to reflect the safer approach of the DCAU). However, The Threatening Three are probably the most memorable and unusual of the DCAU comics original rouges. The hot-tempered Mastermind, the excessively nostalgic Perfesser, and the ludicrously polite Mr Nice all lent themselves well to more farcical stories, but what made them stand out was the way they were modelled after iconic DC comics writers. Mastermind was based on "The Death of Superman" editor Mike Carlin, The Perfesser was based on Dennis "Denny" O’Neil, whose Batman stories of the 1970s were a pivotal influence on BTAS (he remained Senior Editor DC into the 21st century) and Mr Nice was based on Marvel veteran Archie Goodwin. After Goodwin died in 1998, Puckett brought the Threatening Three back for a final Gotham Adventures story (Issue 13), providing a surprisingly poignant send-off for them. Even if their brand of silver age silliness felt a bit out of place in BTAS, The Threatening Three played a key role in allowing the DCAU comics universe to feel like a world of its own.

'Super Friends' - The Batman Adventures (Issue 25)

(Written by Kelley Puckett. Published 15th September 1994)

Batman: The Animated Series initially took a more grounded approach to superheroes, with any superpowers explicitly linked to malfunctioning science, and aliens strictly excluded. However, Batman belongs to a comic universe where aliens, magic and fantasy play a consistently important role, so it became inevitable that the spin-off comics would try to find a way to bring this in. With BTAS now established as a must-watch for comics fans, it was only a matter of time before they decided to explore the possibility of a Batman and Superman team-up, with this issue using it as a one-off novelty. In this story, the pair have to team up to prevent Maxie Zeus (One of the more preposterous members of Batman’s rouges gallery, but possessing enough firepower to back up his Classical fantasies with an actual sense of danger) from using a technological superweapon to destroy Gotham, whilst stopping Lex Luthor from taking advantage of the chaos with his brand of military robots. The most notable feature of this story is the problematic designs given to Superman and Lex. Instead of adapting Superman and Lex to fit the old-fashioned look of The Batman Adventures (the robots feel like they came right out of a 1940s sci-fi comic), “Super Friends” gave Superman the mullet hairstyle he was wearing in the comics of the early 1990s - it feels distracting to see such a contemporary form of hairstyle. Lex Luthor’s bushy orange hair and beard are also unsettling - If you are creating a story where Lex Luthor involves himself in the schemes of a rouge who seems himself as the reincarnation of Zeus, it’s not a good sign when Lex is the more hirsute of the two. It’s established almost instantly that Batman is already familiar with both Superman and Lex, allowing us to dive into the action quickly and making it easier to overlook most of the questions raised about their presence in his world. DCAU continuity can be pretty erratic (especially in the comics), so it’s hard to really get worked up over the differences from Superman: The Animated Series.

When Superman: The Animated Series got its own spin-off comic book, more faithful crossovers quickly became inevitable. Whilst the 'Worlds Finest' episode of Superman: The Animated Series was a three-part epic pitting Batman and Superman against The Joker and Lex Luthor, the team-up for the Gotham Adventures series took a more intimate approach – 'World’s Finest' (Gotham Adventures issue 36) saw Batman teaming up with DCAU Superman to bring down a Metropolis mob boss – It seems like a relatively unexciting assignment, but it allowed Superman one of his most awesomely intimidating lines ever (“I can fly into the heart of the sun. I can see the hydrogen molecules in a drop of water. I can turn diamond into coal just by clenching my fist. But I can’t understand how a man like you can sleep at night.”) Ultimately, that crossover was considerably superior to 'Super Friends', but like 'Batgirl: Day One', the earlier crossover has value as an experimental prototype.

'Demon in the Sky' - Batman And Robin Adventures (Issue 25)

(Written by Ty Templeton. Published 22nd October 1997)

The DCAU have often used the grandiose brand of villainy embodied by Ra's Al Ghul as an excuse to involve Batman in old-fashioned pulp adventure, from the globetrotting spectacle of 'The Demons Quest' to the Western thrills of the Jonah Hex story 'Showdown', to the Captain Nemo-style underwater lair he gained in The Adventures Continue. However, the strangest example of this trend occurred in the finale to The Batman and Robin Adventures. Batman is flying home after an international mission when his Batplane is intercepted by an old-fashioned U.F.O. When Batman gets sucked inside, he finds out that the flying saucer is being piloted by Ra’s, who stole it from the Little Green Men who tried to abduct him. With Ra’s aiming to use the UFO to speed up the melting of the polar ice-caps and fulfil his signature “destroy humanity in order to save it” goals, Batman how to stop him.

This story is deliberately longer than most one-shots, but doesn’t feel like it has enough substance to justify the length. You won’t be surprised to find out there is a scene where Batman falls through space and survives (though the narration at least guides us through how he does it, and he does suffer substantial injuries). However, it proves unable to sustain the excesses of the premise, with the UFO largely being abandoned in the second half for a final battle that stays entirely on earth. Although there is a pleasingly paranoid atmosphere, this is a relatively underwhelming finale for the BTAS style. It was probably for the best that Gotham Adventures and Batman Adventures (2003) both went with quieter, more intimate final issues.

'A Little Thing' - Gotham Adventures (Issue 19)

(Written by Scott Peterson. Published 6th October 1999)

Part of the appeal of Batman’s companions is that their innocence and sense of youthful adventure can provide the positivity needed to prevent Batman sinking into complete emotional turmoil. However, they can still be allowed to have their villainous side as well. Puts a more tongue-in-cheek spin on this idea. After letting his temper get the better of him during a fight with a criminal holding a children’s play area hostage, Robin claims that he wants to be able to battle goofy silver age villains “based on the tides or a passing comet or something.” Given that she is the Bat-family member who most embodies the “fun” side of crimefighting, it’s inevitable that Batgirl would be the first to go with the idea of creating a silly supervillain for Robin to defeat, but when her “Prairie Girl” persona fails to convince, it falls to other members of the Bat-family to help Tim regain his crimefighting mojo.

Mainstream Batman media has sometimes explored the idea of superheroics as an elaborate game (most of Neil Gaiman’s Batman stories have revolved around this motif), but this is one of the more wholesome takes on this fascinating idea. it It's certainly a strange story, but also a sweet one as Tim learns to balance the fun of outfighting a new set of unusual foes with the value of showing compassion towards these eccentric miscreants. It’s nice to see stories focused on Batman’s sidekicks, and this one is a fun little breather – maybe, for all the angst and mayhem, being a superhero can be a pretty fun job....

'Identity Theft' - Gotham Adventures (Issue 56)

(Written by Scott Peterson. Published 27th November 2002)

The bright, angular animation style of The New Batman Adventures has become the de facto design model for DC comics projects aimed at younger children. Simple storybooks such as DC Super Hero Adventures and DC Super Hero Fairy Tales have ensured that the TNBA look is used to introduce audiences to the Batman universe. That makes it all the stranger when extremely adult elements sneak into a DCAU comic story. The storyline of this issue, concerning a duel between The Riddler and an affable hipster criminal mastermind called Kim (whose effeminate name and appearance were based on Kelley Puckett – it was inevitable that the creator of the Threatening Three would receive the same Bat-villain treatment) is mostly mundane, but one key climactic plot point stands out. Kim commits one of his copycat crimes at a derelict movie theatre hosting a festival dedicated to the Japanese auteur Nagisa Oshima. He later boasts about planting clues in reference to Oshima’s film In The Realm of the Senses, which is based on the infamous Sada Aba murder trial. Both the trial and the film are NOT suitable for links on this site - they are infamous for involving extreme acts of sadomasochism and graphic sex scenes. So the final image of Batman having a title card for In The Realm of the Senses on his computer screens feels deliciously awkward…

In this case, the adults-only element of the storyline is one single arthouse reference that would go right over the heads of children (and even most older readers) but it does make it clear that the DCAU spin-offs have never been “just for children”. The DCAU team have been given some opportunities to place their visual style into more “adult” stories. The DCAU team contributed a couple of stories to the Batman: Black and White anthology series, with the lack of restrictions (beyond the need to have black and white visuals) allowing them to tell edgier stories. Bruce Timm’s 'Two of A Kind' placed Two-Face in a lurid love triangle that felt more suited to Sin City than the world of DCAU, whilst 'The Bet' revelled in depicting Harley and Ivy in a more sexualised fashion. These stories aren’t exactly the most sophisticated, but it is interesting to see the DCAU creative team experiment with edgier content. However, extremely adult content stands out more when placed inside an otherwise relatively innocuous tale.

'Deathtrap A Go-Go' - Batman Adventures (2003) (Issue 9)

(Written by Gabe Soria. Published 17th December 2003)

One Batman The Animated Series episode which shows up in Greatest Episodes lists is 'Almost Got ‘Im'. Like that episode, 'Deathtrap A Go-Go' pays tribute to that most unfashionable staple of 1960s Batman – the Death Trap. There will always be something fun about putting Batman (and his companions) into the sort of overly elaborate scenarios designed to demonstrate the sadistic showmanship of their enemies. Whilst 'Almost Got ‘Im' explored the traps from the villains POV, 'Deathtrap A-Go-Go' shows how Batman and Robin cope with these deadly-looking devices. The concept is incredibly simple – Batman and Robin are tied up in a death trap, and Batman guides Robin through his strategies for dealing with death traps as the pair try to find a way to escape. However, it provides an opportunity to show every member of the rouges gallery treating Batman and Robin to outlandish deathtraps based around their villainous gimmicks. Over the course of just 17 pages, Batman has to explain to Robin how he dealt with deadly plots from Penguin, The Mad Hatter, The Joker, The Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Clayface, Mr Freeze, Two Face AND The Riddler – These are outlandish pieces of destructive silliness, with Scarecrow’s House of Horrors representing a particularly impressive piece of design. We also explore the difficulties of creating a deathtrap in the first place, with a section where Poison Ivy has to work through the more mundane aspects of deathtrap construction. Essentially, the focus of this story is learning the strategies Batman uses to solve deadly challenges posed by his enemies. 'Deathtrap A-Go-Go' is nowhere near the level of 'Almost Got ‘Im' – It lacks the wit and sophistication of that episode - but it still provides some old-fashioned fun in the moment. In the comic-book context of the neverending battle between Batman and his enemies, the villains spending so much time and effort on their unreliable deathtraps highlights how ludicrous they are, but that is what makes Batman’s escapes so fun…

Batman Adventures (2003) deviated from the other DCAU spin-off comics by featuring shorter back-up tales in each issue, usually connected to the main story in some way. In this issue, the back-up is 'The Couch', where Bruce Wayne does a session of Word Association as part of a Wayne Enterprises Therapy programme. The story is a simple and effective way of highlighting the contrast between Bruce Wayne’s flippant playboy persona and the responsibilities he has as Batman.

'Fear Itself' - Batman Adventures 2003 (Issue 17)

(Written by Ty Templeton. Published 18th August 2004)

One of the greatest strengths of Batman: The Animated Series was the way it explored the underlying tragedy of the Batman villains. Long-established favourites like Two-Face and The Riddler, previously disrespected Batman rogues like Mr Freeze and The Mad Hatter, and even original villains like Harley Quinn and Baby Doll were given backstories and spotlight episodes that humanised them and made their conflicts with the Bat feel even more meaningful. The final issue of Batman Adventures (2003) applied this formula to the ultimate Batman villain – Joe Chill, the lowlife responsible for Batman’s defining tragedy. When a veteran cop reveals he has the evidence that could finally prove that Chill was the one who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne all those years ago, Chill has to break in and eliminate this potential informer, but his own paranoia is about to ruin everything for him....

It’s impossible to write more serious versions of Batman without discussing his tragic origins, but relying on the familiar cliches can become tiresome and annoying. However, 'Fear Itself' gains its power by exploring things from the perspective of an entirely ordinary crook haunted by the routine crime which went horribly wrong. The tone is set by the intro, which begins with a seemingly familiar nightmare of the double murder, before revealing it is Chill who is having the terrifying dream. Chill’s sense of self-loathing about both how far he let things go and his inability to “finish the job” are a disturbingly human combination, and the way in which Chill’s instability bleeds into his daily life is depicted effectively, with his terse, panicked narration emphasizing the psychological horror aspect. The story hinges on one questionable but powerful contrivance – Chill literally hallucinating Bruce Wayne everywhere he goes – but it is handled with disturbing power, leading to a brutal conclusion. The climax is loaded with ironies, but the greatest of these is the way in which Chill is the literal embodiment of Gotham’s crime problem, but also totally insignificant.

After 11 continuous years of BTAS and TNBA spin-off comics, Batman Adventures (2003) ended with this issue due to WB wanting to focus promotional efforts on their new The Batman animated series (had its own comic spinoff, The Batman Strikes!). It would be 15 years until the BTAS-verse was rebooted with the first The Adventures Continue miniseries, but 'Fear Itself' represented a solid finale for the DCAU version of Batman.

'Hooray for Harleywood' - Harley And Ivy (Issue 3)

(Written by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. Published 30th June 2004)

Although BTAS established Harley Quinn and her relationship with the Joker, it also originated her relationship with Poison Ivy, which allowed Harley to apply her most entertaining traits to a new partnership whilst providing further nuances to her personality. The three-part miniseries Harley and Ivy provided one of the best takes on the pair, as it gave them a Pinky and the Brain-style dynamic – Ivy is portrayed as an evil genius constantly frustrated by Harley’s antics but unable to cut ties with her persistently positive partner in crime. The first issue of the miniseries is probably the most cartoonishly toxic their relationship has ever been (and is all the better for it) whilst the second issue sees them tackle crooked presidents and loggers in South America. However, it’s the third and final issue of Harley and Ivy - a delicious farce in the vein of The Producers – that makes the miniseries stand out.

Harley and Ivy are hiding out on the Mexican border when they find out that Hollywood is making a film based on their exploits. The two aren’t keen on the casting choices, so they head to Hollywood to test Ivy’s mind-control gas on the cast and crew. However, Ivy finds out about the $100 million budget and suspects that it would be a good idea for her and Harley to steal control of the production, let the budget overrun further, and siphon off the money for themselves (That’s probably not how movie budgets work, but it’s best if you just go along with it). Harley takes over as director, but her more “realistic” style of filmmaking leaves behind a trail of injured stuntmen and attracts Batman’s attention…

If you enjoy more comedic Batman stories, this is a must-read. The story is full of delicious details, from Batman’s perspective on the whole affair (“Being caricatured in a badly conceived movie doesn’t faze me”) to a single-frame easter egg where an article about Harley’s movie is written by an author called Rupert Pupkin (15 years before DC made a Joker movie which was a feature-length The King of Comedy homage). We even get a cameo from two frustrated screenwriters – who look oddly like BTAS creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm - complaining about having to add superfluous underwater scenes to sell “crappy little toys”. However, for all the wackiness, there is a strong emotional core, as Harley becomes caught up in the thrill of filmmaking and wants to complete the film against Ivy’s wishes. The idea of using a superhero movie as a front for a financial scam (with Ivy intending to pull the plug when she has the money she needs) feels pretty awkward after the infamous cancellation of the Batgirl movie and the tax write-offs WB used to keep it on the shelf. However, that arguably makes the story funnier, especially with the magnificently silly conclusion, where Harley’s tenacity allows her to gain a spectacular victory. 'Hooray for Harleywood' is one of the most enjoyable Harley & Ivy stories and should be a blueprint for future adventures with the pair.

'Old Flames' - The Adventures Continue: Season 3 (Issue 2)

(Written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini. Published 14th February 2023)

One of the main reasons for the creation of The Adventures Continue sequel series was the success of the Batman '66 comic book series. Like Batman '66, The Adventures Continue aimed to provide the classic style and characterisation of the source material whilst incorporating elements from more modern Batman comics. For the most part, this meant providing DCAU versions of 21st century Batman villains (The Jason Todd version of Red Hood, The Court of Owls) but it also meant changing existing characters to reflect more recent trends. One example of this is the handling of Harley Quinn, who was modified in order to bring her closer to the independent, rebellious persona she had been given in recent DC stories (including the Suicide Squad movies and the Harley Quinn animated series). This meant that she broke up with the Joker for good, and focused on her relationships with Poison Ivy and Task Force X. After supporting roles in two stories in the first The Adventures Continue miniseries and a short but amusing cameo in the second miniseries, the third miniseries decided to give Harley a spotlight story, published on Valentines Day.

Harley wants to have a fun night out, but none of her “gal pals” are available. When she finds out that her former College friend Cassie Kendall is in town, Harley invades her penthouse to reconnect with her. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne also wants to see Cassie, as the two had a romantic relationship in High School. When Cassie is kidnapped, Harley and Batman both team up to investigate, but it turns out that they are not the only people who Cassie had a fling with…

Mercifully, The Adventures Continue has generally downplayed the crude humour that defines most recent Harley Quinn media, but given the inherently raunchy premise of this story, it would have arguably been a better fit. It also doesn’t help that Kevin Altieria – guest artist for this issue – adopts a noticeably more abrasive design style.** There’s no gore or swearing, but we do get Harley setting a random thug on fire with a Molotov cocktail, which feels a bit jarring given her traditional childishness – Harley’s destructive deeds tend to be part of a grand fantasy, so seeing her inflict such a brutal bit of close-up violence feels wrong. Cassie Kendall is a pure cardboard cut-out of a character, which honestly makes her portrayal feel a bit misogynist. This story has the distinction of being the last one-shot story in the DCAU comics universe – The third set of The Adventures Continue comics followed this story with two three-issue arcs (both of which gave Harley a supporting role) – and 'Old Flames' represented a disappointing end to the rich tradition of one-issue adventures. It also illustrates one of the main issues with The Adventures Continue as a whole –Batman comics have generally been declining in quality in recent years, so updating the DCAU to reflect their influence feels like a backwards step.

Conclusion

To tell the truth, these ten stories generally aren’t the best issues of the various BTAS/TNBA spin-off comics – Out of the ones on this list, only 'Fear Itself' and 'Hooray For Harleywood' are up to the standards of the best BTAS and TNBA episodes. However, they are still worth checking out, and examining the more unusual BTAS/TNBA spin-off stories highlights why the parent series worked so well – they were able to explore a wide range of approaches to Batman. The Caped Crusader should never be tied too firmly to brutal and gritty storylines and characterisation and shouldn’t be reduced to a campy joke character, but the DCAU was able to explore everything in between these two extremes, and was all the better for it – Overall, the success of the DCAU demonstrates that Batman works best when his stories are able to balance drama and comedy, sadness and hope, goofy fantasy and down to earth crime drama - DC comics and their various creative teams should fully embrace this.

Notes

*- The Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures comic universe consists of a total of 188 issues - The initial 36 issue run of The Batman Adventures (1992-1995), the 25 issue run of The Batman And Robin Adventures (1995-1997), the 60 issue run of Gotham Adventures (1998-2003), the 17 issue run of Batman Adventures (2003-04) and the 23 issue run of The Adventures Continue, which was split into three “Seasons” of between seven and eight issues (2020, 2021-22, 2023). The Batman Adventures and The Batman and Robin Adventures used the BTAS designs and characterisation, but their successors adopted the different visual style and larger cast of TNBA. There was also a five-issue The Lost Years miniseries to bridge the gap between BTAS and TNBA, A five issue Gotham Girls miniseries based on the webseries of the same name, and a three-issue Harley and Ivy miniseries, as well as a handful of annuals and one-off specials (including one for Clatirin Hayfever tables!)

** - Of the ten stories in this article, 'Fear Itself' and 'Old Flames' are the only one not collected in a publication, although 'Old Flames' will be included in the Trade Paperback for the third season of Batman: The Adventures Continue when it gets published in February 2024. 'Batgirl: Day One' and 'Smells Like Black Sunday' are included in The Batman Adventures: Volume 2 and 'Super Friends' is in The Batman Adventures: Volume 3. As Harley Quinn’s first ever appearance in a Batman comic, 'Batgirl: Day One' is also included in Harley Quinn: 30 Years of The Maid of Mischief. 'Demon In The Sky' is included in The Batman and Robin Adventures: Volume 3. Although do not have complete TPB collections, some of their stories have been placed in TPBs focused on individual characters. 'A Little Thing' and 'Deathtrap A-Go-Go' are included in Robin: The Boy Wonder (A collection of Robin stories from Gotham Adventures and Batman Adventures (2003)), whilst 'Identity Theft' is included in Riddle Me This (A collection of Riddler stories from Gotham Adventures and Batman Adventures (2003)). 'Hooray for Harleywood' is included in Batman: Harley and Ivy, which will get a reprint in November. All 36 of The Batman Adventures issues (plus several special issues from that period, including the Christmas Special comics and 'Mad Love') have recently been collected in a grand omnibus, but it is extremely expensive...

*** - This article has focused on the writers of these stories, but the hard work of the artists deserves appreciation as well (Ty Templeton is the only person who both wrote stories and drew them). Like BTAS and TNBA, the quality of drawing could be erratic, but the visual style consistently remained appealing. However, there were a couple of issues that deviated from the DCAU style. 'Second Banana' (The Batman & Robin Adventures - Issue 5) adopted a cartoonish MAD Magazine style of animation (all enlarged chins and exaggerated physiques) for a rather silly Joker story, whilst 'Images' (Gotham Adventures - Issue 37) featured Batman in a Silver Age fantasy world emulating the Silver Age illustration style of Dick Sprang.