Batman Animated by Paul Dini, Chip Kidd Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Batman Animated
Book Review: Must-Have for the B:TAS Fan!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Batman: The Animated Series" was one of the most revolutionary and influential cartoons ever created. This book, written by B:TAS writer/producer Paul Dini, is an essential look into the creation and phenomenon of the series. While a little slim on actual reading, what is there gives you that most coveted "behind-the-scenes" info on what it took to make "Batman". (For another perspective on the show's creation, check out the "Modern Masters: Bruce Timm" interview book.)
The real meat of the book lies in its visuals: photos, line art, animation cels, background keys, licensed toys, etc. The layout of these materials seems a bit haphazard (for being done by the "design-god" Chip Kidd), with captions sometimes hard to correlate with their images and numerous fold-out pages (which I really don't care for). However, the sheer number and quality of images is amazing, and some of the full-page renderings of production key art is breath-taking. I question some of the image choices in the character-design section, particularly the villians. But, again, there's a lot of ground to cover here and the quality and quantity of pictures is overwhelming.
The book was published before Batman Beyond and Justice League, so the ending comments might seem a little off. Still as a retrospective on the "B:TAS", you can't ask for much more. This would have been a 5 star review, if only there'd been a little more reading and a bit less visual confusion.
Bottom line: Love "Batman: The Animated Series"? Buy this book.
Book Review: Not quite what I was expecting
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is alright but it wasn't quite what I was expecting, so far I've only read about 75% of it and it does have a few notable flaws. There are loads of pictures which is great! but it seems a bit short on written info for its size and some of its content is little more than character descriptions with a few little titbits thrown in so if you've already watched the series and are already familiar with its characters some pages will seem a little pointless. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is a comprehensive "making of" book it collects a number of turnarounds, character art, and storyboards with some interesting facts but it reads more like an artbook with commentary more than anything. As far as design is concerned I was quite disappointed: there are whole pages dedicated to a single Image of a toy that in turn is mostly obscured by darkness and it's not uncommon for text to be lost in samples of background art or just made difficult to read for one reason or another, it also contains pages that fold out to A3 where an extra page would have worked just as well and the cover on my copy "slipped" out of place quite easily without any amount of rough handling at all.Book Review: THIS is ART!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Forget your Picassos, Van Goughs and Warhols; as this book shows so beautifully, Bruce Timm is THE artist of the century!!! Every page is absolutely packed with the most gorgeous piccies this side of the Cistine Chapel!!! Breathless hyperbole aside, this is a really stunning book, with plenty of interesting behind- the- scenes info and unseen sketches which make it a must for any animation student or Batfan. Looking at the early character designs next to shots from the latest series show just how far this show has evolved. Well worth your money.Now if only an Aussie network would screen the last series... and SUPERMAN... and BATMAN BEYOND...
Book Review: The Greatest Book Companion to Any Series
Summary: 5 Stars
I really was blown away by how meticulously put-together this book was. Besides the animation being great, this documentive source included everything from the episode guide title cards, merchandise (including ice cream and bubblegum cards), storyboards, character concepts, and a hell of a lot more! It also includes a great photo of Bruce Timm's drawing desk- complete with all the references he uses such as G.I. Joes & knick knacks. Color photos are adorned throughout, but besides that, there are also great stories of what the animation department went through with the head leaders of Warner Bros. There is even a charicature drawing that includes everything that the animators were restricted to draw (a nude, smoking Catwoman, a boozin' Joker, Batman strangling his foe, etc- it's really a treat!)
Even if you've had the misfortunate of not being familiar with this cartoon series, owning this book will make you realize how much effort is needed to create something this vast, and how much more we need to practice to ever reach this level!
Book Review: The holy grail and an oasis for every BTAS fan
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is brilliant and amazing. Finally all my answers about this popular TV shows have been answered.What I love about this book is that we all get to see the secrets about how and why this program be came so popular and forever will be embeded into television history. Final comments to Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and all those brains behind BTAS,one of the most entertaining books I've read in years and PLEASE! come out with another book like this one. To Kevin Conroy, baby, you're the greatest!