Batman: Black and White (2008–2009) User Reviews

Stark Differences

[scythertitus · 7/10 · 7 June 2017]

This motion comic anthology series is a must-see for any Batman fan as it explores multiple facets of his history and the nature of Gotham city itself. There is also a lot here for the casual viewer, especially if they enjoy different art styles and noir-type storytelling.

The only downside to this series is that since each episode is only a few minutes long and have no connection, the tone can vary greatly and there is no real consistency, apart from the black and white nature of the show. Even this differs as some storytellers took this to mean a take on the moralistic nature of Batman, others took it to mean wartime era, and others took it far more literally. As such the stories jump around in time period, artistic style and overall theme to a high degree.

On the plus side this also shows the versatility of the Batman character and means there will certainly be something for everyone, just don't expect a through-arc, character development or anything like that.

A decent motion-comic series

[Rectangular_businessman · 7/10 · 21 January 2024]

While I was watching this, I was almost impossible for me to not think about Oran from Broken Saints, mostly due Michael Dobson voicing Batman.

A pretty decent motion-comic miniseries, with each episode having a different tone and art-style.

Personally, I think the best of all the comics was the one written by Bruce Timm, "Two of a kind", a dark psychological thriller which honestly is good enough to have a fully animated adaptation, and kinda overshadows the rest, in my opinion.

That said, my impressions from the overall series is mostly positive, despite some forgettable episodes, working as a fun showcase for smaller, more experimental Batman stories.

Shame "The Devil's Trumpet" wasn't included in the series, I personally think it was one of the best one-shots from the original comic collection.