Batman Beyond (2011 series)

The first arc is simply to setup the batman beyond world so yes it is very much like the cartoon and not as dark as the Hush miniseries BUT once you get past the first arc the series hits it’s stride. Terry’s girlfriend Dana FINALLY gets some character development that leaves many questions, Max has her own subplot(really cool), and we see many familiar faces from batman’s past. Overall I say this is a good series to read if yo like the cartoon or even if you just like possible futures to which the batman mythos can go.

This is easily the most exciting Batman comic in recent years. If you loved the cartoon, you will love this comic, it feels like it really paid attention to the series that spawned it. I recommend getting the Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond mini-series from 2010 in TPB (some major villains from the cartoon are killed in it, so you’ll want to know what happened), and then getting into this series. It really manages to capture the feeling of the cartoon, the fun and excitement it had, and the dynamic between Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne, and Terry and his friends, is better than ever. Also, some of the best villains from the series are back, such as Blight and Inque. It really is a must-read if you are a Batman Beyond fan.

No other recent Batman comic besides Batman Inoorporated has been this much fun to read, and this one in particular is much less disjointed than Batman Inc. Another reason to purchase it is since it is set in future Gotham, it really feels like a (mostly) separate universe from the main DC universe. There are connections, obviously, but they’re not blatant and you don’t need to know all the massive backstory of multiple heroes like you do to if you want to follow the main Batman comic storyline. Instead you get a new, fresh set-up to read about, with only the (really fun) cartoon series as a backdrop, and a few original Batman villains popping up in the future(such as the aforementioned Hush).

Do yourself a favor and if you are only going to read one extra Batman comic book a month outside the main Batman and Detective Comics series, make it this one.