Friends with the Demon

"Friends with the Demon" from Batman Adventures Annual #2 (DC, 1995) by Paul Dini, Glen Murakami and Bruce Timm

The Batman animated series is, to many, the best Batman in non-comics media. I can't disagree there. The animated series is dark without being depressing or unnecessarily violent. It is iconic with its retro Gotham yet modern outlook. Kevin Conroy is a great voice for the Dark Knight. The action beats work, but the detective element is catered to as well. And over four seasons (plus appearances in Justice League), the Batman universe thrived, gave us many villains and guest-stars, and even allowed characters (like Dick Grayson) to evolve. As it turns out, this Batman wasn't too bad a COMICS Batman either! Whether the comic is called The Batman Adventures, Batman Adventures, Batman and Robin Adventures, or Batman: Gotham Adventures, the series lasted almost 150 issues in total. I'd put them up against any Batman comics of the same same era (1992-2004) any day.

My choice of splash was made simply enough. Bruce Timm worked on the issue and is the mastermind behind the animated series, while Dini and Murakami also worked on the series. Timm's love of Jack Kirby's characters is well obvious from his Superman and Justice League efforts, but Batman doesn't crossover as much with that part of the DCU. Not as much, but it still does. The Demon Etrigan, denizen of Gotham City, is all Kirby. Dini, Murakami and Timm couldn't stay away.