Introduction
I have been a fan of Batman as a character since I was a teenager. Whilst I never bought comics every week, I did have graphic novels and some collections. I now want to apologise for it but I did vote in favour of Jason Todd being killed in Death in the Family (I am so sorry Jason, you deserved better!). I’d drifted away a bit but I started seeing a lot of cute Bat Family posts on Tumblr from this webtoon called Wayne Family Adventures, found it online and basically inhaled the whole thing as fast as I could.
In mainstream comics they’ve leaned on the ‘grimdark’ approach – the characters are not a real family with some pretty dark violence. But this series begins as vignettes of everyday life for a family who may struggle but love each other and work on their issues. So I like to treat it as a universe in which the BatFamily got therapy and it works for them
It’s still running on webtoons with weekly episodes but is also now collated in volumes – up to the end of the 2nd series. Volumes 1 & 2 cover the first series
A brief BatFamily summary for the uninitiated:
- Alfred Pennyworth – butler but really grandfather to the family
- Bruce Wayne – Batman and father with an adoption problem (don’t be an orphan with dark hair and blue eyes in Gotham, you will be adopted)
- Dick Grayson – original Robin and now Nightwing, eldest child
- Jason Todd – 2nd Robin, died and got better, now Red Hood
- Tim(othy) Drake – 3rd Robin, now Red Robin
- Damian Wayne – technically 5th Robin, actual blood child of Bruce Wayne
- Stephanie Brown – briefly Robin and Batgirl, now Spoiler
- Cassandra Cain – was Black Bat, now Orphan
- Duke Thomas – Signal and a strange member of the family because he operates in daylight
Associates and near family
- Barbara Gordon – former Batgirl, now Oracle
- Selina Kyle – Catwoman and basically mom to the family
Volume 1
The first printed volume collates the first 25 episodes of the series. These are mostly light hearted standalone stories or two parters designed to introduce the characters and tone of the series. Duke is our initial viewpoint character as he is the most recent addition to the family and is just moving into Wayne Manor (the light heartedness at this point is illustrated as we don’t get told why this is happening – Duke’s parents were subjected to Joker’s toxin and are in comas). We meet some of the rest of the family as Damian shows him around and others turn up later for post-patrol cookies.
The series continues in that vein but the 7th story ‘Vigilante Bingo’ does showcase that it’s not an entirely separate universe with a turn for the macabre as the team share the things they have in common like: starting super hero teams, changing names, being trained by assassins, and being murdered and coming back to life (that’s a yes from Jason, Cass, Damian, and Dick meaning everything including the horrible Spyral story happened here).
Volume 2
Volume 2 steps up the tempo a little with more 2 part stories and some more meaningful storylines that start to build the characters up. We see Tim struggling a little with his sexuality and wanting to feel comfortable about holding his boyfriend Bernard’s hand in public so he discusses it with his ‘aunt’ Kate Kane as she’s also gay. Better yet we see Cassandra struggle because her assassin training means she can’t stop being observant and she thinks it’s ruining her ability to get on with family because she notices things they don’t want to discuss.
But my two favourite stories in this season touch on the oldest siblings – Dick and Jason – they are my favourite bat characters after all. In one Dick cancels plans for a day out with Tim because he has Chronic Hero Syndrome and doesn’t realise how upset Tim is because he feels like he’s often left behind or ignored (third child, pushed his way into the family rather than being chosen by Bruce). Dick feels guilty but is talked out of brooding because Jason steps up to talk to him about it.
And then the Jason centred story “Strong Enough” is just fantastic as an illustration of coping with PTSD – he’s fixing the Batmobile when the scraping of a tire iron on concrete reminds him of being beaten to death by the Joker. He runs and hides (curled up, protecting his head which is a beautiful graphical touch). The whole family step up to support – Bruce talks him through his anxiety, Tim gets a weighted blanket, Steph gives him cat videos, and Alfred bakes him food he likes. It’s such a lovely mature way to show healthy dealing with trauma and people recognising triggers.
Conclusion
Yeah, I love this series and will be reviewing the rest of it too. Seeing a Batfamily who love each other and deal with trauma responses in a grown up way is delightful. Add to this it’s funny a lot of the time, I like the art style which is clean and bright but also distinct, and it’s just a great slice-of-life read. I know there are comic fans out there who resent it because it’s fun and the family get on but I don’t need to see a Bruce Wayne beating his children half to death thanks – that’s not my Batman. There’s a space for all types of Bat stories and I can see this being a gateway to get people back into the comic books too