''Batman Animated'' is a

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and which can serve to inspire conversation o ...

written by

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...

and designed by

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for Cover art, book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by Am ...

, about the popular TV show '' Batman: The Animated Series''. It was first published in a hardcover edition in 1998 by

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

. A paperback edition of the book was published later.

Overview

A very picture-heavy book, ''Batman Animated'' features numerous sketches, storyboards, character designs, finished paintings and other material from the popular animated series about

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, the iconic

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

character in the

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The book details Batman's development from series producer and co-creator

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...

's early sketches to his eventual finished look in the series, as well as the newer designs Timm made for the follow-up series ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...

''. The designs of other significant characters, such as Robin,

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

and

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

, as well as Batman's numerous enemies (e.g.,

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on ...

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring e ...

, and

The Penguin The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #5 ...

) and allies (e.g.,

Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Alfred is ...

and Commissioner Gordon), are also explored in detail. The book also goes into the architecture of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

and Batman's various vehicles, and provides a detailed look at the show's overall visual flair, such as the episodes' title cards. Various pieces of merchandising related to the series are also featured. The book has numerous fold-out pages that display larger images. As is common with coffee table books, visual design is heavily emphasized throughout the full-color book and numerous pages are dedicated to the artwork from the series. In addition to the plentiful visual elements, the book also contains detailed background information and anecdotes from the series' history, development and production, as well as comments from the various series creators and voice actors. It discusses various production problems ranging from technical challenges to the constant struggle between the creators and the network's censors over whether specific scenes of action and dialogue were too intense. ''Batman Animated'' also goes over the creation of the two animated spin-off films, '' Mask of the Phantasm'' and '' Sub-Zero''. The book's author, Paul Dini, was a writer and the co-producer for ''Batman: The Animated Series''. The designer, Chip Kidd, was also the author and designer of another book, ''Batman Collected'', about Batman

collectible A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

s. ''Batman Animated'' also features an introduction by Bruce Timm as well as an ending by Paul Dini describing their then-upcoming series ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

''. {{DC Animated Universe Popular culture books Works based on Batman: The Animated Series 1998 books Books with cover art by Chip Kidd Coffee table books Batman in other media