Arkhamaniacs, a DC Comics graphic novel that runs with glee for 8 and up

When I was a younger man, the Muppet Babies rubbed me the wrong way. I saw the ‘babyization’ of already famous characters represented as infants or babies as robbing the tomb of my childhood. It should also be said that I was also 22 and had a friend who seriously started a petition to remove Barney from PBS because he was annoying. The ’90s, combined with being in your twenties and trying to find yourself was a wacky time wasn’t it? With that mindset clearly in the rearview mirror, I read Arkhamaniacs. I also gave it to our kids to read. Our nine-year-old loved the graphic novel and immediately curled up in bed to read it.

That’s even more remarkable because he’s not a reader, per se. Other than Bad Kitty, he hasn’t grafted to any other books or properties that have broached his Fortnite pillow. Arkhamaniacs is by Art Baltazar & Franco, a pair of creators who have an indelible stamp on all age comic books. Their style is 100% unique, so much so that their creations have a look. That look and the feel created through its writing is given full, manic range and space to run rampant in this original offering from DC Graphic Novels for Kids.

DC Graphic Novels for Kids is a series of original content by DC Comics that is squarely aimed at the all-age audience. For those parents or libraries who ponder to themselves about what comic books or graphic novels an eight-year-old would like, these are a great addition to either collection.

Younger DC Comics fans will recognize the villains on the cover of Arkhamaniacs, and those slightly older Batman fans will also glum onto a clue about the graphic novel from its prefix. The Arkham in Arkhamaniacs is an apartment complex that Wayne Enterprises own. When young Bruce is out with Alfred to pick something up from there he’s introduced to a very colorful character.

This is where the Muppet Babies part of my past wanted to rear its head, but I kept it in check. Arkham isn’t a prison, it’s an apartment complex. This is a graphic novel that’s meant for elementary school readers. If you’re looking for a pure or middle school look at Bats and his friends, this is not your jam.   What we have here is warm, happy, giddy, and full of life. Mr. Joker is in front of Arkham, gleefully talking to the building, the sun and having a functioning conversation with everything. Bruce and Alfred aren’t seeing any of this, all that they see is a cloudy, rainy day with a clown-like person ranting about.

Bruce asks what this clown is doing and why he’s so happy. Alfred, as anyone who’s dealt with Arkham residents, politely tells Bruce to ignore it. Bruce is a curious child though and continues to see activity, a hint of colors, and potential fun at those apartments. He gives in to the temptation and goes back to Arkham where a tween version of Poison Ivy traps him and introduces Bruce to all of the residents.

This only deepens his curiosity about the residents and how they manage to be so happy. Alfred finally gives in and drives young Bruce to the Arkham apartments so that he can have a playdate with The Riddler, Bane, Ivy, and many other villains that older readers will already know.  What follows is the kind of fun and games that kids see in their minds-eye, when heroes and villains don’t really have a grudge against one another. It’s playtime at Arkham apartments, with just a hint of the villainy that our pint-sized baddies will display when they’re older, and kids eight and older will eat this up.

Arkhamaniacs is by Art Baltazar & Franco and available from DC Comics.