Goodnight Batcave Review

Goodnight Batcave

Writer: Dave Croatto
Artist: Tom Richmond
Publisher: MAD

A review by Amelia Wellman

It’s been a dark and gritty couple of years for DC and, despite how you may feel about that, a little levity never hurts! So prepare to venture into Batman’s secret lair with the “Usual Gang of Idiots” from MAD Magazine for a few Dark Knight related yaks in Goodnight Batcave!

In this 100% unauthorized parody of beloved children’s book Goodnight Moon, MAD is getting Batman ready for bed. But crime never sleeps! Before the Caped Crusader can turn in for the night, he’ll have to deal with Gotham’s most dangerous criminals. Will Batman get to say goodnight to the batcave in time to get his batty sleep?

MAD is known for its parodies, so it’s not hard to guess where they take Goodnight Batcave. Goodnight Moon has circulated through nearly every child’s hands since it was published in 1947 and shows us a bedtime routine that says goodnight to stuff around a kid’s room. Goodnight Batcave replaces the kid and their room with Batman and his batcave. It’s a silly, light lark for fans of the brooding Dark Knight. The story is even a clean parody of Goodnight Moon and completely acceptable for children that are fans of Batman and have a silly sense of humour. Reading the two stories back to back will doubtlessly cause some giggles.

Having never read a MAD Magazine I can’t say if the art is cohesive to the franchise but Goodnight Batcave is (surprisingly) a pleasure to look at. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way towards MAD publications, but parody is often low-quality, hastily created riffs on popular media that won’t mean anything in a month’s time. Goodnight Batcave is detailed, exaggerated, expressive, silly, and definitely as timeless as the two properties it’s parodying. My one complaint is that it’s not entirely in colour. The full page spreads are super colourful and so delightful. You’ll want to cover every inch of the spread before turning the page. But then individual pages are in black and white. It’s not a total deal breaker, I’m just not sure why the choice was made.

The Verdict
Check It Out! I was pleasantly surprised by Goodnight Batcave! It’s nice to see a silly, light side to Batman; even if it is an unauthorized parody. The artwork is detailed and interesting and the story is good to tuck any age Batman fan into bed with!

Goodnight Batcave is available in stores and online on November 2^nd 2016.