The slice-of-life superhero comedy comic Batman: Wayne Family Adventures will return for a second season this week, Polygon can exclusively reveal, courtesy of Webtoon and DC Comics.
“Last season, we wanted to focus on the moments that make the Batfamily a family,” writer CRC Payne told Polygon via email. “This season, we’re going to dive deeper into these characters and explore what makes them heroes, both in the everyday sense and in the superhero sense.”
For more from the Wayne Family creative team on their comic’s success, and a sneak peek at season 2 before it starts on Wednesday, read on!
A little over a year ago, DC Comics launched a partnership with Webtoon for Wayne Family Adventures. The comic wasn’t like anything on Warner Bros.’ movie slate or DC’s monthly listings. But a silly family comedy about Bruce Wayne’s gaggle of bat-symbol-wearing kids made perfect sense if you were introduced to Batman through Tumblr, and it seems that audiences have responded accordingly.
Though the DC and Webtoon partnership has lead to a few other titles — Vixen: NYC, Zatanna & the Ripper, Red Hood: Outlaws — Wayne Family Adventures has been a standout success, according to Webtoon. David Lee, vice president of content at the international webcomics publisher, said the first season was “beyond [their] expectations” in a press release, and the foremost industry awards in American comics agreed, including Wayne Family Adventures in the nominations for Best Webcomic in the 2022 Eisners.
Of course, the creative team had their own favorite moments.
Payne has a soft spot for “All-Seeing,” a chapter about how the nearly nonverbal Cassandra Cain communicates. “I loved being able to tell her story and show the Batgirls supporting one another. Again, huge shoutout to the art team for these episodes. They went above and beyond to visually depict how Cass reads body language and show how it can make her feel like an outsider.”
Artist Starbite called out “Unbelievable” for very understandable reasons: “I got to draw the Justice League! Come on, how could I not be excited about that? Plus, Batman on a skateboard. Enough said.”
And both agreed that “Recovery,” a chapter where all of Batman’s children collaborate to enforce his bed rest orders, was high on the fave list. Starbite relished drawing Bruce Wayne as a petulant child as his kids became the adults in the room. And Payne? “I remember seeing the art for that episode and laughing so hard when I noticed the card from Selina on Bruce’s bedside table,” the writer said.
Payne said that the first season of Wayne Family Adventures was all about introducing the creative team’s take on its menagerie of characters — Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, the Red Hood, Spoiler, Orphan, Red Robin, Robin, and Signal. And the chance to do a second was a chance to expand on that foundation. That, and more villains, according to Starbite: “Batman villains are my absolute favorite, and I can’t wait to try out my style on a few specific ones.”
But it won’t be all bad guys and gloom. “Of course,” Payne said, “there will be more laughter and silly moments. It wouldn’t be Wayne Family Adventures without Batkid shenanigans!”
If you can’t wait for the season opener this Wednesday, you can get a peek at several upcoming stories right here:
Image: CRC Payne, Toby Fan/Webtoon, DC Comics
Image: CRC Payne, Toby Fan/Webtoon, DC Comics
Image: CRC Payne, Toby Fan/Webtoon, DC Comics
As an added treat, season 2 of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures will also feature the first crossover in Webtoon’s DC Comics line, when Duke Thomas/Signal runs into Vixen.
The second season of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures kicks off on Sept. 28, and its creative team seems energized not least by the wealth of fans accrued in the first. “I’ve been absolutely blown away by the response to Wayne Family Adventures,” Payne shared.
“Batman fans have always drawn slice-of-life fan content, so I also think it filled a much-wanted void,” said Starbite. “That’s why we all love it, and why I’m so excited to be a part of it.”