Batman flashlight projections Heroes and villains

Projected images of the Dark Knight, his friends, foes, and gear.Printed in black on clear acetate sheets, six projections are drawn in a style reminiscent of the original comics but simpler. They include: a group portrait of the costumed hero among such allies as Robin (the current one, identified as his son) and Alfred; a rogues' gallery of adversaries; and views of the Bat Signal, the Batmobile, and the Caped Crusader leaping solo to the attack. The card stock leaves are spiral bound so that each appropriately gloomy scene can be held open in one hand while the other uses a small light source (a wide-angled one works best) to project the images on a ceiling or, for more sharply focused results, a nearby wall. Black supplies patronizing instructions for use ("If it's too dark to read, you can alternate between shining the light through the projection window and onto the words"duh), generalized background on Batman's work and largely but not entirely white world (Batwing is black in the comics if not obviously so here), and, at the end, an invitation to draw an action scene using a dry-erase marker on a final, blank, plastic sheet. There's no storyline, but the gimmick makes this a natural accompaniment for the more-coherent likes of Ralph Cosentino's Batman (2008) or Kelly Puckett and Jon J Muth's Batman's Dark Secret (2015).Insubstantial but properly atmospheric. (Novelty. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.