The Batman also received a spin-off comic book series – "The Batman Strikes!" – published by DC Comics. The spin-off comic books were set in the same continuity and style as "The Batman". The man known as Batman, the costumed protector of Gotham City, is secretly billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne (voiced by Rino Romano). Batman began three years prior to the start of the series, and the Gotham City police do not publicly acknowledge the vigilante's existence. Operating out of a secret lair underneath Bruce Wayne's mansion — known as the Bat cave — Batman and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by
Batman: The Animated Series The series was also the first in the continuity of the shared DC animated universe, spawning further animated TV series, comic books and video games with most of the same creative talent. Its ratings success and critical acclaim led the series to spawn two feature films: "" (released to theaters in 1993) and "" (a direct-to-video release in 1998). The series took influence from Tim Burton's live-action films, "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992), and the acclaimed "Superman" theatrical cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios in the early 1940s. In designing the series, creators Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski emulated the