What if Bruce Wayne] and Clark Kent attended the same kindergarten as Lex Luthor? Even DC fans have been feeling burnt out on grim stories about their favorite heroes, but JL8, an adorable AU web comic, has the antidote. The comic, created by artist Yale Stewart, has resurged in popularity on Reddit, and it’s a great reminder that superheroes are supposed to be fun, especially if they’re tiny.
The best of Stewart’s cutesy comic strips hone in on the things all fans know about Batman and Wonder Woman and their buddies, across universes. Batman is always cranky, for example, and Wonder Woman isn’t interested in boys so much as she is with doing well in school and pleasing her family.
Baby Batman likes to protect the school playground, as he protects Gotham later in life.
DC’s greatest heroes have appeared as different version of themselves for decades, but Stewart’s super-toddlers are so hilarious and engaging that it’s easy to imagine his comics being adapted into a cartoon. Of course, reverse-aging our heroes isn’t exactly new. DC’s Super Hero Girls, a contemporary cartoon about the company’s super women, redefines them as teenagers attending a single high school for exceptional girls. JL8 simply suggests that characters like Captain Cold, Joker and Martian Manhunter met when they were still learning to read.
The super-boys decide they're tired of being called "kids".
Check out the entire JL8 catalogue, totaling 226 strips, which is available for free online.
