Has the Joker found his love match?  Not quite, but he has found his equal in clown prince capers. Harley Quinn is a fun character, obsessively trying to prove her love for the big J, her precious Puddin'. They make a great foil to the dynamic duo, as well as bickering sparring partners.

As the lead story, Mad Love is a visual delight. Bruce Timm's crisp, uncluttered panel structure with dynamic, bold splash pages give an uplifting vigour to the stories and complement Paul Dini's mirth-filled dialogue. Quinn is a born optimist, trying to show her feelings for the Clown Prince of Crime, only to be spurned at every turn. Dini even gives her origin some unexpected psychological depth in this seemingly more cartoon-like world. 

The success of the animated TV series is evident here too, breaking out of the shadows so familiar with the shadowy realms of the current Gotham tales in the monthly Batman and Detective Comics and revealing the unadulterated delights of full-colour adventure.

The Dark Knight persona has eclipsed recent perceptions of the character, but all the stories in this volume are a reminder that Bats can be great fun with Timm's style brightening the mood.

If Harley Quinn has been created specifically for Dini's Adventures comic and the series, there's plenty of other heroes and villains from Batman history. So watch out for the Scarecrow, Catwoman, Clayface, Batgirl, Two-Face, and in a beautifully realised tribute to Jack Kirby (courtesy of Timm and Glen Murakami), Etrigan the Demon, complete with Ra's Al Ghul and behemoth monsters that could have walked out of Journey Into Mystery.

With Timm providing the bulk of the artwork, there's also contributions from comic book veterans Klaus Janson and John Byrne, with legendary Archie cartoonist and creator of Josie And The Pussycats, Dan DeCarlo.

This a bright and breezy pleasure to read for any age. It delights in exploring Bat history without being tied to continuity or ever-darkening deeds. Lively, witty and entertaining.

Batman: Mad Love And Other Stories is out now.