BATMAN '66 Guest Reviews by ADAM REED

EDITOR'S NOTE: Adam Reed has a fond appreciation for the late 1960's BATMAN television series. That makes him a knowledgable reviewer of the comic book treatment, and we appreciate sharing his reviews from Captain Blue Hen's 10,000 Comics Pyramid Facebook page with you . . . .

Batman ‘66 #1 by Jeff Parker and Jonathan Case (DC Comics, September 2013) Adam's Rating: Four Stars out of a possible Five Stars.

Believe it or not, the Batman TV series is where it all started for me. I had vague memories of random episodes of the animated series as a kid and watched the Burton/Schumacher films - - but this show is what got me into superheroes full time. I’ve been rewatching the show and figured it’d be a good time to go back and reread the comic too.

Like the first episodes, the premiere issue has the Dynamic Duo fight the Riddler, who steals statues that when joined together will reveal where prominent artists’ unreleased work is hidden, conveniently in Gotham City of course. Along the way Catwoman joins the crime fighters when one of Riddler’s clues leads to her nightclub and it gets destroyed by one of his traps. 

The dialog is very on the nose when compared to the show but some things feel out of place. Like the continuation of Batman: The Animated Series, the actors’ voices come to mind and it’s strange to hear Frank Gorshin say “what the deuce”. It’s not something his Riddler would say. 

The art is pretty good but some panels look fuzzy and out of focus. I don’t know if that’s just Jonathan Case’s style or if that is a result of the motion effect the comic had when it was released digitally. Most times Case really nails the likeness of the actors, mainly that of Adam West, Burt Ward and Frank Gorshin. I can tell it’s Julie Newmar but it’s not as on the nose. 

The action is really good. Besides the usual Bat-Fights, we’re treated to something they could never do on the show due to budget restraints - - and that is the Batmobile chasing Riddler’s stolen biplane which later has Batman fighting the villain in the air.