Batman '66

[Buried Alien]

It could be titled BATMAN '64 and perhaps begin a few months after President Kennedy's death, perhaps around the same time that the Beatles arrived in the U.S.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Powerboy]

I do often wonder what the BATMAN '66 equivalent of BATMAN: YEAR ONE would be like.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yes I would like to see Batman's and Robin's origins and first adventures in Batman '66 style. I'd love to see the '66 equivalent of Batman Year One and maybe even "The Bright Knight Begins" as a Batman '66 version of DKR. This would simply be a Batman/ Superman (George Reeves mode) team-up. A Batman/ Lynda Carter Wonder Woman '77 team-up would be another idea. Or even an older Batman training a new Robin but '66 style.

I'd LOVE to see the George Reeves Superman, Adam West Batman, Lynda Carter Wonder Woman and the Captain Marvel of the live action Saturday morning show (and Isis) all presented as being in the same setting with amalgamated histories, a genuine world setting. Heck, if it wouldn't ruin the purity of their setting, I'd love to see them cross over into the Post-Crisis and current setting and clean the place up, use the "Wash your mouth out" Bat-soap and send these losers to bed without supper and start a better world.

[Lee Stone]

Yes I would like to see Batman's and Robin's origins and first adventures in Batman '66 style. I'd love to see the '66 equivalent of Batman Year One and maybe even "The Bright Knight Begins" as a Batman '66 version of DKR. This would simply be a Batman/ Superman (George Reeves mode) team-up. A Batman/ Lynda Carter Wonder Woman '77 team-up would be another idea. Or even an older Batman training a new Robin but '66 style.

I'd LOVE to see the George Reeves Superman, Adam West Batman, Lynda Carter Wonder Woman and the Captain Marvel of the live action Saturday morning show (and Isis) all presented as being in the same setting with amalgamated histories, a genuine world setting. Heck, if it wouldn't ruin the purity of their setting, I'd love to see them cross over into the Post-Crisis and current setting and clean the place up, use the "Wash your mouth out" Bat-soap and send these losers to bed without supper and start a better world.

I've always dreamed of a fourth season of Batman that would introduce Green Arrow and Speedy and lead into a Batman '66 style Teen Titans with Robin, Batgirl and Speedy moving to the coast. And with Aqualad joining in their first episode. And I would probably add Hawk & Dove with Dove being a female.
Wonder Girl could be added later, as well.
Some, however, would need tweaking to work with the Batman '66 aesthetics. Kid Flash and Bumblebee, for instance, would need changes in concept or abilities to fit in.

[electr1cgoblin]

Not only that but their first encounters with most of the villains, too.
Seems like a lot of the villains were introduced as "your old arch-enemy".

I expect Batman and Robin's first adventure would be someone big that the cops couldn't handle. Maybe even two villains, which would give more of a reason for Robin to have joined in.
But which two villains should get the honor?
I, myself, would prefer one biggie (Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Mr. Freeze) and one lesser villain (or someone who hadn't appeared in the show. Hugo Strange? The Gambler?).

Actually... The Gambler and Joker sounds like a good combo...

Kenny Rogers was a villain?? Say it ain't so!!

[Lee Stone]

Kenny Rogers was a villain?? Say it ain't so!!

Lol. I'm referring to the Golden Age villain.
Actually a lot of the Golden Age villains would fit the tone and power level of the show.

[Powerboy]

Now here are a couple of teams I would love to see.

The one with the Flash is a bit late in time being 1990 and maybe a bit too serious but, with time travel and a little fudging, it could be cool.

[Harold_N_Ace]

I love it also, It's just a simple comic. No long drug out storie arcs, not a huge list of suporting characters, just a fun read. Even if it is campy, its nice too see some color in Batman, in both his character and artwork.

[Powerboy]

Found an interesting article at

http://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/20...comment-147166

When I was a kid, Adam West and Burt Ward were the first super-heroes I remember following on TV. Less wooden than the Super-Friends, beset by better villains than Marvel’s 1970s live-action TV offerings, and a few years ahead of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, syndicated reruns of the 1966-1968 Batman TV show were a staple of my afternoon viewing.

When I was a teenager, that same show was my mortal enemy. In my mind, West and Ward were the reason no one took comic books seriously. Their stilted earnestness, their cheesy opponents, those cameras tilted as if they were filming on a wildly rocking yacht, those silly fight scenes that made Captain Kirk look like Bruce Lee…ugh. The show’s widespread popularity with the general viewing public distorted its opinion of super-heroes and prevented them from being treated as Serious Literature. Between Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Tim Burton’s dark, madcap reboot, that problem eventually sorted itself. In a way. Sort of. At the very least, they opened a dialog that taught the uninformed masses that Batman hadn’t looked or acted like Adam West for a very long time. As of 1989, I deemed this good.

Now that I’m over twice that age and a little more difficult to entertain, the DC Universe has become a frequent antagonist. I didn’t need the September 2011 “New 52″ reboot that tossed out the timeline previously in place since 1986 (plus numerous course corrections, major and minor). I’m a little weary of the trend to keep pushing mainstream super-heroes closer and closer toward R-rated “edginess”. I’m no longer interested in following major-event crossovers that require me to triple my comics budget for months at a time. I wish Our Heroes were still allowed to have a sense of humor. And I miss the days when super-heroes were happy in their work at least a few times per year. If one of them should be caught having something resembling fun, surely this would signal the comics endtimes and DC would have to reboot their entire publishing line again.

I’m not sure when I turned into that old man. Oh, wait, yes I am — it was that halcyon era when I sampled over twenty of the New 52 launch titles, hoped for the best, then spent these last two years rejecting them one by one. At this point I’m collecting only three DC Universe books, and two of those are ending soon. Congrats to Charles Soule and Kano, whose refreshing take on Swamp Thing will be my sole monthly DCU contact point come September.

Wait!

What’s this?

A new Batman title not set in the DC Universe? Guaranteed crossover-proof? Not one single scene composed like aSaw homage? And it dares to be funny? Can this be?

Behold the comic that should not exist: Batman ’66. From the mind of writer Jeff Parker (purveyor of whimsy in past works such as Agents of Atlas and the criminally underrated Marvel Adventures Spider-Man) and the pop-art styling of Jonathan Case (whom I last saw drawing The Guild) comes DC Comics’ very first intentional continuation of the Adam West/Burt Ward incarnation of the Dynamic Duo, in all-new stories teeming with classic heroic action and covered in eye-gouging Ben-Day dots. All the elements my stuffy teenage self would’ve hated are here:
* The classic costumes, complete with Robin’s tiny green shorts and Batman’s eyebrows on his mask!
* Batman’s stern, off-topic lectures to Robin! (I can even hear the voices of West and Ward in my head!)
* The special guest villains! (The Riddler and Catwoman were both executed in respectively solid shades of Gorshin and Newmar.)
* The iconic sound effects!
* Amazing Bat-gadgets! (Prepare to be dazzled by the Bat-3-Dimensional Modeler! Oooh, futuristic.)
* The running gag in which Batman and Robin Bat-walk up a wall, and someone famous opens a window for a cameo!
* Robin beginning his sentences with “Gosh!”
To be fair, a few parts are disconcerting. Since Parker and Case aren’t constrained by a 1960s TV budget, it’s weird imagining West and Gorshin performing death-defying aerial stunts atop a biplane that would be expensive to film and probably kill them both in the process. Alfred seems sprier than any previous version ever, and Aunt Harriet is 100% off-model. (I’m guessing legal issues?)
Overall, though, Batman ’66 seems just the cure for my too-old-for-the-new-DC blues. My teenage self would throw a tantrum if he caught me enjoying this, but he needs to understand that super-heroes and I are in very different places now, compared to where we were three decades ago. I have other sources to fulfill my Serious Literature needs. I’m secure enough in my hobby that I no longer consider this version of Batman a base effrontery to my reading preferences. Given that DC is publishing nothing else like it at the moment, its unique audacity stands out from an otherwise sullen, monotonous crowd.
Ironically, the Batman ’66 nostalgia-fest is one of DC’s online-first titles, available in the comics equivalent of an ebook format through ComiXology or at DC’s own online store. For fussy paper collectors like me, DC is also releasing hard-copy versions to comic shops everywhere after the fact. The first issue, which collects the first three digital installments, has been in stores since July 17th. Be sure to tell all your really old friends and acquaintances so we can band together and make this an astounding bestseller.
(Wouldn’t it be fun to see the looks on the faces of DC Editorial if this began outselling New 52 titles? I can dream.)

My response:

Holy return to fun, yes. I went through those stages too. Batman was first on the air when I was 7 years old and it was the greatest. I went through that stage where I hated it because Batman was supposed to be dark and serious. But, in the decades since then, we have gotten dark and serious beyond my wildest dreams or nightmares. At least we have one comic book that dares to be not only funny but fun, an amazing world where heroes have fun and are generally happy and being neurotic isn’t a requirement. Even Batman can be well-adjusted. I also look forward to Wonder Woman ’77 (Lynda Carter) and I think Jeff Parker, the one writer who truly remembers the core things that made us love super heroes to begin with before we obscured it with tons of grownup debris, has mentioned that Batman ’66 may not be crossover-proof but only because it may eventually crossover with WW ’77 and maybe a Superman ’51 or ’78, all settings from when comics were fun.

[riddler123]

New Trade out this week (number 3). I did enjoy it, especally the Egghead story.

Black Widow is re-imagined very differently to her TV counterpart though.

It's a shame Number 4 isn't out until nearly the end of the year though as presuming it covers issues 17-22, they could release it much soomer. Issue 22 came out last month. Are the trades always going to be 6 months behind?

[scary harpy]

New Trade out this week (number 3). I did enjoy it, especally the Egghead story.

Black Widow is re-imagined very differently to her TV counterpart though.

It's a shame Number 4 isn't out until nearly the end of the year though as presuming it covers issues 17-22, they could release it much soomer. Issue 22 came out last month. Are the trades always going to be 6 months behind?

I thought the Egghead story in the Batman: the Brave and the Bold comic was better.

Black Widow was re-imagined horridly. I thought they were calling her the Widow Black and we going in a different direction. Instead, she looked like she was wearing a Halloween costume and can raise giant spiders.

Zelda the Great and Marsha, queen of diamonds, were re-imagined much better. Even Lady Penelope, Lord Fogg's sister, was better re-imagined.

[riddler123]

I thought the Egghead story in the Batman: the Brave and the Bold comic was better.

Black Widow was re-imagined horridly. I thought they were calling her the Widow Black and we going in a different direction. Instead, she looked like she was wearing a Halloween costume and can raise giant spiders.

Zelda the Great and Marsha, queen of diamonds, were re-imagined much better. Even Lady Penelope, Lord Fogg's sister, was better re-imagined.

I won't get to see the Ffog story till Nov/ December or whenever they release the next trade now.

Usually the trades come out shortly after the last comic (e.g. Maters of the universe)

[riddler123]

New issue out.

Not sure how I feel about the apprent [SPOILER]Phasing out of False Face[/SPOILER]

[Cmbmool]

Finally introducing a fan-favorite Bat character in the newest one...

http://www.newsarama.com/24767-previ...batman-66.html

[Kuwagaton]

Technically she was already a character, but yeah.

I gotta catch up on this series.

[Powerboy]

Technically she was already a character, but yeah.

I gotta catch up on this series.

Yeah she was actually introduced as Dr. Quinn, the Joker's psychiatrist, in the first collection, the first Joker story in the Batman '66 comic, I think. But I get that this is her first appearance as Harley Quinn in costume.