Would you have been a Bat-fan if the series had never aired?

[WayneGrayson]

In another thread, I happened to mention I either wouldn't have heard of or even given two tosses about Batman if the ABC series had never aired. As we all know, an initial screening of the pilot brought in some pretty bad numbers and it was doubtful the series would have happened, but ABC went through with it anyway, and look at the craze that sprouted from there.

What about you guys - would you or would you not have been the batmaniac you are today without the series?

[elmrgraham]

I do not know.

[scottmandew]

Most of the things I still enjoy today I first found on afternoon tv in the early 70's. I know this is where I first found Batman and Superman. If Batman hadn't been on, I would've still seen Superman. I found the comics after the show, so I would've found Batman in the comics. But would I have been the Batman fan I am today without the show? Hard to say. Great question!

[Brian M]

I'm not sure. The show was my introduction to Batman. I loved the color, traps, and the lack of guns and killing. I am a second generation fan as I watched as a child during the seventies. The show made me want to buy the comics, but I never enjoyed the comics as much as watching the show. The show also led me to other classic shows in reruns such as; Star Trek, Lost In Space, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, The Monkees and many other shows that were out of production by the time I was aware of them. These are such wonderful memories and I still enjoy these shows much more than anything that has come since. I still remember meeting Adam for the first time in 1986 at an auto show. He was in full costume and it was such a thrill!

[eewdoc]

From what I understand the Batman comic book wasn't doing well at the time and was about to be killed off. The tv series saved it, So if not for the series it is quite possible that Batman would not have been around to be a fan of. Thank You Adam West!

[chetchumley]

NO,NO,and NO !!!!!!..became BAT-FAN watching the series in its original run..was only 5 at time..but had older siblings...then stumbled across the comics in 1970..continued to collect the comic until the revamped the NEW 52 a couple years ago and started !! lost interest with them starting off at # 1 again !! i will continue to just enjoy the comics original run...

[chetchumley]

i was also lucky enuff to discover the comic..at the same time NEAL ADAMS was drawing BATMAN !! that also helped attract me i,m sure.TO the books...BATMAN & DETECTIVE.

[Batfanman]

Certainly not in the same way that I am today but yes, I would still be a fan. And that, of course, is providing that the comics continued to publish, which I suspect at least Detective or Batman would have survived or, if not, Batman as a character still appearing in other ongoing DC comics titles.

As others have said, Superman was airing on TV in re-runs and I couldn't help but be a fan and that naturally led me to discover Superman and Batman through the comics.

Clearly though, the Batman TV show revived the entire comic book industry and then some! It wasn't just our weekly fix of Batman on TV, it was also the endless merchandise that sprang from it. We had just about any Bat-thing you could have imagined and, as long as it had a Batman logo on it or character images, we wanted it!

I would imagine that alone goes down in history as one if not the biggest marketing campaigns of the 20th Century (and you can probably thank Dozier and company's shrewd and perhaps double intention of labeling everything on the show "Bat" this and "Bat" that, as this easily transferred not just to our every day vernacular but to mass-marketing by applying that same label (and logo) to everything from Peanut Butter to shampoo.

Fun times.

[Batfan Mike 4260]

Great question!! I remember watching the show, collecting the cards and reading the comics in the 60's. I probably got tuned in as a Batfan because of the TV show. I guess the merchandising of the show was a huge push for the comics and anything else Batman related.

I was also a huge fan of the Lone Ranger because of the TV show, and not so much the comics, and still am today. So, I guess without the TV series, I wouldn't probably have the same nostalgic connection with the Batman that I have now.

[Progress Pigment]

Almost impossible to say. Most people that "yes" are probably wrong, because prior to the series Bat-Man was probably equal in popularity to The Martian Manhunter, at least by the early 60's. The Batman comic was in danger of being cancelled, and possibly Detective Comics would have begun using other characters as guest-stars like they'd done prior to Batman. Anyway, my answer is no. All my love of the character & all his incarnations is based on the series. And without it, Batman would be several steps below Superman today, there would have been no movies, and he might not exist at all.

[dell]

As others have said it is difficult to know for sure. However, I will guess that I would not be a fan. I have never cared for any of the Batman movies other than our beloved Adam West version. So for me it is Adam West or nothing as far as Batman goes.

[Gleeps, it's Batman]

I know Batman from the Adam West series, so no, I likely wouldn't be a Batman fan without Adam West.

[John Mack]

One simple word: No.

[SprangFan]

I knew Batman from the comics first, so I was excited to learn there was a show about him (I was a toddler when it was first on,and never saw it.)

So if the question is whether I could have been a fan without seeing the show, then yes, I not only could be, I WAS.

But as noted above, it's possible that without the show, the comics would have continued their downward sales spiral and been cancelled before I could discover them. So maybe it did need to air for me to be fan, even if I never saw it!

[AndyFish]

I came to the comics from the show. Watched it in reruns, had my model Batmobile and my corgi, as I got a little older I started to notice the jokes and began to lose interest but then saw the dark and scary Batman, although not a psycho, and the horror elements appealed to me. These would be the comics of the early 70s as I had a friend with an older brother who gave us his old comics in the mid to late 70s. All vintage Neal Adams and Irv Novick, and my favorites were the big square bound 100pgrs that had Golden Age Reprints in them in the back, I really loved those early Batman comics.

So the show introduced me to Batman, and I'm not sure the character would be where he is today without it.

That Superman cartoon from the 60s came about because of the success of the Batman show, as did Space Ghost and a host of other great shows. So who knows if we'd even been exposed to Superman if there was no Batman Tv show.