Your Favorite Batman '66 Comics

[The Boss]

I just thought of this topic right before work so, I do not have time for a long detailed entry. I'll do a better one later. For starters, one of my favorite jokes in the series was in the "Osiris Virus" were King Tut introduces his supercharged charriot... THE SarCARphagus!

Reading it in Victor Buono's voice as I was the line came out so funny that I actually laughed out loud! Just one of many moments I have enjoyed about the series.

[Mr. Deathtrap]

Citizens,

I enjoyed the Batman / Green Hornet crossover comic series. The cliffhanger atop the train and Col. Gumm promoting himself were fun. The thing I liked most, though was the deathtrap later in the book that reminded me of the conclusion of the Zodiac Crimes. Good stuff!

Mr. Deathtrap

[Therin of Andor]

I was delighted that the first issue to feature Batgirl teamed her with the Eartha Kitt rendition of Catwoman. They had a great chemistry together in the show.


Batgirl and Catwoman by Ian McLean, on Flickr

[AndyFish]

I've not read too many of these but I liked the Japan adventure with Lord Death Man.
That was a nice touch.

[John Mack]

I've not read too many of these but I liked the Japan adventure with Lord Death Man.
That was a nice touch.

Ditto

[Golddragon71]

I like the issue where Minstrel has stolen the Shakespeare bust which locks Bruce and Dick out of the Batcave. as a result, they have to wear the prototype "screen-test" costumes that Alfred keeps in the Attic of Wayne Manor.
(Odd thing, they never consider using Alfred's service elevator)

[The Boss]

I like the issue where Minstrel has stolen the Shakespeare bust which locks Bruce and Dick out of the Batcave. as a result, they have to wear the prototype "screen-test" costumes that Alfred keeps in the Attic of Wayne Manor.
(Odd thing, they never consider using Alfred's service elevator)

Whoa! I how did I miss that one? I have them all on hard covor editions (approximately 6 issues per volume). I must double check at once!

[Therin of Andor]

I how did I miss that one? I have them all on hard covor editions (approximately 6 issues per volume). I must double check at once!

Issue #12, second story. Marsha is in the first story.

Reviewed:
http://shazamaholic.blogspot.com.au/201 ... 66-12.html


Prototype costumes by Ian McLean, on Flickr

[AndyFish]

I liked the idea of including things like the prototype Batmobile and the screentest costumes. As Shazamaholic points out in his review it elevates the story by delving into the characters history. The downside for me was the plot itself and some of the writing. I don't understand why Batman '66 has to mean "goofy".

I was psyched for the Green Hornet crossover, but then found the whole bare feet joke really insipid. Never mind that it's just ridiculous, they wear tights which last time I saw my wife putting on a pair they cover your feet.

Having story elements written as comedy seldom worked for the show, the show was best when it treated itself overly serious and the comedy came from that, Surfing episode excluded. Same goes for the comic book.

I think had Batman '66 as a title been a bit more respectful of the source material focusing on Season 1 rather than 2 and (gasp) 3 it would have had a broader appeal and would still be going strong.

Thinking back, I spent the better part of my late Tweens trying to convince my friends that Batman wasn't the silly comedy character you saw on the Adam West show, he was a grim avenger who scared the willies out of criminals. Now I spend my time arguing that Batman in the Adam West show wasn't always a clown and the show when it was firing on all cylinders was great.

Lorenzo Semple in writing the Bat Bible for the show said something along the lines of it would lose it's popularity of the focus was on the comedy, I wish the writers of the day and even those tackling the series now would heed that warning.

[Therin of Andor]

I was psyched for the Green Hornet crossover, but then found the whole bare feet joke really insipid. Never mind that it's just ridiculous, they wear tights which last time I saw my wife putting on a pair they cover your feet.

Funny you should say that. When I was buying my Robin tights from a ballet store in the early 1980s, they happened to have a pair of flesh-toned male tights with feet. (They also had a green stretch-nylon wrestling outfit, perfect for wearing under the vest, on the rack.) But the guy in the store was surprised, and told me I was very lucky. Women's ballet tights usually came with feet, but men's off-the-rack tights were usually "footless", and I would have had to wear sockettes with the boots, or have a pair of tights with feet specially made.

When I went back to the store to buy grey tights for my friend making a Batman outfit, his off-the-rack tights were... footless!

PS. Someone has reviewed that aspect of the mini-series!
http://tiahblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/08 ... rator.html

[TP-6597]

I liked the idea of including things like the prototype Batmobile and the screentest costumes. As Shazamaholic points out in his review it elevates the story by delving into the characters history. The downside for me was the plot itself and some of the writing. I don't understand why Batman '66 has to mean "goofy".

I was psyched for the Green Hornet crossover, but then found the whole bare feet joke really insipid. Never mind that it's just ridiculous, they wear tights which last time I saw my wife putting on a pair they cover your feet.

Having story elements written as comedy seldom worked for the show, the show was best when it treated itself overly serious and the comedy came from that, Surfing episode excluded. Same goes for the comic book.

I think had Batman '66 as a title been a bit more respectful of the source material focusing on Season 1 rather than 2 and (gasp) 3 it would have had a broader appeal and would still be going strong.

Thinking back, I spent the better part of my late Tweens trying to convince my friends that Batman wasn't the silly comedy character you saw on the Adam West show, he was a grim avenger who scared the willies out of criminals. Now I spend my time arguing that Batman in the Adam West show wasn't always a clown and the show when it was firing on all cylinders was great.

Lorenzo Semple in writing the Bat Bible for the show said something along the lines of it would lose it's popularity of the focus was on the comedy, I wish the writers of the day and even those tackling the series now would heed that warning.

That's it in a nutshell for me. It was treated as a parody of the show instead of a print version of the show. I bought a few issues and decided I couldn't support it. The show deserves better.

[Dan E Kool]

That's it in a nutshell for me. It was treated as a parody of the show instead of a print version of the show. I bought a few issues and decided I couldn't support it. The show deserves better.

I can sorta see that. I only have the digital versions of the first five or six comics and I enjoy them for what they are. The art is great imo and seeing Batman back in the West cowl is awesome. It's not the same as the show, - in the storytelling or the tone - but they can still be fun if you look at them as their own thing.

Of the stories I've read, the Red Hood adventure was my favorite.

[The Boss]

PS. Someone has reviewed that aspect of the mini-series!
http://tiahblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/08 ... rator.html

Holy telepathy! That's the exact conclusion that I came to! I love it! Now I no longer see it as me covering for an error. Since others came to the same conclusion perhaps it was intentional.

That's one of the things that make me different from fans of the "dark" Batman. They look for things to hate about the series and try to call it "wrong" where as I (and a lot other fans of the TV series) see these same aspects of the series as fun.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

I don't understand why Batman '66 has to mean "goofy".

To be honest, some Batman 1966 fans have developed a sort of defense mechanism after years of reading/hearing criticism of the show, to the point where it (the defense mechanism) kicks in, leading the to embrace the idea that ALL of the 1966 series was like season three, and the worst of S2, so "it's all good--it was meant to be that way!"

Instead of referring to the series' best--which was not "goofy", they focus on flying saucers, surfing party store spiders, and the way villains made a joke of Batman toward the last quarter of season 2.

Rarely do you hear them celebrate that which created the phenomenon in S1--the underplayed West & Ward performances, Riddles more dramatic scores, equally dramatic camera angles and certainly more scenes at night. At best, some fans only mention Batman dancing as their takeaway from season one, and that only reinforces the decades-long statements of those who hated the series.

Having story elements written as comedy seldom worked for the show, the show was best when it treated itself overly serious and the comedy came from that, Surfing episode excluded. Same goes for the comic book.

Agreed. The show was not intended to be, or produced as a sitcom. Laziness and Stanley Ralph Ross-izing the series turned it into a farce, but the comic seems to sell the idea that it was interchangeable with Gilligan's Island or My Favorite Martian with self-effacing jokes.

I think had Batman '66 as a title been a bit more respectful of the source material focusing on Season 1 rather than 2 and (gasp) 3 it would have had a broader appeal and would still be going strong.

I would have been a happy reader of a Bat '66 comic like that.

Lorenzo Semple in writing the Bat Bible for the show said something along the lines of it would lose it's popularity of the focus was on the comedy, I wish the writers of the day and even those tackling the series now would heed that warning.

Semple was the true guiding force behind the show's initial popularity, and did not see to litter every scene with insults (at the expense of Batman and Robin), double entendres, jokes that made Looney Tunes seem to be high drama, or other things that ignored the way the series was originally presented (you can blame Stanley Ralph Ross for much of that).

[Scott Sebring]

Let's try to keep to the topic of the comic itself rather than re-treading some overviews about the series (and fandom reaction) in general. I get where some are coming from of course. Also, let's try to stay on topic with the original post of your FAVORITE moments with the '66 comics and refrain from the critiques of the comic itself or what some felt went wrong or how they thought it could be done better or differently. We have other threads already doing that.

Just directing traffic... mind the speed limit... single file...