Book Review: Batman '66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel by Ian Edginton and Matthew Dow Smith

Batman ’66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel

written by Ian Edginton with art by Matthew Dow Smith (YA PB (Graphic Novel) Edginton & Hoopla Digital)

 

I’ve been following the Batman ’66 comic books (and their graphic novel compilations) for several years now. Batman ’66 tells retro comic book stories in the style and tone of the late 1960s Batman TV series, which starred Adam West and Burt Ward as the dynamic duo. That TV series featured a philosophizing and sermonizing Batman, who was as likely to make speeches to the villains as to hit them. And when it did come to fisticuffs, there were plenty of silly “POW!”, “BAM!” and “BANG!” sound effects balloons superimposed over the action. The comic book recreation perfectly captures this somewhat innocent and straightforward approach — ignoring the darker tone that Batman has taken in the past 50 years, as epitomized by the graphic novel The Dark Knight, and all of the films from 1989’s Batman to the present.

 

One of the most enjoyable things about Batman ’66 is that the writers and artists have teamed up Batman and Robin with other late-1960s and early-to-mid-1970s cultural icons. I’ve previously enjoyed their meetings with Wonder Woman ’77 (a similar comics venture styled after the Lynda Carter TV version of Wonder Woman), the spies of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Green Hornet and Kato. This 2017 Batman ’66 Meets Mr. Steed and Emma Peel graphic novel collects a six-issue storyline that crosses Batman and Robin over with TV’s original The Avengers — John Steed and Emma Peel. The story starts with an attempted robbery by Catwoman in Gotham City, of the famed White Diamond (on loan from the U.K.) — a robbery foiled by Steed & Peel, rather than Batman (who is attending a gala as Bruce Wayne). The caped crusaders share intelligence with Steed & Peel, and realize that an old Avengers foe — the cybernetic Cybernauts (and a vengeful operator behind them) — are in league with Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and Lord Ffogg — three of Batman’s arsenal of enemies. Batman and Robin must travel to Jolly old England to assist John and Emma in breaking up this cadre of evil and stop their pernicious plans.

 

Lots of fun, reasonably good art work, and enjoyable dialog very reminiscent of the original Batman TV series. Should appeal to fans of both franchises!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all the other Batman ’66 titles available through the libraries by a variety of creative teams. The libraries do NOT have all Batman ’66 titles, but there are quite a few in the collection!)

 

( Wikipedia page about Batman ’66 ) | ( Batman ’66 page on dc.fandom.com )

 

See Scott C.’s review of Batman ’66 Meets The Greet Hornet and Kato, in the March 2016 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Scott C.’s review of the 1966-1968 Batman TV series, in the June 2017 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Scott C.’s review of Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77, in the June 2019 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Book Review: Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 by Marc Andreyko

Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77
by Marc Andreyko [YA PB (Graphic Novel) Andreyko]

I’ve previously reviewed volumes in both the Batman ’66 and Wonder Woman ’77 graphic novel collections for the Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide, and having jokingly said “I wonder if they’ll ever try to cross over these two comic book series?”, not thinking that they would, considering the 10+ year difference in their setting. And yet, here we are — they did, indeed cross them over. Batman ’66 is a series of comic books in which the comic writers/artists try to recapture the tone of the campy late-1960s Batman TV series, starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. The stories are set in that same era, and feature “comic-book” fight scenes (“POW!” “BAM!”) and Adam West’s typical super-serious Batman dialog to Robin’s young gee-whiz reactions. Similarly, the Wonder Woman ’77 comic books recapture both the era, and the style of the Wonder Woman TV series, in which Lynda Carter starred as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (after an initial season in which the Wonder Woman stories were set in the World War II era).

In this multi-part storyline, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman first encounters a very young Bruce Wayne at an event in Gotham City in which Bruce is still just a boy. Later, she encounters him again in the late-60s era in which the Adam West Batman series takes place. And still later, in the era of her own late-70s TV series, Wonder Woman must call the embittered and retired Bruce Wayne out of a self-imposed retirement back to active status, as well as former Robin (now Nightwing). All these storylines cross over with a single villain — Ra’s al Ghul. This legendary leader of the League of Assassins constantly seeks out rare spots where a rejuvenating elixir can be found, which bring him back his youth.

The fact that the over-arching storyline in this multi-comic-book-issue graphic novel covers decades of time is intriguing. The art is excellent. My one major complaint is that the writer takes the relatively light-hearted nature of the 60s Batman show and tries to make it super-serious, overlaying some of the more “dark” themes of the comic book onto something that was always supposed to be light and comical. Basically, they try to turn what Adam West always called “The Bright Knight” into “The Dark Knight” more familiar to recent comics fans. It’s a glaring change in tone and somewhat difficult to adjust to.

None-the-less, it’s both fun and intriguing to see the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman and the Adam West Batman co-exist in the same “reality”, in a storyline that makes logical sense. Ignoring the sudden and drastic change in tone for the Batman ’66 characters, I really did enjoy this title overall, and recommended it for fans of both TV series! The covers are particularly gorgeous, and are reprinted in a gallery at the back of this trade paperback collection.

[ Wikipedia pages for Batman ’66 and Wonder Woman ’77 ] | [ Marc Andreyko on the Comic Books Database site ]

See Scott’s review of Batman ’66 Meets the Green Hornet
See Scott’s review of Wonder Woman ’77 and Wonder Woman ’77 Meets the Bionic Woman

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Batman (1989) on DVD

Batman (1989)
[DVD Batman] 

Even though this was made in 1989, it does not feel dated at all. Also kind of strange to me was that I was expecting a superhero movie, because it’s Batman, but I got a detective story. I was not disappointed however, nor was it confusing, not having watched or read much Batman before. It starts when Bruce Wayne is just beginning his Batman life and the city does not know his name or his purpose. He jumps in to stop some criminals and tells them to tell everyone that the Batman intervened. The city of Gotham has a gang of criminals running the town and the soon to be Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, is involved in it. We get to actually see who Joker used to be and how he became who he’s known as now. Another aspect to the plot is a reporter who becomes romantically involved with Bruce Wayne and becomes more agitated and intrigued at his prolonged absences, as he’s off being Batman. There’s mystery, romance and secrets of the past in this movie which I feel really rounded it out and made it all the better to watch.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Batman: The Golden Age Vols 1 & 2 by Bill Finger, and Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Vols 1 & 2 by Whitney Ellsworth.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Batman TV Series

Batman TV Series
[DVD Batman] 

The death, on June 9th, 2017, of actor Adam West has caused an outpouring of people remembering how much his portray of Batman (and his secret identity Bruce Wayne) meant to them over the past 50 years. Adam West and Burt Ward (as Robin the Boy Wonder) appeared for just three seasons in this comedic take on the popular DC Comics characters, from 1966 to 1969. The series, eponymously titled simply Batman, was a bright, garishly colorful affair. The characters, whether our traditional heroes, or their rogue’s gallery of bizarre villains, were played for obvious comic effect. Batman lectured Robin (and the villains) on morals, proper behavior and the intricacies of culture…but it wasn’t heavy-handed lecturing, and, when you stop to think about it, you may have been laughing at the portentiousness of it at the time, but wasn’t he right in the end.

Among the tributes to the late actor, I found it fascinating to realize that the later versions of Batman, from Michael Keaton’s first big-screen take, to the recent Christian Bale and Ben Affleck versions, all were much darker versions — the second of Bale’s trilogy even being titled The Dark Knight (also the title of one of comic publishing’s most legendary graphic novels). These were a long-term reaction against the comic nature of Adam West’s series…an attempt by the comics and movie producers to “reclaim” their character and rebrand him for a more troubled time period. But you wouldn’t have any Dark Knight, without Adam West’s “Bright Knight” to pave the way. The 1960s series is a pure and loving tribute to the comic books of a simpler time, and it is truly a pleasure to re-watch them and enjoy all the famous actors chewing up the scenery and having fun.
Frankly, I’d prefer my TV and movie superheroes to have a little more fun. Fortunately, I can relive that feeling with the original Batman!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try obscure TV shows such as Once a Hero, The Tick (the original live-action version with Patrick Warburton) and The Greatest American Hero, all of which had fun with the concepts of costumed heroes, even poking fun at the genre, while still paying tribute to it as well.] [DC Comics in recent years has published a Batman ’66 comic book. and tries to recapture the style, tone and feel of this classic TV series. Also, if you’re interested in the classic Batman series, I recommended both Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders (a straight-to-DVD/BluRay movie, reuniting West and Ward with Julie Newmar as Catwoman), and Back to the Batcave, Adam West’s Batman memoir.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] | [ Warner Brothers’ official Batman TV Serie web page ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
by Shirley Walker [Hoopla digital streaming service] 

Wonderful music from a wonderful movie. Unfortunately the movie is not available in the library’s collection as of right now. You can however listen to the soundtrack on Hoopla by streaming it or downloading it to the Hoopla App. The music itself is mainly instrumental with some vocals, but it is not obvious Batman music unless you are familiar with it already. Since watching the movie I have put the music on a few times while I’m studying because it’s so good. Even non-Batman fans could easily enjoy the music on its own, particularly if you like epic soundtracks, and I would recommend it to anyone.

[If you are inclined to watch the movie, it’s very good and you don’t need to know much about Batman beforehand to understand what’s going on or who the characters are. Quite a bit of the movie is flash backs, so you see the present day characters and the same characters in the past, so everything is well intact in the one film. The movie is from 1993, so the animation is not the new computerized type that we get a lot of today, and I like that aspect too. I would rate both the music and the movie 10 stars, and I’d recommend them to anyone.]

[ Wikipedia page for Batman: Mask of the Phantasm ] | [ Wikipedia page for Shirley Walker ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Batman: The Cat and the Bat by Fabian Nicieza

Batman: The Cat and the Bat
by Fabien Nicieza [YA (Graphic Novel) Nicieza] 

Barbara Gordon is the main character in the story even though the title suggests its Batman. She’s only been Batgirl for a few weeks and she is put through a test when Catwoman steels a notebook from her. During the recovery of the notebook we see her grow a lot as a character as she tries to prove to Catwoman, Batman and herself that she can do the job. Among other situations this does include following the thief into a nudist club and the doorman insists that the proper attire (nothing) must be worn to enter. I found these scenes rather funny and I will say that everyone’s bits are covered by flowers, fruit bowls, furniture and such so that the readers don’t see anything explicit. I have limited familiarity with the Batman universe, but it was easy to read as a standalone book, so don’t let that stop you if you’re the same. It was nice to read a story about a librarian becoming a hero who has her own personality, strengths and weakness.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Witchblade series and The Danger Girl series, both available on Hoopla.]

[ Batman: The Cat and the Bat page on the DC Wiki ] | [ Fabien Nicieza page on Wikipedia ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

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Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet

Batman ’66 Meets the Green Hornet
written by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, with art by Ty Templeton [YA PB (Graphic Novel) Smith] 

From 2013 to 2015, DC Comics published a unique comic book entitled Batman ’66, featuring all-new Batman stories, set in the 1960s era of the comical, slapstick Batman sitcom series. These stories are told with the same tongue-in-check sense of humor as the series, with artwork that makes the characters of Batman and Robin look exactly like actors Adam West and Burt Ward — the same for all the well-know villains and other TV supporting characters. The actual TV series Batman did feature a cross-over with the similarly hokey The Green Hornet characters of Britt Reid and his assistant Kato, so it seems only fitting that the Batman ’66 comic book featured a multi-part storyline — written by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, with art by Ty Templeton — in which The Green Hornet crosses over with Batman. Teaming up these two pairs of crime fighters to take on a villainous team-up of The Joker and General Gumm, the artistic team has captured the tone of the series with perfection. The storyline is captivating, the dialog is spot on, and the art, though cartoony, really captures the spirit of the TV series. If you were a fan of the *bang* *pow* action and overly serious dialog of the TV series Batman, you’ll love this comic-book mini-series.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other comic compilations of Batman ’66, primarily written by Jeff Parker — although none of them feature Green Hornet cross-overs.] [ Information about the Batman ’66 comic book on Wikipedia ] | [ Batman ’66/Green Hornet page on the DC Comics web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!