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

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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 reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame
[DVD Avengers]

This film, which was released in theaters in the Spring of 2019, and on DVD/BluRay and streaming platforms in the Summer of 2019, was the culmination of an incredible amount of planning and movie-producing. It was the 22nd film in a series of interconnected films that stretch back to Iron Man in 2008, in which all the films fit into a single continuity, with characters (played by the same actors) that cross over between films at will.

11 years of planning led up to the two-film climax that started in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and concluded with Avengers: Endgame. Dozens of characters from across the cinematic world based on the Marvel Comics universe end up on screen in this “finale”. Where Infinity War ended on a depressing cliffhanger, as arch-villain Thanos “snapped” 50% of all living things out of existence, Avengers: Endgame is the attempt (several years later) by the surviving superheroes to “reboot” their new reality and return to what they knew before, through an audacious and complicated plan.

People who don’t care about comic book characters on the screen should avoid this one like the plague. If you DO love Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and their many friends and associates, this film was a dream come true. To say much about its complex and multi-layered plot would be to spoil the viewing experience. Suffice it to say — you really need to watch most of the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2008 to 2019, in order to make sense of this film’s many plot developments.

The core group of actors who’ve portrayed the most iconic characters in the MCU films put in some of their absolute best performances in this crown jewel. The effects work is astonishing. The music is perfect. This film, which needed to live up to over a decade’s worth of hype, lives up to it in almost every way.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try all 21 of the films that preceded it, but particularly Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: The Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Avengers: Endgame web site ]

Read Scott C.’s review of Avengers: Infinity War from September 2018

Check out the extensive DVD list: If You Like…Superheroes on Film and TV in our BookGuide resources

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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 reviewer’s recommendations!

The Avengers: Infiniity War (on DVD)

The Avengers: Infinity War
[DVD Avengers]

Ten years of Marvel superhero films, with continuity across over two dozen pictures, culminated in this blockbuster film during the Spring of 2018 — The Avengers: Infinity War. Nearly all of the Marvel superhero characters, from Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, the Black Panther and Doctor Strange (all of whom have previously starred in their own feature films), were all pulled into this galaxy-spanning extravaganza. The heroes find themselves pitted against the mad Titan, Thanos (introduced in cameos in past Marvel films — and a brilliant effects-enhanced performance by Josh Brolin!), who has an obsession for bringing balance and “peace” to the galaxy. Unfortunately, his concept of bringing balance, in order to cure overpopulation and diminishing resources, is to gather all of the Infinity Stones (mystical devices that impart their user with unbelievable powers, and which have popped up in several of the previous Marvel hero movies) together, and use them to wipe out 50% of all intelligent beings throughout the galaxy.

Arrayed against him, on various fronts, are the Marvel heroes. For instance, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and members of the Guardians, all get dragged across the universe to combat Thanos face-to-face, while many the rest of the heroes fight Thanos’ minions in various Earth-bound locations. It all comes to a head on the plains of Wakanda (the kingdom of the Black Panther — who had his own hit film in 2018), as “earth’s mightiest heroes” attempt to prevent a partial galactic genocide.

While I don’t wish to spoil the plot, for anyone who didn’t see this in the theaters, I will say that this film has one of the biggest clifhangers in movie history, which will not be answered until the next Avengers film, coming in May 2019. I will say, however, that this film is an adaptation of a very popular storyline from the Avengers comic books, by writer/artist Jim Starlin, but makes many, many changes from that print storyline. While there are many similarities between the two Infinity Wars plots, they also diverge rather drastically from each other. But…if you’d like to see the original, it is out in a trade paperback edition, or through the libraries via our Hoopla downloadable content service.

This was an exceptionally well-made film, with excellent performances and spectacular effects. I can’t give it a rating of more than 8 (of 10) because my suspension of disbelief was surpassed by the ending. The likelihood that things remain as they were left is so slim-to-unbelievable that it actually detracted from my overall enjoyment of the film. Your mileage may vary, and if you’ve enjoy any of the previous 20+ films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you won’t want to miss this one!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the Infinity War graphic novel by James Starlin – compiling the original comic book storyline that inspired this film, and Avengers: Age of Ultron or Black Panther (also 2018).]

 

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Avengers movies web site ]

If you’re a fan of the Avengers movies, check out the new DVD “booklist” on BookGuide: If You Like…Superheroes on Film and TV!

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you seen this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

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!

The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset Collectors Edition

The Avengers: The Complete Emma Peel Megaset Collectors Edition [DVD Avengers]

The Avengers was the quintessential light-hearted British spy drama series, which aired from 1961 to 1969 in the UK (and quickly migrated to the U.S.). Patrick Macnee starred as the deceptively charming John Steed, opposite a variety of co-stars. In the series' first season, the stories were treated with a great deal of seriousness, and Steed the Spy was paired with Dr. David Keel - the Civilian. The series' 2nd and 3rd seasons dropped Dr. Keel in favor of Catherine Gale (Honor Blackman) and the tone of the show lightened up considerably. However, most fans agree that the series high point came during the 4th, 5th and 6th seasons, when Diana Riggs took over from Blackman, as Mrs. Emma Peel -- the ultimate female foil for Macnee's dashing Steed. With a wink and a nudge, this duo investigated some of the most bizarre espionage cases ever seen on television. If you're looking for classic TV espionage, or classic British television, the Emma Peel years of The Avengers are a can't-miss series. [As this review is appearing, the libraries' copies of this series are currently missing...however you can still order this series through the InterLibrary Loan service.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this series ] [ official The Avengers DVD releases web site ]

Have you seen this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. 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.