I was never a huge fan of the 1966 Batman television show. I've seen most of the episodes and for the most part enjoyed them but I watched them in the 70's and 80's when that kind of camp was already seen as an embarrassing part of Batman's history "It was noble of that [porpoise] to hurl himself into the path of that final torpedo" Tim Burton's 1989 film was pretty much the nail in the coffin. These days I don't get many comic compilations but Batman '66 was getting some spectacular reviews from professional reviewers and how could I resist such an offbeat series.
Batman '66 is intended to literally be an attempt to create a comic as if it were produced in 1966 based on the old television program. The first story even recreates color separation problems so common in older comics. Characters are drawn to resemble the actors who played them; Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. For Catwoman Julie Newmar was chosen in one story and Eartha Kitt in another (poor Lee Meriwether). For the most part the artists manage to capture the actors although Burt Ward seemed to be a particularly difficult one; perhaps because Ward has no distinguishing features. There are also appearances by villains created specifically for the show including Egghead, Sandman and Siren.
The comic does not constrain itself to the budgetary limitations of the 1966 show, for instance Batman might be hanging from a plane's tail or Robin might pilot the Bat sub around Gotham Harbor. There are also some subtle nods to the Burton/Nolan movies. By and large the stories and art are reflective of the television show and when Batman and Robin speak I hear Adam West and Burt Ward's voices in my head. The stories are simplistic and campy. I would compare them to the brilliant Batman: The Brave and the Bold television show from a few years back except that it somewhat handcuffs itself by establishing itself in the universe of the television show. By the way, I have no doubt that this Earth will, at some point, be known as Earth 66 and will be integrated as part of the greater DC multiverse. I think a team-up between the Earth 1 Batman and the Earth 66 Batman would be incredible.
I'm rewriting my review because I originally gave it four stars but on further reflection I'm switching to the full five stars. The book is just so much fun and a great change of pace from the heavy Batman stories being produced for decades. IGN gave the first issue a 9.8 which I feel was overly generous but as the book goes on I felt like Jeff Parker found his groove and the stories continually improved in quality. They felt a little less like the television show but that only improved them as the stories became more complex and creative. I'm not going to rank this as one of the all-time great comics I have ever read but it has such a gentle, feel good quality to it that I just cannot help but try and promote it. I think it's the rare person who will read through this collection and not enjoy it. I certainly intend on grabbing up volume 2 the day it comes out.
One last thing. The book has no dust cover which I hope is a trend that will catch on. Dust covers are meant to protect a book but if a reader cares enough to protect their book they're going to also want to protect the more fragile dust cover which defeats the whole purpose of the dust cover. Here's to no more dust covers on hardbound comic collections.
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