Book Review: Batman '66 Vol. 1 by Jeff Parker et al.

Batman '66 Volume 1 written by Jeff Parker with various artists

In an interesting creative (and let's be honest, marketing) stroke, DC Comics started a series of Batman comics styled after the 1960s television series. The art follows the bright and colorful aesthetics of the show and the ridiculous fight scene. The humor is corny and the dialogue is just like the characters from the show. The comics don't replicate the death traps and cliffhanger endings that were a staple of the show, which I kinda missed. The humor in the comics also adds in some wry commentary about the show (at one point, Batman and Robin knock out Catwoman so they can take her to the Batcave, when she wakes up she asks where Robin was sitting in the Batmobile if all three of them were in the front seat--no answer is given). The stories show a sensibility for the history of Batman since the show, e.g. Joker escapes from an asylum by using Red Hood. The book has a mixture of old and new. While entertaining, it isn't enough in the '66 style or in the modern commentary style to make it really great. Just so-so.