The only thing I hate about this series is that it makes me want to watch a show that I can’t find. As I read Batman ’66 I hear Adam West delivering all of Batman’s lines, Ceaser Romero’s laugh, creepy Vincent Price delivering egg puns, and, of course, I can hear the trumpets blow with every “Bang! Pow!” fight scene. I just wish I could sit down and watch a full season of the show without resorting to some illegal stream site.
Anyway, this issue keeps the same the same level of fun alive that we saw in the show and our previous two issues. It’s basically like watching an episode of the show if the show had a much bigger budget! And another thing that’s proving interesting is the occasional addition of modern Batman lore into the ’66 world. I won’t name names but there’s a pretty major post-90’s character who gets the ’66 treatment in this issue.
Like issue #2, this comic features not one but two adventures starring Batman and Robin. The first is called “The Joker Sees Red” and it’s written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Joe Quinones. I was very excited for this one since I loved Quinones’ artwork so much on this month’s Batman: Black and White #1 and he definitely didn’t disappoint here. The issue looks spectacular and Maris Wicks’ colors are a big part of that… hey, wait a second! Maris Wicks wrote the story from Batman: Black and White that I was just talking about. Fantastic. These two rival Jonathan Case’s artwork on this series and that’s really the highest praise I can give.
As for the story, “The Joker Sees Red” brings the Red Hood lore into the ’66 universe and we even get to go deep into the Arkham Institute (which also wasn’t a part of the original TV series since Arkham was never invented until the 70’s). Someone called The Red Hood is pulling heists around Gotham and he’s demanding the Joker be brought to him immediately. Confounded by this dastardly fiend, the dynamic duo enlist the Clown Prince of Crime himself to aid them on the mystery of who is under the red hood. Surprisingly, this tale isn’t all that corny or played for laughs as much as previous installments. In fact, it’s a pretty good mystery that had some nice twists and turns.
The second story found in this comic is titled “Scrambled Eggs.” It’s written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Sandy Jarrel with colors by Rico Renzi and it legitimately made me laugh out loud on a couple of occasions.
1) I like puns. 2) I like Egghead and want him to be a real villain in the actual DC universe. 3) I like overly elaborate deathtraps. It’s like this story was made just for me. The only downer for me is that Egghead’s skin looks pink. I didn’t care for that. Otherwise I loved all the eye-popping colors, wordplay, and pacing to death. My, my… the pacing. It’s the WORST pacing, but it’s also the BEST pacing. Basically the running joke throughout the issue is that Batman and Robin are plummeting at 120 miles an hour and yet they are having a lengthy conversation about how to get out of this predicament– it’s not funny if I gotta explain it so just pick up the comic and check it out for yourself. If you can’t laugh at Adam West asking his partner to calculate the rate of gravity as they fall to their deaths then you’re dead inside.
There’s no greater plot going on here. No mystery like we saw in the Joker story. It’s egg puns, great artwork, and Batman and Robin talking for way too many pages as they fall to their doom. It’s…eggsactly what I want from this comic. If you ask me, you should shell out the cash for this one and embrace how silly and fun it can be.
Recommended If…
- You like colorful pop art
- You’re a fan of the original Adam West TV series
- Joker and Egghead were your favorite villains on the show
- You enjoy wordplay and deathtraps in your comics
Overall
Both stories were very enjoyable, but it was the Egghead episode that had me laughing out loud. This is a great series with great artwork and no fan of the classic TV series should miss it.
SCORE: 9/10
