DC Announce '66 Batman Comic

[Bobthegoon89]

There was an unused Two-Face script actually written? Anybody read this? Would like to know what it was about? Adapting him is fine because at least the show makers did consider him. Poison Ivy may have been a possibility as she was introduced in the comics around the time the show debuted. I'm sure we'd eventually have gotten a story between her and Louie the Lilac (there you go DC a story idea! Call my lawyer! I want that copyrighted as good ol J. Jonah Jameson would scream). But Killer Croc, Bane and Ra's al ghul were far in the future in that time. I don't see the point using them because it doesn't feel like the Batman series. It would be like editing in Carnage in the sixties Spider-Man cartoon (can you imagine that?).

I'd be more hoping for them to tackle villains the show makers themselves created. That's new creativity. If they expand on them and make them have stronger backgrounds and as a threat who knows they may finally even transition into the more serious Batman comic world. Well except for Shame however (although there's always Jonah Hex...).

[Bobthegoon89]

This news is just delightful. Burgess Meredith's Penguin and Frank Gorshin's Riddler will return in the only way they now can (and a means that comic fans thought they would NEVER see lol).

Still I'm not happy at all about it being a digital comic. That spoilt the excitement somewhat. I want this thing on my bookshelf. What a graphic novel to have. DC get it physically published also!

I'd love this to become an ongoing series like the animated series comic book issues of the 90's. Just be a great dose of fun after years of samey, humdrum, complex comic book darkness.

It also potentially opens a further door...can we soon see comics set in the Batman movie universe of Keaton and/or Bale also? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. But what a fun opportunity.

All digital comics get a single-issue print version for stores a week or so later. And eventually, they get collected into trade paperback format. Don't worry, these will be just as attainable as you want them to be.

As for more set in another universe? Higher chance of that happening for Bale's universe than Keaton's. If the sales of this '66 series do very very well, I would fully expect DC to exploit it with more set in well-loved universes. It works well for Smallville, AFAIK. But as I said, a return to the Burton universe wouldn't be at all likely. We'd have better chance of the Timmverse or Nolanverse being revisited.

Is that true? I don't keep up with how digital comics are "sold". I totally despise them. I'm overjoyed if there will be a physical copy to hold in my hands and gaze at the no doubt stunning "pop art" colours you know this will have. Instead of having to plug in my vast number of computer wires and set up my laptop to log in and then read the darned thing *urgh!* Thank you.

[thecolorsblend]

gaze at the no doubt stunning "pop art" colours you know this will have.

Now that's a point. Comics tend to have a sort of generic color scheme applied to them these days. Makes you wonder though if this material is better suited to the 60's era candy colors the show itself was known to employ, esp on those abstract sets of the later seasons. If we're going to continue the series, after all, it would make sense to match up with the show's color design... but that would require finding a colorist who isn't strictly locked into today's mind set of coloring comics. Hmm...

[Catwoman]

if they add poison ivy, omg. WANT!

[BatmAngelus]

There was an unused Two-Face script actually written? Anybody read this? Would like to know what it was about?

There were apparently three attempts: http://www.66batman.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1239570180

In Box 39, we find this: 'Two-Face, by Rabe, Peter,  no date
69 pgs, carbon, annotated first draft'

In Box 45, there is a story outline for: 'About Face for Two Face,  13 June 1966
by Marcus, John, 10 pgs, xerox'

And finally, and perhaps most incredibly of all, there is this find in Box 47:
'The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face, by Ellison, Harlan,  9 Novmeber 1965
14 pgs, carbon'

[Silver Nemesis]

But Killer Croc, Bane and Ra's al ghul were far in the future in that time.

Ra's al Ghul debuted in 1971, just three years after the show ended. So he's not really that far removed from the West era. But if they'd included Ra's they probably would have portrayed him as a generic eastern pantomime villain. With that in mind, it might be better to use Doctor Tzin-Tzin since he debuted in the comics during the show's first season and could just as easily fit the 'eastern menace' mould.

I don't see a problem with using Killer Croc though. A bad guy with really unconvincing crocodile makeup would fit perfectly with the show's campy tone. He'll probably have henchmen with names like Thrash and Snapper. And there's bound to be an endless stream of jokes about the crocodile motif.

BATMAN: "Spare us your crocodile tears, Croc. From now on you'll only be swimming in one direction -- up the river!"

The material writes itself.

[Catwoman]

BATMAN: "Spare us your crocodile tears, Croc. From now on you'll only be swimming in one direction -- up the river!"

The material writes itself.

*gigglesnort* love it! but robin would have to chime in with "up the river!"

[phantom stranger]

And what about the Legends of the Superheroes miniseries, where West's Batman fought Solomon Grundy and met the Huntress? Will they appear in the comic too?



And what about all the other superheroes he teamed up with during that miniseries? It'd be great if the Justice League could feature in the new comic, with Burt Ward's Robin becoming head of the Teen Titans.

I love your ideas but, for whatever it's worth, Adam West hates the Legends show. Which is too bad because, like the 60's show, it's a product of its time and quite fun if viewed in the proper context. Not sure if he has much creative input on the comic though...

Strange that it took this long for action figures and a comic book series. I've been wanting both since the early 90's.

[DocLathropBrown]

for whatever it's worth, Adam West hates the Legends show.

As well he should--it's terrible. Easily the worst live action Batman appearance. It, for me, is the "Star Wars Holiday Special" of Batman's history.

Doesn't mean I don't own it, though. 

[Silver Nemesis]

*gigglesnort* love it! but robin would have to chime in with "up the river!"

Of course. And just imagine the Killer Croc Holyisms.

"Holy urban legend!"
"Holy alligator purse!"
"Holy tick-tock!" (Peter Pan reference)

It, for me, is the "Star Wars Holiday Special" of Batman's history.

Lol. That's a very apt way of putting it. The comedy in The Legends of the Superheroes is different from the humour in the sixties show. The TV series was played straight, but with an absurdist and ironic tone. The Legends of the Superheroes miniseries was a flat out farce where Batman and Robin were depicted as buffoons. That said, I still kind of like it. It's a guilty pleasure, like Batman and Robin (1997).

Here's an interview with Jeff Parker, the writer of the new comic. He doesn't give much away, but it makes for an interesting read nonetheless.
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/04/02/batman-66-reviving-the-adam-west-era