BATMAN ‘66: THE TV STORIES TP

[Green Lantern]

This morning "Bob" from the 1966 Batman Message boards informed me, that DC will be reprinting the stories that were used as the basis for episodes of this show.

BATMAN '66: THE TV STORIES TP
Written by BILL FINGER, GARDNER FOX,
JOHN BROOME and others
Art by BOB KANE, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON
MOLDOFF, CARMINE INFANTINO and others
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
On sale JANUARY 8 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US
For the first time, DC Comics collects Batman stories originally published between 1948 and 1966 that were adapted into specific episodes of the classic Batman TV series! Starring The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler and Mr. Freeze (here called "Mr. Zero"), and featuring the debut of Batgirl, these stories have never been collected together before. Collected from BATMAN #53, 73, 121, 140, 169 and 171, and DETECTIVE COMICS #230, 346 and 359.

http://www.newsarama.com/18876-dc-co...lectibles.html


The only problem with this though, is that it looks like at least 4-5 stories may not be included in this edition.

Those stories are:

Batman #161 February, 1964- "The New Crimes of the Mad Hatter" and Detective Comics 230 April, 1956- "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City" - Episodes 13 and 14, - "The Thirteenth Hat" and "Batman Stands Pat," and Episodes 69 and 70- "The Contaminated Cowl" and "The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul."

Detective Comics #341 July, 1965- "The Joker's Comedy Capers" - Episodes 31 and 32 "Death in Slow Motion" and "The Riddler's False Notion"

Batman #36 Aug-Sep, 1946- "The Penguin's Nest" - Episodes 61 and 62 - "The Penguin's Nest" and "The Bird's Last Jest"

Batman #130, March 1960-"Batman's Deadly Birthday," and Detective Comics #140 October, 1948- "The Riddler" -  Episodes 79 and 80 - "Batman's Anniversary" and "A Riddling Controversy"

[Silver Nemesis]

This is a nice idea. Hopefully it will help people to appreciate the old TV show a bit more.

It'd be interesting if they produced trade paperbacks like this for each of the Batman movies. But which stories would they include for each film? Supposing you could only pick five standalone issues to illustrate the film's basis in the comics. And you can't pick graphic novels. Only individual issues. Which would you choose?

I think I'd go with the following.

BATMAN (1989)
•   'The Case of the Chemical Syndicate' (Detective Comics #27, May 1939)
•   'The Joker' (Batman #1, March 1940)
•   'The Man Behind the Red Hood' (Detective Comics #168, February 1951)
•   'Night of the Stalker' (Detective Comics #439, March 1974)
•   'The Laughing Fish' (Detective Comics #475, February 1978)

BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
•   'One of the Most Perfect Frame-Ups' (Detective Comics #58, December 1941)
•   'Your Face is Your Fortune' (Batman #15, February 1943)
•   'Nine Lives Has the Catwoman' (Batman #35, June 1946)
•   'The Killing Peck' (Secret Origins Special #1, 1989)
•   'Consecration' (Catwoman #4, May 1989)

BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
•   'The Crimes of Two-Face' (Detective Comics #66, August 1942)
•   'The Riddler' (Detective Comics #140, October 1948)
•   'The Dark Knight Returns' (The Dark Knight Returns #1, February 1986)
•   'Batman Year Three: Different Roads' (Batman #436, August 1989)
•   'A Lonely Place of Dying: Rebirth' (Batman #442, December 1989)

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997)
•   'The Ice Crimes of Mr. Zero' (Batman #121, February 1959)
•   'Batgirl!' (Batman #139, April 1961)
•   'Beware of -- Poison Ivy!' (Batman #181, June 1966)
•   'Mr. Freeze's Chilling Deathtrap!' (Detective Comics #373, March 1968)
•   'Monster, My Sweet!' (Batman #344, February 1982)

BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
•   'Daughter of the Demon' (Batman #232, June 1971)
•   'Year One: Black Dawn' (Batman #406, April 1987)
•   'The Man Who Falls' (Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes, 1989)
•   'Shaman: Book One' (Legends of the Dark Knight #1, November 1989)
•   'Choices' (Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1, 1993)

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
•   'The Joker' (Batman #1, March 1940)
•   'Hunt the Dark Knight' (The Dark Knight Returns #3, May 1986)
•   'Year One: Friend in Need' (Batman #407, May 1987)
•   'Chapter One: Crime' (Batman: The Long Halloween #1, December 1996)
•   'The Clown at Midnight' (Batman #663, April 2007) – not a comic, but I'd include it anyway

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
•   'Daughter of the Demon' (Batman #232, June 1971)
•   'The Dark Knight Returns' (The Dark Knight Returns #1, February 1986)
•   'Book One: Ordeal' (Batman: The Cult #1, 1988)
•   'Vengeance of Bane' (Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1, January 1993)
•   'The Broken Bat' (Batman #497, July 1993)

[BatmAngelus]

I'm surprised this hasn't been done already. 

I do have the Batman in the Sixties TPB, but I believe the only story in the collection that was adapted for the show was The Joker's Comedy Capers (though to be fair, not all of the stories in the 60s show were from the 1960s).  I know the Mr. Zero story is in the Batman in the Fifties collection, the first Riddler comic is in the Two-Face and Riddler collection that came out around the time Batman Forever was released, and The Joker's Utility Belt is in Les Daniels's The Complete History of Batman.  Besides this upcoming collection, anyone know where I can find some of the other stories?

As for Silver Nemesis's question, I pretty much agree with your listing.  Love the addition of Clown at Midnight for The Dark Knight since the movie not only had the scarred Joker, but also did a version of Morrison's "You can't kill me and I can't kill you" bit.

My only change would be that I'd replace Daughter of the Demon in The Dark Knight Rises collection with Batman #411- A Lonely Place of Dying: Parallel Lines  due to how close the Tim Drake-John Blake scenes are and the fact that Daughter of the Demon is already in your Begins collection .

[Green Lantern]

It'd be interesting if they produced trade paperbacks like this for each of the Batman movies. But which stories would they include for each film? Supposing you could only pick five standalone issues to illustrate the film's basis in the comics. And you can't pick graphic novels. Only individual issues. Which would you choose?

Well I haven't read  all those stories that you suggested, but some of the choices that you have come up with look very good.

I'm surprised this hasn't been done already. 

I do have the Batman in the Sixties TPB, but I believe the only story in the collection that was adapted for the show was The Joker's Comedy Capers (though to be fair, not all of the stories in the 60s show were from the 1960s).  I know the Mr. Zero story is in the Batman in the Fifties collection, the first Riddler comic is in the Two-Face and Riddler collection that came out around the time Batman Forever was released, and The Joker's Utility Belt is in Les Daniels's The Complete History of Batman.  Besides this upcoming collection, anyone know where I can find some of the other stories?

Yep here is a listing that i was going to include in my next update of the 5th entry in my project.

Batman #36 Aug-Sep, 1946- "The Penguin's Nest- Batman:The Dark Knight Archives Vol. 8 HC (2013)

Batman #73 October, 1952- "The Joker's Utility Belt" - Batman #176 (1965)
Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told HC (1989), Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told TPB (1989), Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told TPB (2008),

Batman #121 February, 1959- "The Ice Crimes of Mr. Zero" - Batman #176 (1965), Batman #121 [Variant] (1997), Batman in the Fifties TPB (2002),

Batman #161 February, 1964- "The New Crimes of the Mad Hatter" - Batman Family #6 (1976)

Batman #169 February, 1965- "Partners in Plunder" - Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told Vol. 2 TPB (1992), Batman:The Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2 HC (2006), Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 1 TPB (2006),

Batman #171 May, 1965- "Remarkable Ruse of the Riddler" - Batman:The Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. 2 HC (2006), Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 1 TPB (2006),

Detective Comics #140 October, 1948- "The Riddler" - Batman from the 30s to the 70s HC (1971), Batman:Featuring Two-Face and the Riddler TPB (1995), Batman Archives Vol. 7 HC (2008),

Detective Comics 230 April, 1956- "The Mad Hatter of Gotham City" - Batman Annual #3 (1962), DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #15 (1981), Batman Annuals Vol. 1 HC (2009),

Detective Comics #341 July, 1965- "The Joker's Comedy Capers" - Batman in the Sixties TPB (1999), Showcase Presents Batman Vol. 1 TPB (2006),

Detective Comics #346 December, 1965- "Batman's Inescapable Doom-Trap" - Showcase Presents:Batman Vol. 2 TPB (2007)

[Silver Nemesis]

In addition to adapting comics into full episodes, the TV show writers would also occasionally adapt standalone scenes. For example, this scene from 'The Mystery of the Batman Bus' (Batman #117, August 1958) where the villain ties Batman and Robin's hands behind their backs and places them in the gondola of a hot air balloon...

...was adapted in the TV episode 'The Puzzles Are Coming' (from the 19:30 mark).

The rest of the episode has nothing to do with that particular comic. They just adapted the one set piece.

My only change would be that I'd replace Daughter of the Demon in The Dark Knight Rises collection with Batman #411- A Lonely Place of Dying: Parallel Lines  due to how close the Tim Drake-John Blake scenes are and the fact that Daughter of the Demon is already in your Begins collection .

That would probably be better. In fact upon reflection, I don't think I'd use 'Daughter of the Demon' for Batman Begins either. A better issue to illustrate Ra's al Ghul's relationship with Batman might be something like 'The Demon Lives Again!' (Batman #244, September 1972), which features the classic sword fight that inspired the frozen lake duel in the movie.

[BatmAngelus]

Thanks for the write-up, GL!
EDIT: Also, my mistake, the Joker's Utility Belt isn't in The Complete History of Batman.  I got it mixed up with The Joker's Millions.

I noticed in the second episode of the show, Smack in the Middle, Batman tells Alfred to thwart Aunt Harriet's suspicion by telling her that he and Dick are at his uncle's house. 

This may have been the first instance of Bruce's uncle ever being brought up, as I don't think the character of Uncle Philip Wayne/Kane came into the picture until Batman #208, which wasn't until a few years later in 1969.  This is worth noting today since Uncle Philip has been brought into the New 52 in Snyder's Zero Year.  Perhaps another instance of the 1960s show influencing the comics, though in a small way.

[Green Lantern]

Using Silver Nemesis' idea of using 5 stories for a collected edition for Batman Movies, here is an idea of what they could come up with for Batman: The Movie.

"Blackbeard's Crew and the Yacht Society" (Batman #4, Winter 1940)
"Manhunt in Outer Space" (Batman #117, August 1958)
'The Blackbird of Banditry!' (Batman #43, October 1947)
"Batman Battles the Living Beast-Bomb!" (Detective Comics #339, May 1965)

And if they haven't already done so, they should consider reprinting the Batman newspaper comic strip stories rhat ran from 1966-1974. The earlier issues were actually done in the style of the series.

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=4147943

[Silver Nemesis]

Using Silver Nemesis' idea of using 5 stories for a collected edition for Batman Movies, here is an idea of what they could come up with for Batman: The Movie.

"Blackbeard's Crew and the Yacht Society" (Batman #4, Winter 1940)
"Manhunt in Outer Space" (Batman #117, August 1958)
'The Blackbird of Banditry!' (Batman #43, October 1947)
"Batman Battles the Living Beast-Bomb!" (Detective Comics #339, May 1965)

I'd add 'The Duped Domestics' (Batman #22, April 1944) to the list. In that story Catwoman creates a new alter ego with which to seduce one of the heroes as part of a kidnapping scheme. It's got clear parallels with the romantic subplot in the movie.

[Green Lantern]

I'd add 'The Duped Domestics' (Batman #22, April 1944) to the list. In that story Catwoman creates a new alter ego with which to seduce one of the heroes as part of a kidnapping scheme. It's got clear parallels with the romantic subplot in the movie.

Great timing with this suggestion, because I'm just in the middle of updating the first few entries in series. So this will be a valuable addition to the entry which covers the comic book references in Batman: The Movie.

P.S. Let me know if you ever find anything that can be compared to the dehydration plot for the movie as well. I actually gave up on finding a comparison for that, since I asked around but nobody could find any examples of that in the comics.

[Silver Nemesis]

Sorry, but I'm drawing a blank on the dehydration device. The only comparable contraption I can think of is the microwave emitter from Batman Begins. But I can't think of anything relevant from the comics that preceded the '66 film.