Batman '66: High Art

or
Comics for when you're  high.

​Back in the day, loaded on whatever smokable I could get my hands on, I perused such classics as Mr. Natural, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Trots, and Bonnie, gravitating in the eighties to the daring exploits of Reid Fleming: World’s Toughest Milkman. Giving my lungs and consciousness a much-needed respite, I moved away from these titles, settling on the more severe titles scribed by Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Mark Verheiden. I was happy to remain here until…
 
One eventful Christmas, Pacia Marie Linde sent me the first two titles. I am reviewing both today. Both books have altered the delicate chemistry of my brain forever…most likely for the worst.  
 
I am lucky enough to know many very talented writers and artists in the comic book field.   They are intelligent, well-read, concerned with social issues, and would probably lynch me if they knew that I am a secret fan of the Batman ‘66 series of comics. Specifically, the mashups, teaming the television dynamic duo with whomever had a popular show around the same time. Specifically, I am talking about Batman ’66 meets The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and its Pulitzer Prize-winning companion opus Batman ’66 meets Steed and Mrs. Peel.  I was gifted these masterpieces by a daughter who truly knows the appreciation her father has for the literary giants.

​First review, Batman “66 Meets Steed and Mrs Peele. Remember the Cybernauts from Season 4, Episode 3?. Well, they are back and this time around they're teaming up with Lord Marmaduke Ffog as well as some other nefarious special guest villains. The writing is better than you'd expect with some of it actually sounding as if the writers had paid attention to the original BBC episodes. Then again, as advertised, I was a bit high. The art, is, eh, interesting to say the least. Some panels appear to have been rotoscoped using a process slightly reminiscent of someone who studied at Andy Warhol Community College, the characters actually resembling their television counterparts. In others, the art seems to be lifted out of a Dell comic book from the sixties.
 
Overall rating B-  (High Score  A)

​Batman 66 meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E. is definitely a mixed bag. Evil organization Thrush, under the evil guidance of Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, engineers a mass break out of Arkham Asylum.  Along the way we get a nice mix of villains, including The Penguin, Poison Ivy and even Egghead. The writing is not as crisp as in the previous book and, while the color pallet is just as loud as Steed and Peele, the bizarre Andy Warhol rotoscoping has been replaced in favor of an easy on the eyes coloring book feel. On the colorful, way too vibrant bright side, the estate of Robert Vaughn and David McCallum have nothing to sue over as the characters don’t even remotely resemble them. 

​Overall rating C- (High Score C-)
 
Now, that out of the way, I propose my own Batman ‘66 mashup:
 
Batman “66 meets Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife.
 
Here’s the logline:
 
The Joker’s car breaks down in Mayberry, the crown prince of crime swiping Fife’s only bullet while simultaneously toying with the affections of hillbilly socialite Charlene Darling and spinster telephone operator Sarah. 
 
Now all need to is find a coloring book.

See you all next week. Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.