Review: Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #6

The final issue opens with Batman and The Green Hornet about to detonate via Batzooka a missal launched by the Joker and General Gumm before it hits Gotham Park.  However, the bomb turns out to be a joke, shooting off postage stamps.  The four heroes deduce the villains are going to kidnap Franco Bollo.  After a Bat-Climb (with window cameo by Richard Nixon), the heroes discover they are too late.  As the villains try to escape via plane, the heroes arrive in a Bat-Hovercraft, neatly avoiding the gummy glue around the plane, preventing the police from arresting Joker and Gumm.  The heroes chase the villains away and rescue Bollo.  In gratitude, he offers to drop his lawsuit against the two cities for an out of court settlement of three million dollars.  After the payoff, Batman and his cohorts bust in, knowing that Bollo was really Gumm in disguise all along, putting an end to this case.  This final chapter is somewhat marred by rehashing a similar plot twist from the episode The Joker Trumps an Ace/Batman Sets the Pace, where the Joker impersonated the Maharajah of Nimpa, while the real Maharajah was on a secluded hunting trip.  This is the second issue in a row to "borrow" a scene from a Joker episode.  It makes you think that writers Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith were running out of ideas for a six issue story arc, and perhaps should have done a four issue arc instead.  Never the less, their script, and this miniseries, is an improvement over Jeff Parker's efforts in the regular series, albeit Garman and Smith seem more entrenched in the series' weaker second season, rather than the far superior first season (Parker, on the other hand, seems entrenched in the awful third season, although the one thing in his favor is he avoids using the TV show's all too rigid storytelling formula).  As usual, Ty Templeton does an excellent job on the art, although he could stand to get Burt Ward's likeness a little better.  Alex Ross' cover painting is a masterpiece, of course.  But it's the recycling of ideas in the last two issues that bring the miniseries down a notch. Even so, I would like to see Garman write some issues of the regular series.  This issue earns a B-.

On a side note, I was hoping to review Batman '66: The Lost Episode today, but all the issues received by my comic book store were damaged and sent back. So it will have to wait until next month.  Ironically, it is also noted the long awaited Batman DVD set has some errors: a missing tag on the episode Marsha's Scheme of Diamonds  and several missing "next week's villain" bumpers.  (I wonder if Chris Nolan and/or Zack Snyder is paying someone off to mess up these classic Batman items?)  I am sure Warner Brothers will be providing corrected replacement discs, as they have done so before, when the Superman movie box set included the bare bones version of Superman III instead of the deluxe edition, and when the Elvis movie box set likewise included the bare bones version of Jailhouse Rock instead of the deluxe edition.  Also, when a Popeye volume included a few cartoons with the old AAP TV opening titles instead of the restored Paramount titles.  Warners is actually very good about replacing discs.  But on the other hand, if they had better quality control, they wouldn't need to issue so many replacement discs for so many different titles in the first place.

Review: Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #5

This issue starts with the Hornet and Kato deciding to change tactics on how they are working with the Dynamic Duo.  Cut to  Batman and Robin, in a death trap set by Joker and Gumm that is a little too similar to the one from The Zodiac Crimes episode, and the escape is likewise similar.  After which, the Duo are summoned to Gordon's office, where they are met by The Hornet, Kato, and District Attorney Scanlon (who knows the Hornet's secret identity), to set up a backstory so that Batman can work freely with the Hornet.  Meanwhile, Joker and Gumm, in Joker's jet plane hide out, drop a bomb on Gotham.  The four heroes, warned about it via Batmobile detect-a-scope, begin evacuating Gotham Central Park, where the bomb is targeted.  Batman and the Hornet stay in the park with the Batzooka in an attempt to shoot the bomb out of the sky.  Smith and Garman get deducted a point for the rehashed death trap, but they more than make up for it with the bombing of Gotham Park sequence which is the very first time since DC initiated the "Batman '66" franchise to come close to the tone and excitement of the first season episodes.  The first half of the book has the usual splendid art by Ty Templeton, but the second half is by Jon Bogdanove, who does a better job than most of the recent artists over in the main Batman '66 title.  And, of course, there is the Alex Ross masterpiece cover. This issue earns a B+.

Review: Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #4

This issue picks up where the last one left off, with the Hornet and Kato about to rob the bank, only to reveal its a ruse so he can plant a homing transmitter on the coin collection Gumm and The Joker are after.  But their plans are spoiled when Batman and Robin arrive.  There is a showdown between the two teams, while Gumm and the Joker purloin the coin collection.  When Batman realises a crime occurred, the Hornet and Kato make their escape.  The Dynamic Duo deduce where the Joker and Gumm are holding out (and a nice reference to the pilot episode), and arrive, only to find out its a trap.

As with previous issues, writers Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman capture the series perfectly, even if it treads more onto the sillier second season.  This issue, in particular has lots of nice Easter eggs for fans, and was over too quickly.  Ty Templeton's art is still stellar, and the cover by Alex Ross is his usual masterpiece.  This issue earns a solid A.

Review: Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet #3

Issue 3 of this mini-series has Batman and the Green Hornet teaming up to save their respective side-kicks, who have been taken hostage by the Joker and General Gumm.  Batman, believing the Hornet is a criminal, begrudgingly agrees to this.  Once the Hornet is in the Batcave (after a whiff of Batgas and Batwake, naturally), the two crimebusters do some impressive tag-team detective work, with Batman gaining some respect for his green guest.  Meanwhile, Robin and Kato are forced by their captures to fight to the death. Batman and the Hornet arrive in time, even though Robin and Kato made an agreement to pull punches.  Joker and Gumm escape, and the Dymanic Duo head back to the Batcave to deduce where the villains will strike next. It turns out the Green Hornet and Kato apparently have arrived at the destination to rob it first.

Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman continue to deliver a good story with clever moments capturing the essence of the TV series, such as the scene with the Hornet in the Batcave, and later, with him climbing up the side of a building with a batrope.  They also showcase Batman's detective abilities, something the show brushed aside in favor of letting the Batcomputer do all the thinking.  The artwork by Ty Templeton is again, excellent, and the Alex Ross cover is worth the cover price alone. This issues earns an A.

Review: Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #2

Issue 2 opens with our heroes escaping from the speeding train.  The Hornet and Kato in an action-dramatic way, Batman and Robin in a more silly way.  The Hornet then knocks the Dynamic Duo out with sleeping gas, and escapes.  Then it is revealed The Joker is General Gumm's partner, and there is a reference to the 1966 movie.  Batman and Robin regain consciousness, and get on the trail of Gumm and the Hornet.  There's a cool scene at Britt Reid's home that seems like it was taken right from the TV show.  Both the Dynamic Duo and the Hornet and Kato soon uncover Gumm and the Joker.  There's the customary fight scene with Batman and the Hornet about to square off, when they realize the Joker and Gumm have Robin and Kato, and are about to suffocate them.

Writers Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith continue the excellent job, really capturing the style of dialogue from the TV show. However, one critique I have is that they seemed to portray the Dynamic Duo a bit more buffoonish in contrast to the more stoic Hornet and Kato.  One of the big problems with seasons 2 and 3 that many fans dislike is that Batman and Robin became buffoons, where as they were more heroic in season 1.  I hope Garman and Smith don't end up going down that slippery slope like regular series writer Jeff Parker has.  Ty Templeton's artwork is superb, and gets all the likeness right, although he could make Batman's gut a little smaller.  Need I say Alex Ross' covers are masterpieces.  This issue earns a B+.

Review: Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet #1

The first issue of this mini series crossover event between DC and Dynamite sets the pace by following the format of the Batman TV series in a way that the regular Batman '66 title has avoided. Written by celebrities Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith (yes, that Kevin Smith), this issue unfolds like a typical TV episode, which gives this book a sort of "yes... finally!" moment that we never got from the regular monthly book.  But to be fair, I do think its wise for the regular series to stray away from the TV show's format, because the TV show itself quickly fell into a rut, a sense of a sameness to every episode.  Plus, when a story does use the show's format, it makes it a bigger event. The story starts with Dick preparing for a date with Mayor Linseed's niece (a continuity gaffe - not on Garman and Smith's part, but Jeff Parker's, as Batman '66 #11 features a different mayor, one who looks similar to the mayor from Batman Forever as played by George Wallace). A Bat-call summons Batman to protect a valuable fossil collection arriving in Gotham by train.  On the train, Bruce meets his childhood friend, Britt Ried and Kato. There are a couple out of character moments: one where Kato suggests the Green Hornet's masked accomplice should have his own code name (out of place for that Bruce Lee version of Kato, much more in line with the recent - and awful - Seth Rogan movie), and one where Bruce loses his temper over Britt's belittling of Batman (again, seems very out of place for the Adam West version of the character).  Suddenly, the train is stopped by a gummy, glue like substance covering the tracks.  Bruce, Britt and Kato investigate, as Bruce is able to contact Dick via cuff link radio, to end his date with Linseed's niece to meet him at the train.  A clever bit where Garman and Smith use Dick's alias "Dog George" from the episode The Joker Goes To School/He Meets His Match The Grisly Ghoul and also give Bruce a similar codename, "Bravo Whiskey".  Bruce checks the cargo, only to find Col Gumm, who is now permanently covered in glue from a lab accident, and goes by the name General Gumm, with his men attempting to steal the fossil collection.  He's thwarted by the arrival of the Green Hornet.  Meanwhile Robin flies up in the Batcopter, and in a clever moment reminiscent of the feature film, is able to give Bruce his Batman costume.  Eventually the four heroes get Gumm trapped atop the speeding train, but he uses his glue gun to stick the heroes to the train. Gumm and his men make off with the collection, as he uses a solvent on the tracks to get the train going again.  And to make matters worse, the train is speeding toward a low tunnel, sure to decapitate our heroes.

Garman and Smith seem to have upped the quality a notch from Jeff Parker on the regular series. I appreciate what Garman and Smith did with the first half, expanding on the back story of Bruce and Britt as old friends.  Things pick up in the second half, but I wonder if 6 issues may be too long for a single story. It may have been wise to make it 3 or 4 issues.  We'll see how the remaining issues play out, and what Garman and Smith have planned. Ty Templeton's artwork is superb, and I wish he would get to draw more issues of the regular series.  This issue earns an A-.