Review: Batman '66 Meets the Man from UNCLE #1

Batman '66 meets the Man from UNCLE.  This is a great concept. The first issue of this miniseries, written by Jeff Parker, sets things up nicely. In a unique narrative, Parker has Batman and Robin and UNCLE agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin in separate story lines.  Needless to say they will cross paths soon, but its nice to start the story with two separate story lines than to jump right into a team up.  Batman and Robin chase an escaped Penguin, a great pick for this miniseries, seeing that UNCLE's adversary is THRUSH.  Meanwhile, the UNCLE agents are after a new THRUSH agent, Olga Queen of the Cossacks.  The inclusion of this weak third season villain is the low point of the issue.  There is a nice nod when Solo introduces himself using the alias "Ross Webster", the Morgan Edge-like character actor Robert Vaughn played in Superman III.  The art by David Hahn is acceptable, but at times misses the mark on the likenesses of Vaughn and David McCallum. The format of the story is closer to the Man from UNCLE TV series, which itself partially inspired the creation of the Batman TV series. In return, at the height of "Batmania", UNCLE took on a campier Batman tone. Since Warner Brothers owns the UNCLE franchise, via their buyout of Ted Turner who got the rights from MGM when they were selling their back catalog due to bankruptcy, I always wondered why WB didn't hand the property to DC to incorporate into their Universe. Indeed, Marvel's SHIELD was created as a rip off of UNCLE, so it would seem natural for DC to incorporate the original into it's universe.  It certainly would make more sense than its own lesser-grade spy agencies like Spyral or Argus.  All in all, this is a good start to what should be a great miniseries. The first issue earns a B.

Review: Batman '66 #30

The old phrase "save the best for last" rings true with Batman '66. This final issue is by far the best of the series. Written by Lee Allred and drawn by Mike Allred, everything about this issue is perfect. In many ways, it reads like it should have been the first issue, not the last. In a pseudo-sequel to the 1966 feature film, the Allreds very cleverly reconstruct, or maybe deconstruct, the TV series' opening credits sequence.  Penguin, Joker and Catwoman have teamed up, taking over a vacated movie studio, to teach all of Gotham's arch-criminals to perfect their craft. Noticeably missing is the Riddler, essentially blackballed for his compulsion to leave clues for Batman. Again, this would have fit as the premiere issue so much better, explaining why the Riddler was all but absent from this comic book series.

 A highlight is the "window cameo", featuring none other but the 1950s TV versions of Perry White, Jimmy Olson, and Lois Lane. The George Reeves version of Clark Kent also appears at the end of the story along with several other reporters, including Vicki Vale, and... Holy Moley, a certain boy radio reporter from station WHIZ!  Since the on going Batman '66 series is going to be replaced with various miniseries (the first of which, Batman '66 Meets The Man From UNCLE, will have issue #1 published next week), hopefully these cameos will be the foundation for a Batman '66 Meets Superman '52 miniseries, and a Batman '66 Meets Shazam '74 miniseries, the latter as I speculated before, has precedent in the 1979 Legends Of The Superheroes TV specials. Kudos to the Allreds for producing a perfect issue of Batman '66. This issue earns a well deserved A+.

Batman '66 #29

The penultimate issue of Batman '66 opens with a story featuring second season villain Ma Parker and her clan. The story, be Jeff Parker is sparse, but fairly enjoyable. The art by Dean Haspiel is typical of this series, somewhat rushed looking. Ma Parker has a motherly moment, where she helps Batman rescue two of her kids who can't swim when they fall into a lake after a car crash.  It stands out as a more unique moment.  Overall this story earns a C+.
The second story, a sequel of sorts to the first, features Catwoman. Parker gets more in this story, and overall is better written. Robin and Batgirl are captured by Croc, Grundy, and Killer Moth, who escaped from prison when Ma Parker broke her boys out.  Batman captures Catwoman, but when he finds out from a couple of kids, one of whom is wearing a weird green hood that stands out, about the capture, Catwoman volunteers to assist him in going after the trio. Parker gets in some introspective moments on the Batman-Catwoman relationship as they capture the trio and rescue Robin and Batgirl. For the first time in too long a time, Jonathan Case returns to do the art, and turns in an excellent job.  This story earns a B+, making the total grade for this issue a B.

Review: The Darkseid War - Shazam

So I guess I have to do a review of The Darkseid War: Shazam. As readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of the rebooted New52 Shazam. Frankly, I'm not a fan of the New52, period. The rebooted character has changed more than just his name from Captain Marvel to Shazam.  He's really a different character, to the point I think it would have been better all around, if Geoff Johns took that one extra step, and gave new names to Billy Batson, Dr Sivana, Freddy Freeman, and Mary Batson.  There's not much of a plot in this issue.  It's more or less one giant introduction to the new gods who will now give Billy his power in the wake of Darkseid's death. Why Darkseid's death was able to change Billy's pantheon, I have no idea.  I dropped Justice League -the only title the New52 Shazam appears in- from my pull list a couple months ago because I got tired of seeing this character in a couple panels each issue, just standing in the background and reacting to the main characters, like one of the lesser Bowery Boys.  That, or, he usually plays the role of Cyborg's idiot sidekick.  To paraphrase Green Arrow, "Geoff Johns, you have failed the World's Mightiest Mortal".  So, if this new pantheon is permanent or just for this Darkseid storyline, either way there's not much in this issue.  Written by Steve Orlando, I do give him credit for making Billy Batson the main focus of the story, even if it is just a "meet and greet". He still has the obnoxious New52 personality, which the Wizard Shazam comments on.  Or is his name now Mamaragan, one of the new pantheon, even though "Mamaragan" sound like someone is calling for Nancy Reagan. Apparently Darkseid's father is now one of the pantheon too, Zonuz. Kind of like the upcoming movie. Zonus is good news.  Really, who came up with these names? Ate? Yeah, I went to Burger Clown. Anapel? Is there a pail missing? H'ronmeer?  Come on, that's gotta be from a Three Stooges routine, with the Maha. S'ivaa? What?  All this book lacked was the Snap song "The Power" playing over and over, until the reader is driven insane. And guess what?  The story continues in JL #48, which I won't be buying, because I'm sure Shazam will just stand in the background like Benny Bartlett, and he'll have one line of dialogue directed at Cyborg that will include the word "badass".  The art in this issue is by Scott Kolins, and he does a good job, even if it's a bit generic, and Shazam has a downgraded costume. To contrast this issue with the spectacular Thunderworld Adventures and Convergence Shazam is more than frustrating. This issue earns a D-. 

Review: Batman '66 #28

This issue features two short stories.  The first introduces the Scarecrow into the 66 Universe. Writer Jeff Parker turns in an acceptable script, but he misses some golden opportunities. It was established that Shame used fear gas in the TV series, so why didn't Parker, who loves to team up TV villains with comic book villains, allude to Crane getting his fear gas from Shame, rather than a hillbilly backstory, or Batman using a sample of Shame's fear gas to deduce the ingredients of Scarecrow's?  Batman and Robin's fear hallucinations come off as an attempt to conform this series with generic DC continuity. The art is by Lukas Ketner, and while not the best art in this series, it is much better than the recent, sloppy and crude art in this series.  This story earns a C.

The second story introduces Croc to the 66 Universe, after an origin tied to King Tut from an earlier issue, and Parker's script seems very rushed. As with other recent issues, the inclusion of this modern character into the 66 Universe just doesn't work, and feels forced by corporate mandate. The art by Dean Haspiel seems crude in some panels, but overall has a moody tone that rises above its shortcomings. This story earns a D, giving this issue a C-.