Celebrating Artist Mike Allred

Celebrating the birthday of artist Mike Allred (February 20, 1969)...

...here, with his Superman related covers (Action Comics #31 and Superman #31, July, 2014).  

Variants to the usual, celebrating the 1966 Batman TV series!

Holy Birthdays, Batman

Technically, it should be "holy birthday, Robin"....as today is the birthday of the 1966 Batman TV show version of Robin...Burt Ward!


The former Boy Wonder is all grown up now, and what an opportunity to talk about when Robin grew up quickly in the comics as well!

Batman #107 featured the story of "The Grown-Up Boy Wonder" by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Stan Kaye, where Robin was exposed to a strange gas in a box Superman gave Batman and Robin to guard...which turns young Dick Grayson into an adult!   Problem is, though his body grew up, he still had the mind of a teenager (as well as having to hide that Dick Grayson and Robin grew up, so Dick creates the identity of Owlman to help Batman, but gets caught by a group of criminal acrobats, who unmasked him, and plan to look for that face to help figure out Batman's identity as well. 

Thing is, the gas wears off, and Dick goes back to being young (and Robin), so the criminals search will be fruitless (at least for many years.....). 

 
This story was also reprinted in Batman Annual #5 of 1963, and in the Batman Annuals Volume #2 (which reprints Batman Annuals #5 to #7).



Of course, Robin grew up other times in the comics as well, most notably when the original Robin (from the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s) grew up and joined the JSA....

.....but that a topic already covered, but you can read about it here and Golden Age solo Robin stories, here!



Holy adult Robin, Batman, and happy birthday, Burt Ward!

Remembering Adam West

What to say about Adam West....the man who was linked with Batman since 1966 and the man behind the mask?


Who inspired generations of fans with his Batman TV Show?


Who was able to work seriously with a camp style Batman?

Whose series introduced non-comic reading America to not only Batman, but also to Robin and, later, Batgirl...



....and a host of Bat-Villains, like the Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin, Mr. Freeze and the Mad Hatter?

Who got a chance to drive every type of vehicle as the hero...



...from Batmobile to Batcopter to Batcycle to Batboat, proving that there was nowhere for criminals to run?

Who got to introduce fans to other DC heroes live in the Legends of the Superheroes over a decade after his show was off the air.....though it was two of the most forgettable hours of television aired, coming in second to last in both episodes of the specials that aired in the late 1970s?

Who got to come back to the world of Batman, being "Simpsonized" for the Simpsons, playing Batman's mentor (Gray Ghost) in the Batman: the Animated Series, and even back to the Batcave for himself, with a new animated Batman movie in the 1960s style?

Well, we can look back at all that he's done, and say, thanks, old chum.....while the 1960s light-hearted TV Show might not have shown Batman in his best light, it did inspire others, putting Batman in the forefront of DC's heroes for a time, and that was due in no small part to the talents of Adam West.

Holy 50th Anniversary Batman

Batman has been around for more than 50 years, but January 12, 1966 was the airing of Batman's first television episode with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, with "Hi Diddle Riddle".

The episode also featured Frank Gorshin as the Riddler (a character who barely had appeared in the comics....but got many more appearances afterwards!), and Jill St. John as Riddler's henchwoman, Molly.

The Batman TV show did introduce more villains from the comics to the viewing public as well, like Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter and the Joker (and go here to take a look at them), as well as creating its own foes, like the Bookworm, Shane, King Tut, Egghead and the Siren, and even borrowed a few rarely used Superman villains, like the Puzzler and the Archer (which the 1950s Adventures of Superman never did...a small kryptonite chink in the otherwise invulnerable armor of George Reeves tenure as Superman).

For the first two seasons, episodes ran half an hour, with a cliffhanger at the end of one....to be concluded the next night, same Bat-time, same Bat-Channel, with the series adding Yvonne Craig as Batgirl in the 3rd season as Com. Gordon's daughter, Barbara, who was also  confidant to Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth (with the show down to only one episode a week...ending in March, 1968 with 120 episodes, plus a movie between the first and second seasons as well!).

DC Comics has recently been putting out new tales of the 1966 Batman, under the title of Batman '66, starting with Batman '66 #1 (September, 2013) with a story by writer Jeff Parker, and drawn by Jonathan Case.

The series has just concluded with its 30th issue...

....but there was also a special Lost Episode issue (featuring Two-Face, based on a story by Harlan Ellison, adapted by writer Len Wein, penciller Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and inker Joe Prado), as well as a 6 issue mini-series teaming Batman with the Green Hornet, by writers Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, and art mostly by Ty Templeton, and a two issue mini-series teaming up with The Man From U.N.C.L.E., by Jeff Parker, David Hahn and Karl Kesel, keeping the swinging 1960s alive!