Batman Meets The Green Hornet!

Nothing succeeds like failure. And that bon mot is especially true in the world of comic books. A title or character would be measured by newsstand sales and when those began to descend a decision would be made -- cancel or change. When a tired concept is laid to rest and new talent is free to have at it, then apt as not success can be achieved. That's certainly true with Batman. 

The venerable Batman series was dying -- both in the self-titled magazine and in the characters birthplace Detective Comics. Sales were down and so changes were demanded. A new team was sent to the rescue and it worked -- sort of. 

From what I understand (and I'm open to be corrected on this point) but the "New Look" changes instituted by Julius Schwartz as the new editor might have improved things, but what saved Batman was when William Dozier was dazzled by a 40's serial starring the Dynamic Duo and thought a TV show would work. It did! It's hard to reckon the success of the Batman TV show, but it saved Batman's books and he's never looked back. 

The Green Hornet hadn't had a comic book gig since 1949, but casting about for another property to put the Batman TV magic on, he was seen as a good choice by Dozier. To my great joy much of the humor which permeates the Batman shows was dropped and maybe that's why the show lasted only one year. Or maybe it's that the shockwave that the Batman show sent through comics, TV, and the wider Pop Culture just receded. 

The two teams do team up once during the run of the shows, but cancellation prevented further cross pollination. That is until Dynamite and DC decided it was time once again for them to meet. The result was Batman 66 Meets The Green Hornet. With covers by Alex Ross, the series has an A plus attraction from the get-go. But how good was it?

Let begin by saying I loved this delightful shoutout to the classic TV Batman and Green Hornet. All the elements you expect are there as the story twists and turns. The baddies are the classic Cesar Romero Joker and the all-pink Colonel Gumm, the very same bad guy the combined teams battled on TV show many years ago. He's had an accident that has resulted in him having a face full of paste and he's promoted himself to General, but his speech patterns still feel like those of Roger Carmel who played the part with such aplomb. 

The two baddies are stealing impossibly rich collections of an Italian guy named Franco Bollo. Of course, the first of these, a batch of rare fossils, is being transported on a train and Gumm's forces attack it and are met by the combined forces of Batman and Robin, and the Green Hornet and Kato. The latter team are considered d villains themselves by the Dynamic Duo and that creates all manner of chaos. 

The Joker shows up and makes things even more dangerous when both Robin and Kato are captured. They are of course freed in due course, but it requires that the Hornet must enter the famed Batcave. It's really amazing how the writers and artists remember and insert all sorts of moments to remind the reader of the original shows. Alex Ross knocks himself out with some outstanding covers. 

Complications follow complications with all manner of traps prepared in class cliffhanger fashion. Batman and Robin are freed though eventually from having to confront the Hornet and Kato when the latter team is given a provisional amnesty to the enormous cost of the loss of the collections for both Gotham City and the Hornet's unnamed metropolis. 

The writers Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman hit all the right notes and I can think of no detail from either series I missed out on. Ty Templeton who is assisted on the fifth installment by Jon Bodgnave does a masterful job of keeping the story light yet allowing a sense of menace to break through. His storytelling is delightful, and I can think of no moment in which I lost my way. 

I recommend this to everyone. At twenty-three bucks it's a bargain in today's comic marketplace. I can see other Batman 66 books in my future. And if like me, you're a fan of the TV shows you'll be endlessly tickled by the wonderful characterization and conversations. Images appear which job the memory and transport you back to a time the world loved a Batman who could do the Batusi and Bruce Lee was just about to change the look action movies forever. 

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