| Title | : | Batman 66, Vol. 2 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1401249329 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401249328 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 |
| Publication | : | First published October 21, 2014 |
In this volume, one of Batman's deadliest foes—King Tut returns to Gotham City to assert his royal status and challenge the Dynamic Duo with his most far reaching plan yet to rule the modern Thebes known as Gotham City!
Collects issues #6-10.
Batman 66, Vol. 2 Reviews
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I hated the first volume. Hated it.
But, at the time, I thought this was supposed to be a witty take on the 60's Batman. Full of humor and an underlying sarcasm! Or something. I mean, nobody would anyone want to read a straight comic book version of the old tv show? Right? Right?
Wrong.
That's exactly what this title is supposed be.
And this time around I knew that, so I was able to wipe the glaze out of my eyes and look at this second volume with a different set of expectations.
And guess what I discovered?!
If you aren't expecting this to be funny or have an interesting storyline, this is actually a tolerable title! Yep, this time around I wasn't waiting for anything clever to happen, and I was able to (somewhat) enjoy a rehash of the television series.
I know that doesn't exactly sound like a glowing recommendation, but considering how
angry I was after I purchased the first volume, I'd say that's about as good as you're going to get from me. This is exactly like the show that starred Adam West. Nothing more, nothing less. It has some cute moments, so if you're interested in revisiting a favorite childhood show, then this would be the perfect way to do that.
Other than, you know, just watching the show!
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Batman '66 volume 2 collects Batman '66 6-10.
Batman '66 presents episodes of the Batman television show of the 1960s that never were. In this collection, Batman and Robin take on The Bookworm, Mr. Freeze, King Tut, The Joker, False Face, and others.
The writing of the series captures the spirit of the '60s Batman television show fairly successfully. I was thoroughly entertained by this volume from the first story, The Bookworm stealing Gotham City's ceremonial giant checkbook. The humor and campiness are in full effect. My one gripe is that the artwork in some of the chapters doesn't capture the likenesses of Adam West and Burt Ward as well as some of the others.
Your enjoyment of Batman '66 fully depends on how you feel about the television show. If you like your Batman broody and serious, you won't like it. If you're entertained by the show, you'll be entertained by the book. Three out of five stars. -
More original stories featuring the Adam West incarnation of Batman? Sounds like fun...and it is!
I'm glad my local library had multiple volumes of this; I'm having a blast with it!
EDIT: I have to add that, when I first read these books, it had literally been years since I'd seen the old-school Caped Crusader serial. Now that I've watched the first season of Batman in its entirety--and am working my way through the next one--I can understand these comics much better! -
Gosh darnit, old chum…
I LOVED the first volume of Batman ‘66 - it was fresh, funny, and bursting with ideas using an old concept. It was a departure from DC’s usual dark and gritty nonsense and an embrace of colourful imagination - a side to the Dark Knight rarely seen these days and one of the few Batman books suitable for kids and adults to read alike.
So it’s disappointing that the second volume, while not terrible, doesn’t live up to the standard set by the first. And this one has a story with King Tut in it too, one of my favourites from the TV show!
I did like a few stories though. The Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder square off against Bookworm, whose nefarious plan to steal a giant novelty chequebook halts all charity payments in Gotham! Egbert, Alfred’s evil twin, reappears in a dastardly plan to relieve Bruce Wayne of his family treasures, and Batgirl takes on Cleopatra! I’d like to see more Batgirl actually - just the one story isn’t enough for this volume.
We get to see cowboy Batman, he makes hippo noises in the King Tut story, and there are appearances from obscure characters Shame, Olga, Queen of the Cossacks, and the Great Griselda.
The problem is the stories don’t have the same sizzle as they did before. Maybe it’s a concept that works sporadically, or as a one-off book rather than a series, but seeing Batman and Robin defeat the characters in increasingly mundane ways just wasn’t working for me. Even the WHAM!s and BIFF!s, Adam and Burt’s familiar visages, and wonderfully corny one-liners all felt overplayed.
Batman ‘66 obviously isn’t a very deep concept and it’s aimed mostly at kids so maybe that’s why - Jeff Parker and co. basically reached the limit of what they can do with the setup and ended up repeating a lot of the same beats. It’s not so noticeable in one volume but in two? It’s a different story. Or isn’t, as it goes.
Luckily there is a raft of talented artists to provide page after page of glorious eye-candy for the reader in lieu of engaging stories. Ty Templeton, Ted Naifeh, Chris Sprouse, and Joelle Jones do excellent work but hats off to Ruben Procopio’s art on the King Tut and Shame stories, which was different both times and really beautiful twice too. And of course Mike and Laura Allred continue to provide some of the coolest-looking comics covers as well.
Writers Jeff Parker and Tom Peyer try but, for me, only hit the mark a few times. Batman ‘66 Volume 2 is an ok effort but felt like a very underwhelming sequel. Oh well. Keep fighting the good fight, Caped Crusader, you're still better than most of what DC puts out anyway! -
Not nearly as hokey as the first volume.
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The second collection of Batman '66 stories is just as entertaining, delightful and fun as the first one. Jeff Parker continues to channel the vibe of the original television series but is giving a bigger sandbox to play in. Limited only by the budget of what his artists can do, Parker sees the Dynamic Duo traveling in time, taking on Shame and even having a story or two focus on other characters from the television universe. It all adds up to another enjoyable read and a series that only continues to deliver the goods in terms of entertainment value.
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Though the artwork does slip a bit, the writing is every bit as good as it was in the first book. You truly feel that this book series picks up right where the beloved television series left off.
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3.5 I liked volume one alot more but this was still pretty decent I'm just debating wether or not I buy the third volume
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Jeff Parker's doing a pretty great job of recreating those old Batman '66 tales.
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Vermutlich kann man BATMAN 66 Vol. 2 auch zu einer anderen Jahreszeit lesen, aber ich empfehle den Juli! Diese Stories sind so cool, es ist wie Eisessen im Baumschatten. Nur einen Wunsch läßt Jeff Parker offen: warum überfällt Mr. Freeze Gotham im Hochsommer und nicht das Kaff, in dem ich wohne?
Trotz dieses Ärgernisses 5 absolut verdiente Sterne!
(Und wer für den Summer of Cool noch eine andere heiße Leseempfehlung wünscht: schaut mal in BANDETTE rein, die macht genauso viel Spaß wie Batman aus den poppigen Sixties) -
It's strengths and weaknesses are one and the same, which is enough to make Robin pound his fist into his hand. The series is still more than the sum of its parts, but its parts are very obvious and start to wear thin ever so slightly. The sight gags and callbacks to the TV show are essential to how the book reads, but they start to detract from the larger effect of the stories once you read them in succession.
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An improvement of the preceding volume (which wasn't that bad, really) and still true to the spirit and tone of the TV series. The addition of the William Dozier-styled hyperbolic 'narration' - I don't think that was in the first book, or it wasn't utilized as effectively as it was here - was a plus. Bring on volume 3.
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3/5 stars: It’s still nostalgic, but not as good as the first. They used a lot of the iconic villains for the first volume so we had a lot of the ‘one episode’ villains there. No less goofy though!
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This second volume of tv-inspired Bat-adventures continues to be solid fun. In fact, I liked it even better than volume 1. Writer Jeff Parker has really hit his stride here -- the stories are still light and campy, but there's a touch more thematic depth and character development, which I appreciated. Most of the stories in volume 1 featured multiple villains (as if Parker was in a hurry to use as many as he could), but here we're down to one bad guy per story, which gives him more space to showcase their over-the-top personalities.
There's some fantastic artwork here, in a variety of styles. The "Shame" story is a particular highlight: Ruben Procopio uses an impressionistic, painterly style that really enhances the "old west" feeling. Ted Naifeh's "Olga, Queen of Cossaks" is a hoot as well. And the covers by Mike Allred are always a treat.
Looking forward to more adventures -- Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel...! -
The Batman '66 line are some of the most fun comics on the market. Take the original show, give it an unlimited special effects budget, and bring in whatever characters you want. I love how the series not only plays with the forgotten TV villains (like Roddy McDowell's Bookworm), but subtly brings in characters from outside the show; blink, and you'll miss an awesome origin for Killer Croc.
Every issue has several adventures, and none of them feel short. While checking out the library website to get the series, I tried to remember which one I left off on. With the number of stories I remembered, surely I had read two or three? Nope. Turns out it was just volume #1, and each following volume is just as packed.
Batman '66. Because it takes a lot of training to teach a shark to explode. -
If you are into classic or into the 60's Batman show you would like this, I have my perimeter of what Batman in the comics is compared to other forms of entertainment, this lacked like the 60's show lacked in depth with development in characters, it made me think it would be best for children.
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Love the fun nature of the stories.
Parker has really gotten into the groove getting the tone right for what this should be. -
Fun and goofy. It's an entertaining read and reminds me of watching the old TV show. Don't expect much depth and look forward to cheesy lines.
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Stylistically consistent and entertaining.
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Collects Batman '66 issues #6-10
This is another great collection of stories set in the universe of the 1966 Batman television series.
Here are the villains that appeared in these pages:
-Bookworm
-Olga, Queen of Cossacks
-False Face
-The Riddler
-The Joker
-King Tut
-Alfred's cousin, Egbert
-Zelda the Great
-Shame
-Mr. Freeze
Batgirl appears in the final story of this collection, and we get the return of Lisa Carson. Carson appeared in a King Tut-centric episode of the Batman TV show, in which King Tut saw her as a reincarnated Cleopatra. In this story, she decides to embrace that role as the villain of Batgirl's story.
The False Face episode of Batman '66 was one of my favorite episodes of the whole TV series. I had always wished that he would have appeared in more than one episode, so I was so excited to see him featured in this collection in a brand new story. -
The Batman ‘66 series is an interesting creation. It tells stories very much in the same corny vein of the TV show it emulates, but it often deviates from the show’s strict formula, and tells tales that would have required a budget far beyond the means of the show. The tales never advance the characters or any meta-narrative, just as the show did. So for lovers of the new and old, this series somehow manages to feel right at home, at once both aware of its source and trying to both advance it and preserve it. For the most part, each episode is a fun if frivolous read, but the artwork does vary considerably in quality. All told, Batman ‘66 is a fun dive into nostalgia, but ultimately, it is a strange effort that seeks to recreate something that didn’t *really* need recreating, and is as easily passed over as it is consumed.
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Fantastic! This volume is filled with the kinds of kooky villains that you'd never find in a modern brooding Batman comic but are perfect for the campy fun of the 60's!
King Tut, Bookworm, False Face, and the escape artist Zelda the Great!
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Batman '66 grows the beard around the time of the King Tut arc. The first volume was way too dug in to "trying to recreate the TV show as closely as possible," but by now, the writers are experimenting with the format, allowing anachronism to sit side by side with retro affectation, and embracing plots and action sequences too weird or elaborate to work on the soundstage-bound original show.
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Não era bem o que eu esperava. Por ser baseado no seriado dos anos 60, tem uma pegada cômica e bastante absurda que não me agradou nem um pouco.
Acho que vai agradar bem mais aos fãs da antiga série. -
Holy Retro, Batman!
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SO FUNNY.
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Frivolous fun, good art ok stories .
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Disappointed to find that I'm enjoying this a lot less than I did when I first read it, years ago. Is it because Return of the Caped Crusaders did it so much better?
This is fun, mind you, it's just that I remember this being kinda brilliant, and now it just seems like a cute lark.
B-
