Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet

 

The year is 1967 and on ABC superhero history was made with the first live-action team-up of non-affiliated super heroes. In the two-part Batman episode, entitled  "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction", the Green Hornet and his faithful valet Kato arrived in Gotham City in hopes of taking down the notorious stamp collector Colonel Gumm. Batman and Robin assume Green Hornet is a villain since in Hornet's home town he acts like a mob boss attempting to wipe out the competition. The two pairs forge an uneasy truce to take down the villain played by Roger C. Carmel (Harry Mudd of Star Trek fame.)

    Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet is a sequel to that classic Batman series match-up. It was published jointly by DC Comics and Dynamite Comics, who currently owns the rights to the Green Hornet comic franchise. Originally a digital first comic, the book is co-written by Kevin Smith, the creative force behind Clerks and Mallrats. While Smith has written some Batman comics before, this is his first venture in the world of Batman '66. However, Smith has written several Green Hornet mini-series so it actually made perfect sense for the actor/director to write this miniseries. 

     So why does the Dynamic Duo team up again with Green Hornet and Kato? The two teams reunite when the notorious Gumm, now promoted to General, steals a train full of rare fossils. The caper turns particularly deadly when the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker is revealed as Gumm's silent partner. When the dastardly pair rob a collection of stamps, the heroes are forced to become a team or Gotham City will be bankrupted with a $20 million lawsuit for the lost collections.

    This story was awesome. The writing was very good and without a single swear or reference to Star Wars, I cannot believe that Keven Smith wrote it. The regular covers were painted by my favorite artist of all-time, Alex Ross, with one variant by regular '66 cover artist Mike Allred. The art was also superior with amazing renderings of Adam West, Burt Ward, Caesar Romero, Van Willams, and Bruce Lee. The only actor not portrayed in comic form was Roger Carmel as Gumm. I'm wondering if his estate refused to allow his likeness to be used as Gumm's character is portrayed as being covered in an experimental adhesive much like Baron Nemo from the Avengers. If that's the case, I will approve the blatant plot device rip-off of a Marvel villain.

     Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.