FOUR COLOR RADIO meets BATMAN ’66 WEEK! — Welcome to BATMAN ’66 WEEK, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the beloved TV show starring Adam West! All week, we’ll be presenting daily tributes and features, leading up to Jan. 12 — the premiere date itself — when we’ll roll out a brand-new TOP 13 BATMAN ’66 EPISODE COUNTDOWN, voted upon by a panel of the most knowledgeable Bat-experts around. Click here for the COMPLETE INDEX. — Dan — By PETER BOSCH Hey, everybody, since we’re celebrating BATMAN ’66 WEEK here at 13th Dimension, I thought it would be fun to discuss the first time the Dynamic Duo made it through the airwaves into your home — 21 years earlier, on the radio program The Adventures of Superman. The February 28 to March 15, 1945, storyline “The Mystery of the Waxmen” had Superman meeting Robin first and then Batman. Highly regrettable is that only two episodes of that radio serial survive: In 1981, however, Roy Thomas incorporated a condensed version of the story (pencilled by Rich Buckler and inked by Frank McLaughlin) into World’s Finest Comics #271, a special anniversary issue (cover by George Perez): Don’t despair, though, about those missing episodes. There were at least 15 other shared radio adventures before the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel first teamed up in the comics, in 1952’s Superman #76. You can find links to those old-time radio shows below. Sometimes, though, Batman and Robin took center stage, with their own adventures on the program. Why? Remarkably, because of Kryptonite, which was invented for the series. The prevailing belief is that the radioactive rock was created to give Superman a vulnerability. Perhaps, but it was also devised to give Clayton “Bud” Collyer (Superman and Clark Kent’s voice actor) a chance to have some vacation time. Kryptonite appears, Superman collapses, unable to speak, and Bud is off. Batman and Robin take over. Batman was portrayed by three different actors from 1945 to the last appearance of the Dynamic Duo in 1948. They were Stacy (Stacey) Harris, Matt Crowley, and Gary Merrill, who went on to appear in a number of noteworthy Hollywood movies, including the 1950 Bette Davis classic, All About Eve, playing her fiancé in the film. (He was also that in real life, marrying Davis that same year.) The role of Robin was played in all adventures by the capable radio...
BATMAN ’66 WEEK: How it might have been — whether you were there or not… — Welcome to BATMAN ’66 WEEK, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the beloved TV show starring Adam West! All week, we’ll be presenting daily tributes and features, leading up to Jan. 12 — the premiere date itself — when we’ll roll out a brand-new TOP 13 BATMAN ’66 EPISODE COUNTDOWN, voted upon by a panel of the most knowledgeable Bat-experts around. Click here for the COMPLETE INDEX. — Dan — By CHRIS FRANKLIN I have always felt I was born 10 to 15 years later than I should have been. I gravitate toward music, TV, and movies a decade older than me. Being born in late 1974, I wasn’t around when Batmania 1.0 hit in 1966 after the explosive debut of the Batman television series on Jan. 12 of that year. In the ’70s Batman was everywhere, as if he always had been. He was a part of everyday life for me and many of my generation, appearing on hundreds of products thanks to never-ending reruns of the TV series, as well as old and new animation offerings featuring the character also available on the old boob tube. In 1989, I would get a taste of what the kids of the 1960s felt when the second wave of Batmania hit in earnest, thanks to the release of the blockbuster film from Tim Burton. By then, I was a teenager, and a dedicated collector, picking up old and new Batman merchandise of all shapes and sizes. But despite that, I have always felt a kinship to the kids of the ’60s and wondered how exciting it must have been to live in THAT moment. When the entire world seemed to love your favorite character just as much as you and saw fit to festoon your every waking moment with Bat-paraphernalia. With that in mind, I will join in the celebration of BATMAN ’66 WEEK by looking at a variety of Bat-merchandise released in that epochal year of 1966 and imagine a typical day in the life of a Batman fan, and all the products that may have been part of their routine. If I don’t get things quite right, my apologies to readers and fellow contributors who actually lived this. But please indulge my fantasy...
EXCLUSIVE: 13 PAGES featuring Batman, Superman, the DC Universe and Wildstorm…
Marvel Two-in-One, indeed: Ben Grimm’s getting married!
