SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN 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 KERRY CALLEN January 12 is the 60th anniversary of the Batman TV program, airing on ABC. It premiered in 1966. With me being 5 at the time, you might think I loved the show. But, I never saw it. Where I lived in Arkansas, we only received two channels, CBS and NBC. My exposure to Batman was through two comic books. One was from the very first comic I ever bought, 1965’s Teen Titans #1, by Bob Haney, with art by Nick Cardy. Batman was in one panel. My first comic with Batman in a starring role was The Brave and the Bold #68. Also written by Haney, it had art by Mike Sekowsky and Mike Esposito, and a cover by Sekowsky, with inks by Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson. I bought the book because I was a fan of Metamorpho. I saw him in comics while waiting at a barber shop. This was my main introduction to Batman, and it’s a doozy. He becomes BAT-HULK! The book hit the stands in August of ’66. Batmania was in full swing — and Batman is mentioned as being on TV twice in the issue. We also find out that Batman is “super-marv and fab.” The main villains were the Penguin, the Riddler, and the Joker. DC was obviously targeting fans of the TV show. The three villains team up and expose Batman to a strange gas, transforming him into Bat-Hulk! The entire story is actually a bit strange. Aside from super-strength, Bat-Hulk can throw fireballs from his molten-hot hands. Bat-Hulk only appears in this one comic, but I’ve long held a fondness for him. While other kids were discovering Batman through the TV show, I had to reread my own oddball discovery of the character. Using my own twisted logic, I’m celebrating the show’s 60th anniversary by drawing Bat-Hulk! By the way, when Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns...