A CESAR ROMERO birthday tribute… — UPDATED 1/15/26: It’s the late Cesar Romero’s birthday! Perfect time to reprint this piece from his birthday in 2022. Dig it! — Dan — The late, great Cesar Romero was born 119 years ago on Jan. 15, 1907. Sure, he had an acting career that lasted decades but he will always be, first and foremost, the Joker from Batman ’66. (He was the first to play the Clown Prince of Crime on screen, as it happens.) So for this year’s birthday tribute, I’ve invited 13th Dimension regular and fellow Batmaven Jim Beard to bring you a groovy TOP 13 list saluting the actor’s time in Gotham City. (Also check out our new 13 COVERS gallery.) It’s also worth noting that OOOFF! BOFF! SPLATT! The Subterranean Blue Grotto Guide to Batman ’66 – Season Three – edited by Jim and featuring such fine folks as co-editor Rich Handley, 13th Dimension columnist Paul Kupperberg, John S. Drew of The Batcave Podcast, Chris Franklin of the Fire and Water Podcast Network, Robert Greenberger and many more, including yours truly — is now available. Click here! Plus, if you want to catch up with the first two volumes, click here and here. Right on. Here’s Jim with THE JOKER’s TOP 13 DEVILISH DEVICES: — By JIM BEARD When I think of the Joker, I think of Cesar Romero. I can’t separate the two. Despite all the other actors who’ve assayed the role, it’s still Cesar for me after all these years—far more than 50, in fact. When I think of his Joker in the 1966 Batman series and feature, I also think about all those wonderful toys he had. Batman had his own share of incredible, impossible inventions, but when you peel back the spiny leaves of the artichoke, you’ll discover the Clown Prince of Crime not only had his own astounding props, but that Cesar Romero obviously had a delightful and delicious time using them on screen. What better way, then, to celebrate the great man’s birthday than running down a larcenous list of 13 of those devilish Joker devices? — He Got a Good Belt Out of It. The Joker wasn’t laughing at always being on the receiving end of Batman’s belt—that is to say, all the Bat-gadgets in the Caped Crusader’s utility belt—and so...
Guest columnist PAUL LEVITZ pays tribute to his DC Comics leader and partner-in-crime… By PAUL LEVITZ Fifty years ago this month — Feb. 2, 1976, to be precise — an alien landed in the world of comics, and changed it forever for the better. Jenette Kahn joined DC Comics and was like nothing comics had ever seen before — fearless, an advocate of creativity, generous, and future oriented. For 25 years, as publisher and president, she was a primal force for making comics a better place. Jenette’s core beliefs in decent treatment of creative people, and her courage to expand what comics could be, led to many innovations and experiments. Some successful, some less so, but many also fondly remembered. And like any good leader, many weren’t her solo inspiration, but innovations developed by the team she led. Here are 13 such innovations: — 1. Probably the first and most important innovation Jenette created was the idea of giving creative people a stake in elements they added to existing DC-owned properties. In an era when writers and artists were reluctant to add new villains or supporting characters, this began to revitalize comics. OK, the Supermobile wasn’t a lasting triumph, but think of the Huntress, Lucius Fox, Bane, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven — all from those first few years. — 2. Dollar Comics! If newsstands are griping that comics are too cheap to be worth devoting space to, let’s give them big, fat original anthologies again. Besides putting some excitement back in the racks, they were great places to develop new talent. — 3. Reaching outside comics for advice: What would Lois Lane’s life be like? Let’s get a real star woman reporter in for a meeting. And bring in a fashion designer to make her wardrobe look right! 4. The world knows us as DC, let’s be proud of it! Change our name from the dowdy National Periodical Publications to DC Comics, get legendary designer Milton Glaser to design a modern (and amazingly enduring) DC bullet symbol and the coolest stationery a comics company ever had. — 5. The copyright law is changing, and we need written agreements with all our talent. Let’s make sure they embody fair principles, like the return of original artwork or payment if we lose it or damage it in production. 6. Oh yeah,...
