REVIEW: BATMAN ’66 MEETS WONDER WOMAN ’77 Chapter 1

Adam, meet Lynda. Lynda, meet Adam.

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During the New York Comic Con media roundtable with Adam West about the new animated movie (click here), the once and future Caped Crusader told us that an announcement was coming that would blow us away.

A sequel was obvious, but West suggested that it was much more than that. Turned out the big reveal was that William Shatner would co-star in the sequel as Two-Face.

But after West left the table, those of us still there speculated it was something else entirely — that there would be a sequel, but it would be Batman ’66 Meets Wonder Woman ’77.

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Turns out we were half-right: Yes, that pairing was coming, but instead it was to be a comic book, the latest team-up miniseries featuring the Dynamic Duo, following the Green Hornet, the Man From UNCLE and Steed & Mrs. Peel (nee The Avengers).

Well, Chapter 1 of the digital-first series is out today. So how good is this awesome alliance that was decades in the making … ?

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Mike Allred

It’s promising.

Co-writers Jeff Parker, who’s been involved in the Batman ’66 comic from the start, and Marc Andreyko, who’s been writing Wonder Woman ’77 from the get-go, are certainly two of the right people for this project. It’s just that this 10-page installment is less whiz-bang than what I’ve grown accustomed to from these comics. It’s almost completely exposition and set-up.

Then again, maybe it’s because I usually read these in print and those issues collect multiple chapters. (Issue #1 will be in print in January). I’m just used to getting more.

Either way, it was a pretty straightforward beginning. SPOILERS AHEAD:

Alex Ross' variant for the print edition Issue #1

Alex Ross’ variant for the print edition Issue #1

Catwoman (this time, it’s Eartha Kitt) steals a mysterious book at the behest of Talia, never before seen in the ’66-verse. Catwoman gets caught, Talia gets away.

Then we get a flashback to when Bruce was a boy during World War IIRa’s al Ghul and young Talia show up at a Wayne Manor charity auction — with the book up for bid along with a second volume. Three members of the U.S. military also arrive: Steve Trevor, Etta Candy and Diana Prince. Next thing you know, there are Nazis and Miss Prince slips away and starts to spin in a circle…

All perfectly fine and good and well rendered by David Hahn, Karl Kesel and Madpencil, the team on Batman ’66 Meets the Man From UNCLE. It’s just that we haven’t seen much yet of the inherent personalities of either show.

But these creators are all pros who understand their subject matter, so I’m confident that the elements fans want in this story will be there when all is said and done.

And for a taste of what I want from this series? Check out 13 THINGS That Have to Happen in BATMAN ’66 MEETS WONDER WOMAN ’77. Click here.

(Oh, and if you were wondering whether Ra’s was drawn like Christopher Lee, I’d say kinda-sorta but maybe because I’m projecting my wishes. Talia drawn like Caroline Munro? No. Oh, well.)

Art by Neal Adams

Munro on the left. Art by Neal Adams on the right.

The first chapter is available for download via the DC Comics App, Readdcentertainment.com, iBooks, comiXology.com, Google Play, Kindle Store, Nook Store, and iVerse ComicsPlus.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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