The Grooviest ROBIN Story in Years Is a Candy Ad

ROBIN WEEK: Shades of the Hostess advertisements of the ’70s and ’80…

Welcome to ROBIN WEEK! One of the greatest heroes in comics history debuted 80 years ago this month — and we’re celebrating with a series of features saluting the Boys, Girls and Teens Wonder. For the complete index of features, click here.

I love Robin. There might not be a ROBIN WEEK if I didn’t.

Thing is, a good Robin story is hard to come by these days. This isn’t an anti-Damian thing. Quite the opposite: I think he’s the second-best Robin.

It’s just that DC just isn’t publishing many Robin solo stories — or even Batman and Robin team-ups these days. Instead, he’s primarily in Teen Titans, with an ocasional guest appearance here and there.

So I was absolutely delighted by Snickers’ ad campaign celebrating the 80th anniversary of Batman last year. There was a Golden Age tribute and a Silver Age homage but the best of them was a two-pager that set Batman, Robin and Batgirl firmly in the Disco-era Bronze Age.

The tale had such the right vibe — focusing as it does on Robin and Batgirl — that it was like finding a lost short story from Batman Family.

Dig it:

Now, it turns out the artist of the piece was Graham Nolan, who made his Batbones in the ’90s but who also has a healthy appreciation for Bathistory.

“The Bronze Age comics are what I grew up on,” Nolan told me. “It’s also my favorite period for Batman. Researching the Disco clothes was a blast!”

Well he certainly nailed it — especially that final panel with Batgirl and Robin grooving like Tony and Stephanie on the dance floor.

Anyway, what I love about these Snickers ads is that they also work as homages to the classic Hostess advertisements from the same period — and you can click here to check out 13 GROOVY BRONZE AGE DC COMICS HOSTESS ADS.

MORE

— The ROBIN WEEK Index of Features. Click here.

— The TOP 13 ROBIN COSTUMES Ever — RANKED. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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4 Comments

  1. I love this. I was a big fan of Graham Nolan and Chuck Dixon’s run on Detective, as well as the Batman Family/Detective Comics Dollar Comic run!

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  2. Obviously this Batman has never seen the dance moves of his Adam West TV Batman counterpart based on his last statement to Robin above.

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  3. Holy Hunger Pangs! I remember this! Looking at it from 2022, I kept hoping Clayface would morph into Betty White! (“Have a Snickers, Clayface, you’re not you when you’re hungry.” CLAYFACE: “I’m never me!”) Seriously, thanks!

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