With
much apologies to Bob Kane and all of the awesome artists that have
drawn the Batman over the years, here is my quickie version. I
always enjoyed the Batman comics when I was a young dude. I would go
over and over them and copy the different styles. I was never the
action comics type though. What really got me hooked on the Bat was
the 1960’s television show with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward
as Robin. What an eclectic cast that show had. Julie Newmar , and
Eartha Kitt as the Catwoman, that was a little confusing when they switched actresses but, it worked. Burgess Meredith as the Penguin,Cesar Romero as the Joker, Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze, and the
multi-talented Frank Gorshin as the Riddler. I think that most people
would remember Frank from the classic Trek episode in which he was
one of the antagonists in a bizarre racial war that persisted until
only two were left and those two were intent on destroying each
other, ‘Let That Be Your Last Battlefield’ is the title if you
want to see a clip online. Frank was also an impressionist, along the
lines of Rich Little and Jim Carrey in his early career.
There
are many new versions of Batman. The Batman movies started with Tim
Burton in the late 1980’s and continues today in big budget
blockbusters with CG effects. There have been many actors to portray
the Bat but, in my opinion, none have been equal to Adam West, whom
seemed to really enjoy doing all that goofy stuff in front of
millions on television every week.
I
continued to watch Batman episodes when they were shown in
syndication. It ran on the air for a long time. Much like ‘Gilligan’s
Island’ and ‘The Munsters’, ‘Batman’ was always on the box
somewhere. It became like an old friend in my teenage and early adult
years. Though now, it is considered very campy and corny, Batman
always reminds me of how seriously I took the show in my early youth.
Before the cynical teenage years took hold.
Of
course, that television Batmobile was really cool too!
