Guest Review - Batman '66 #2

   Stepping in with a Guest Review today is our pal Rusty Keele, who learned to read by pouring through Richie Rich and Casper comics during the 1970s.  These days he reviews comic books, from Golden to Modern Age, on his blog: The Comic Prospector.

   Here's his take on a classic Batman tale:

   Recently I've been watching the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold with my son.  It is really cool seeing Batman team up with several different DC heroes, and it has made one point very clear: Batman stories can be great fun!  

   Of course, not every Batman story can, or should be, so light-hearted and fun - but one comic series that definitely falls in the "fun" camp is Batman '66!  

   Chuck did a review of the first issue a few years ago, so I thought I would take a look at the second issue and see how it held up.

   This issue contains two stories. In the first one, "Emperor Penguin," the Penguin and his goons, along with Mister Freeze, have commandeered an iceberg, which they are using to block Gotham harbor.  

   Law enforcement have their hands tied because the iceberg has been declared an autonomous country!  But they Dynamic Duo use their wits and several Bat-gadgets to foil the Penguin's plans.

• Story: The writing by Jeff Parker was above par, but not outstanding. The story premise itself was kind of goofy, but the charming and endearing dialogue made for a fun read!

• Art: The art, by Batman: Gotham Adventures writer Ty Templeton, was crisp, clean and a joy to behold!  Classic characters rendered to look like their counterparts from the TV series was a super fun way to experience this story.

• Fun Factor: The art and dialogue made this story really fun to read - regardless of the run-of-the-mill storyline.

   In the backup story, "Chandell's Chanteuse," Bruce Wayne finally goes on a date! But when a nightclub singer uses her musical powers to force the male audience members to do her evil bidding, Batman struggles to figure out how to escape the enchantment of her dreamy lyrics!

• Story: This story, also by Jeff Parker, was a cut above the first one. It still had the campy dialogue, but the story premise was way more exciting and fun to read.

• Art: The art by Jonathan Case was great, and since he didn't do the colors also (like in the first issue) they weren't as visually assaulting as they were there.

• Fun Factor: This was a very fun story with witty dialogue and great art - which made for a super read!

Grade: A-

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