Review: Archie meets Batman '66 #1

Synopsis:

This issue opens with the Vine Vamping Villainess Poison Ivy invading the 1966 Gotham science fair. Of course the Dynamic Duo respond as Ivy hoped they would. While the battle rages for the heart of the science fair, we cut to Bookworm, whose admiring a little gem of an electronic book, which is computerized and state of the art as it’s a prototype of how books will work in the future. I love all of these varied comic book team ups and it’s about time we got Archie/Batman!

The Creative Team:

Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci have the characters down as they bring us the cheesiest of dialog from Batman’s “A magnificent feat of agricultural prowess, Ivy! I have hope you will one day use your mind for Justice.” and Robins “Holy Horticultural horrors, Batman!” I can hear Adam West and Burt Ward as I read these pages. When we get to Riverdale, we see Archie Suping up his old home-made jalopy to make it look more like the Batmobile. He loses track of time and he, along with Jughead, wind up late for school. Here the Archie gang resemble the look of 1966 Archie, to coincide with the Adam West and Burt Ward versions of the Caped Crusaders (I always thought Archie should keep one title with the classic Archie look, and it’s good to see them back in action!) Great stuff includes the Batman’s rogues gallery complaining that the news media is comparing Poison Ivy to them, as if she’d rank at their level and that same rouges gallery contemplating starting a crime wave in nearby Riverdale.

Dan Parent and J. Bone bring us the best of both worlds right down to the Joker’s make-up covered Mustache (maybe they should have thought of that with Henry Cavill”¦?) Over the top and cartoony as we would expect Batman to be and Archie fans were used to up until the recent incarnation. Highlights include The opening splash with Poison Ivy and her new…pet and the arrival of Batgirl on her motorcycle. I can hear Sugar Sugar in the background as the obligatory fight montage begins between the Bat-family and Poison Ivy with her sprouts, you heard me right, Poison Ivy recruited sprouts to engage in battle with the Gotham city protectors!

In Conclusion:

We’ve seen Archie team up with everyone from Kiss to the Punisher so it surprises me that it took this long for a Batman team up. And it’s only appropriate the gang from Riverdale team up with the 1966Â version as that version has two highly successful animated films that came out recently and it fits with the zany antics of these teen-agers. I think the modern version of Archie should team up with the current DC version of Batman too. Will Bookworm succeed in his latest robbery attempt? Will Poison Ivy ever steal Batman from Catwoman? Will Veronica find out why her father is acting so mysterious? Will Archie’s newly revamped Jalopy/Batmobile work Tune in next month…Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel! I love it. ***1/2 (8.7 rating)

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Writer – Jeff Parker, Michael Moreci
Art – Dan Parent, J. Bone
Colors – Kelley Fitzpatrick
Letters – Jack Morrelli
Publisher – Archie/DC

Author Profile

Kevin Given

Kevin Given has studied with â€œ Longridge Writers Group â€ and â€œ Writerâ€™s Boot Camp â€ a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the â€œ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter â€ franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of â€œ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter â€ # 1 and â€œ Files of Karl Vincent â€ # 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series â€œ Dracula Rising â€ (working title) and developing â€œ Foul Blood â€ into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given