Batman '66 Omnibus
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: August 8, 2018

Synopsis: Put on your go-go boots and get ready to 'Batusi' as DC Comics reimagines the classic Batman TV show with the Batman '66 omnibus release! In these tales, collecting the entire Batman '66 comic series by DC, the Dynamic Duo takes on the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, the Mad Hatter, The Joker and more of the world's most colorful Bat-villains! And in Batman '66: The Lost Episode #1, an outline from the original TV series featuring Two-Face is adapted to comics for the first time! Batman '66 Omnibus collects Batman '66 #1-30, Batman '66: The Lost Episode #1 and a story from Solo #7.

Cover artwork and promotional imagery

Batman' 66 Omnibus Review
By James Harvey

Continuing the adventures of the Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder from the acclaimed 1960s live-action Batman TV series, the Batman '66 DC Comics title nails the tone of the beloved show while expanding the world in some fairly bold and brave ways. Without the constraints of a television budget, Batman '66 lets our heroes cut loose with epic-scaled adventures with surprising appearances by some new and familiar faces from around Gotham and the DC Universe! Suffice it to say, you haven't seen The Bright Knight quite like this as the Batman '66 Omnibus delivers in nearly every conceivable way!

Launched in 2013, Batman '66 drew instant acclaim and started a long, healthy run on comic shelves. On top of the main series' 30 issues, there was also a wealth of special crossovers and one-shots published throughout the comics' stint. The last Batman '66 comic, a crossover with Archie, was released in 2019, a year after the release of this very omnibus collection. 

To get it out the way, the Batman '66 Omnibus doesn't include every Batman '66 comic published by DC Comics. The main series and a couple special tales are collected within, but none of the Batman '66 crossover titles unfortunately made the cut, and of those there were quite a few. Despite that little hiccup, the Batman '66 Omnibus is still a strong and hefty collection.

Diving into the actual Batman '66 comic and, from the very first page, it's clear the series is not just a love letter to the beloved live-action 1960s show, but a brilliant expansion of that world. Writer Jeff Parker, along with Tom Peyer, Gabe Soria, Lee Allred and Len Wein, and a huge roster of impressive artists, do phenomenal work in adapting the unique and very specific tone of the series to the comic book page. The dialogue, the traps, the humorously bizarre situations, all of it clicks as you'd expect it to.

From the first page it's clear that Batman '66 has totally embraced the wacky and colorful world of the live-action Batman, right down to recreating Adam West's very specific tone and delivery. And what makes this such a delight is that none of this is done in a derisive or mocking way. Whether it's Batman and his fellow crime-fighters making hilariously illogical leaps in logic, or Batman correcting his young ward, and so on, it's played just as earnestly as the series.

Not once is there a smidge of embarrassment or meta-jokes at the expense of the 1960s series, but instead the entire Batman '66 comic is an out-and-out love letter to its inspiration. Yes, it's campy and goofy and all that, but that's never held against it. Instead, Batman '66 absolutely and rightfully revels in it and never looks back.

The artwork follows suit, embracing the show's pop-art look with unabashed sincerity. There's an impressive amount of talent here in the Batman '66 Omnibus roster, including Michael Allred, Jonathan Case, Ty Templeton, Joe Quinones, Sandy Jarrell, Ruben Procopio and Colleen Coover, among others. Working in tandem with the book's colorists, the book bounces with a pop-art look, and looks bright and vivid, with the colors in most included issues even mimicking the look of an old 1960s TV set.

With such an impressive array of talent, it's no surprise that, from cover to cover, the Batman' 66 Omnibus is a fun, delightful read. Every page feels palpably exciting, which makes the book - even one as massive as this - hard to put down. It's an infectious read, even with the huge amount of Batman comics released each month, that really stands out among DC Comics' many, many Bat-centric titles.

Select covers from Batman '66

It also doesn't hurt that Batman '66 does more than just recreate the show's aesthetic and tone, but uses the comic book format to really build and create this almost idealized version of the series. Without the worries of budgets and technology limitations, Batman '66 takes these characters to some pretty far out places, but always keeping it within the tone of the original TV series. The scale of the adventures here explode, with Batman heading across the globe, among other places the TV show itself could never take these characters to.

The Batman '66 comic series delightfully builds upon the foundation set in the live-action show, bringing back regular foes seen on the show plus a host of new faces. Not only does this book adapt an unused script for Harlan Ellison introducing Two-Face into the series, with a knock-out creative team of Len Wein and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, but brings in major recent additions to the mythos and gives them a 1960s-inspired makeover.

Batman '66 not only gives us some of the show's staple baddies - The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman, Egghead, King Tut and others - but also makes some surprising additions to the villain line-up. Bane, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Clayface and even Lord Death Man face off against Caped Crusaders during the course of Batman '66, adding some genuinely surprising moments to the comic book and elevating it to something more than just a simple tie-in title. As a nice added touch, we actually see the progression of some of them from simple background and side characters to full-on foes.

It doesn't stop there as, in Batman '66's final issue, the comic actually creates a story based around the live-action show's infamous opening credits. It's an absolutely ingenious take and a pitch-perfect note to end the main comic title on, and it gives the book's creative teams one last chance to show their unabashed love for the Adam West Batman series.

While the quality can vary a little from issue to issue, as with any comic, what's included in the Batman '66 Omnibus collection is some of the best, most enjoyable Bat-centric stories in recent years. Unfortunately, while the omnibus does include the entirety of the main Batman '66 comic title, none of the assorted Batman '66 crossovers and specials are included here, which is somewhat disappointing though understandable given these stories were printed outside of the main title's run.

So, which specific titles aren't included in the Batman '66 Omnibus? That would be Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet #1-6, Batman '66 Meets the Man from U.N.C.L.E. #1-6, Batman '66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel #1-6,Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 #1-6, Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes #1 and Archie Meets Batman '66 #1-6. These comics were spun off from the main Batman '66 series during its run, with the Archie crossover released a year or so after it wrapped. 

While the inter-company crossovers were understandably left out, it's a little baffling the Batman '66 Meets Wonder Woman '77 and Batman '66 Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes crossovers weren't included. The Wonder Woman '77 crossover takes the Caped Crusaders into the 70s, with Robin finally growing into his own hero, while the Legion of Super-Heroes adventure takes our heroes far into the future where they get to see the impact of their crime-fighting exploits. Both are sharp reads that give readers a peak into Batman '66's future and nicely bookend the comic adventures of Adam West's Batman. It's a minor oversight, but hopefully all these crossovers will all be collected together down the road.

Still, that shouldn't be held against this Batman '66 Omnibus collection, becuase what's here is golden. Nearly every story is a knock-out, with weaker installments still plenty enjoyable. The book's sustained quality during its run is impressive, and it's ability to use the comic book format to let this wacky world evolve into something more than just simple "inspired-by" stories, legitimately growing the world established in Batman, makes this an endlessly joyful experience.

A delightful read featuring some of comicdom's best creators, Batman '66 Omnibus lovingly returns us to the fabulous world of the classic live-action Batman TV series while taking the characters to some pretty big places they otherwise would never be able to. For fans of the 1960s series, purchasing the Batman '66 Omnibus collection is a no-brainer. A gleeful reading experience page-after-page, it not only scratches that itch for more adventures starring the Bright Knight, but gives us a four-color take on Batman like no other! Must Own!

Select pages from Batman '66

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