COMIC REVIEW: ‘Batman ’66’ #3

The exciting conclusion to ‘The Riddlers Ruse’ arrives!

‘Batman ’66′ #3

Cover by Mike Allred

Written by Jeff Parker

Art & Coloured by Jonathan Case

Purchase your digital copy @ Comixology now

Beware of spoilers!

Just like the old two-part stories of the first two seasons of the Batman TV show chapter 3 of ‘The Riddler’s Ruse’ picks up directly after the end of chapter 2 with the apparent destruction of the Meow-Wow-Wow club. Only as you would have expected Batman and Robin have survived thanks to a genius last minute plan by Batman.

The jumping off point in this issue is a classic reminder of why the Batman TV series was great and even in comic form it still gets me every time I read this story. The kid inside me is loving this series and after three issues I am genuinely hooked on this reincarnation.

At this stage I’m caring a lot less about the likenesses of the characters as it is clear that this comic is not only paying a strong tribute to the source material but it is actually succeeding in recreating the spirit of the series brilliantly. We even find time in this chapter to a poke a little fun at less-believable elements of the story.

In this chapter the story builds to a ludicrous conclusion in just the same way that any episode of the Batman TV series would. Batman uses a way-ahead-of-its-time 3D printer to recreate stolen artefacts and with the help of Catwoman solves the puzzle leading to the big finale fight.

As I have now come to expect from this series the big fight at the end matches the spectacle of watching Adam and Burt on screen as a child. The DC² has captions bursting out of the screen as Batman, Robin and Catwoman all slide across the panels with ease. The artwork in the final fight is brilliant and really sets this series apart from other; darker incarnations of Batman currently available.

The dialogue continues to pop and there are some brilliant Adam West-esque lines featured in this chapter particularly as events draw to a close. Jeff Parker continues to earn his stripes as the new captain of the Batman ‘66 ship and I now cannot wait for his work with Penguin coming up in the next issue.

It would appear that DC² will not be a feature of the next story so I am now intrigued as to whether the lack of visual spectacle will take away from the magic of the series. As the classic Batman voice over would say: only time will tell!

8/10