Fan Art: Caped Crusaders

In January 1966, a new TV series debuted on ABC. Aired two nights a week, it was an instant hit...but the bloom was off by the end of its second season. The third season ran only one night a week...and then the series was not renewed.

The program, of course, was Batman.

Immediate reaction among comics fans was split; some loved it for its sense of fun, others reviled it for the same reason. Batman became the premiere character at DC Comics, outshining his sometimes partner, Superman. They found a way to put Batman on every cover they could think of. He became the permanent star of the team-up book The Brave and the Bold.

But when the show ended, even Batman's hold on the print audience faded. A re-modeling was in order from the camp, humorous style of the show, and he became not the Caped Crusader, but the Dark Knight. By the time of the 1989 movie starring Michael Keaton, the change was complete...and the more recent movies have taken it even farther.

But the influence of the TV series remains, even more than 50 years later. The series revived a number of otherwise forgotten Batman foes, most notably the Riddler and Mister Freeze (who, until the TV show, was known as Mister Zero in the comics). Julie Newmar's version of Catwoman is the model for every depiction since. And those, like me, who have grown tired of the unrelenting pessimism and grim style of the current Batman, point back to the TV series as a way to lighten the mood, to have a Batman who at least smiles some of the time.

So, here's my tribute to the show that helped bring comic books into the public consciousness once more.