Though the versions of Batman starring in the vast majority of DC Comics’ ongoing series are all dark and brooding characters, the publisher’s still keeping the spirit of Adam West’s high camp take on the Dark Knight alive in Batman ’66. And soon, Batman will have a new sidekick: Archie Andrews.
Even though Batman ’66 has shown that it can do serious stories well, the series has always been at its strongest when it’s lovingly aping that particular era of comics culture, something it will do (and then some) this July when Bruce Wayne teams up with Archie. In Archie Meets Batman ’66, written by Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci, and illustrated by Dan Parent, J. Bone and Kelly FitzPatrick, the wholesome high schooler will become the newest teenager to swing into action alongside the billionaire vigilante.
Like all of DC and Archie Comics’ recent crossover series, Archie Meets Batman ’66 will be an out-of-continuity story with the casts of both comics going head to head. Speaking to Syfy, Jeff Parker described how the sprawling cast of characters will, unsurprisingly, throw one another out of whack:
Look, we all want to know what Jughead and The Joker make of each other, and we want to see the romance dynamics of Riverdale High thrown completely out of gear by bringing in Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon. And will Pop Tate get ahead of this and start selling Bat Burgers?
It’s very cool to work with a heavy hitting team of top talent. Michael and I synched up immediately with plotting, and Dan and J. Bone are the exact right cartoonists to make a mash-up like this really work. We are all wearing matching R letterman jackets while working on this, by the way.
Though there’s a variant cover featuring Archie doing some Carrie Kelley cosplay, it’s not clear whether the teen footballer is going to become a Robin in his own right – but hey, stranger things have happened.
[Syfy]
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