Top of the Queue: Holy variety, Batman! Dark Knight's library expands

Jane Burns  —  8/22/2008 12:36 pm

Every generation has its own Batman.

For some, he's colorful and heroic. For others, he's dark and brooding. For many more, he's hokey, not in that good a shape and punches out goofy bad guys with a visible "POW!"

For Batman fans today, there's a treasure trove of ways to follow the adventures of the Caped Crusader.

In the past two weeks alone, there have been two new DVDs out in anticipation of the release of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," which comes to theaters on Friday, July 18. One offering is the fifth and final series of

"The Batman," the WB/CW show aimed more at kids. Comic book purists seem none too fond of it, if opinions on the Web are to be believed.

The other new release comes with much more fanfare.

"Batman Gotham Knight," a collection of six original Batman aminated shorts, premiered at the Wizard World comic book convention in Chicago on June 28 and should be much more to the liking of, shall we say, more knowledgable fans.

"Gotham Knight" is the first DC animated film that ties in with the Batman film projects. The straight-to-DVD release is designed to be the bridge between 2005's

"Batman Begins," which starred Christian Bale, and the forthcoming "Dark Knight." The single disc retails for $19.95, a two-disc set with more extras sells for $29.98 and the Blu-ray disc sells for $34.99.

The "bridge" is a curious hook, because the six stories in "Gotham Knight" don't do much to advance the Batman story. But it's how those stories are told that will likely intrigue fans of Batman and animation.

Each 12-minute short was written by a Hollywood screenwriter (including David Goyer of "Batman Begins" and Josh Olson of "A History of Violence") and created in the style of Japanese anime. This one isn't cute and cuddly or for the youngsters; it's rated PG-13.

If cute is what you want, you just have to go back in time. The Batman story has been a popular one since he made his comic book debut in 1939. Four years later, he hit the big screen in a collection of black and white serials that make up a two-DVD set packaged as "Batman: The 1943 Serial Collection."

But the version that launched the Caped Crusader into superstardom was the 1966-68 TV series that probably still makes purists cringe. Due to legal wrangling -- "Holy bureaucracy, Batman!" -- that campy, star-studded series has yet to make it to DVD. Which is a shame, because it's chock full of in-jokes (director Otto Preminger guest-starring as Mr. Freeze?) that young viewers probably didn't pick up on the first time around.

At least there's the 1966 movie version to please those looking for nostalgia. After the first TV series season was done, the whole cast headed back to the studio to make a full-length feature to help launch the show overseas.

"Batman: The Movie," starring the inimitable Adam West and Burt Ward, has all the features of the series -- the cool car, the classic criminals and the punches that come with "POW!" or a "THWACK!" It's been on DVD for a while, but made its Blu-Ray debut last week.

At 105 minutes, the movie seems to drag out a concept that worked better in half-hour episodes, but the bigger budget allowed for even cooler toys like the Batcopter, the Batboat and the Batcycle. After all, the gadgets were half the fun of this "Batman," and an extra on this DVD tells everything you'd want to know about the most famous car in the world, the Batmobile.

West and Ward had dibs on the live-action Batman and Robin for quite some time, with only Saturday morning cartoons (including "Scooby-Doo Meets Batman") filling the gap until Tim Burton brought the series back to the big screen with 1989's "Batman," starring Michael Keaton.

This franchise has had its share of success and stars -- Val Kilmer, George Clooney as good guys, Jack Nicholson and Arnold Schwarzenegger as bad guys -- but never had a solid hold on the characters.

"Batman: The Animated Series" brought a new dimension to the story and characters when it debuted in 1992. Like the 1966 series, it was shown in prime-time but eventually moved to the after-school daytime hours. It won a variety of Daytime Emmys, including Best Animated Program in 1993.

This stylish series was dubbed "Dark Deco," for its use of dark backgrounds and Art Deco design. A follow-up 1993 big-screen version "Mask of the Phantasm" opened to generally favorable reviews, but tanked at the box office.

So really, Batman fans have their pick of the kind of hero they want. Me, I'll join the legions waiting for that old '60s series on DVD. I'm still curious which jokes went "SWOOSH!" right over my head.

Jane Burns  —  8/22/2008 12:36 pm