"Never Judge A Bookworm By His Cover"
For three-quarters of a century the greatest Batman stories have not been about The Dark Knight. The greatest Batman stories of the last seventy-five years have been about his twisted and tragic rogues gallery. Which is one of the many reasons why the Caped Crusader has endured over all those years. A figure of the shadows, and the background, he appears when needed to thwart more colorful characters. That is truly an enduring quality.
There is one figure that has had almost as close a connection to Batman as anyone else. The late Roddy McDowell, a staple of the original, classic Planet of the Apes franchise, voiced The Mad Hatter on Batman: The Animated Series in the '90's just before his passing. Prior to that, he brilliantly voiced the novelization of the 1989 Batman film. In 1966, for a single two-part episode he was the enigmatic Bookworm. The Bookworm is an interesting character; part Riddler, part Superboy-Prime. He was a frustrated writer who turned to crime. That sounds very close to fanboys who become frustrated and turn to snark on internet forums. Apparently he made the crossover to the main DCU, encountered The Huntress and was killed off.
Here in the sixth issue of Batman '66, The Bookworm returns courtesy of Tom Peyer, Ty "The Guy" Templeton, colorist Tony Avina and Wes Abbott. Peyer's script it wit from the get-go! Bruce Wayne, chair of the Gotham Chamber of Currency, has invited Robin, The Boy Wonder to be guest speaker at their tri-weekly meeting. He delivers a groovy message on literacy as Bruce, Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara among other members and the press listen. The Bookworm is one of the photographers, and he steals the Chambers oversized checkbook, used for photo-op check presentations. Which leads to cancelling all charity checks that have been presented. "The Conqueror Bookworm" is a ripping good yarn, full of fun twists and turns as the Dynamic Duo match wits with The Bookworm. Parker's script is full of brilliant puns, like The Bookworm stealing the Gotham Police Department manuals, leaving them unable to operate - (wait for it) by the book! His ultimate goal is to outwit The Bright Knight through the vast compendium he is assembling, his book of Batman! Batman brilliantly bashes Bookworm's blueprint!
The back-up story, "Queen of Cossacks", finds Batman and Robin on the outskirts of Gotham sometime later, during winter, encountering a love-struck Olga. Parker's script, with art by Ted Naifeh is a follow-up to the Dynamic Duo's Egghead encounter. Olga and her men surround Batman and Robin with bears in an attempt to persuade The Bright Knight into becoming Olga's new mate, a King of Cossacks. The bears are meant as incentive. The Dynamic Duo barely survive the encounter!
An interesting aside in this story is that an occult book arrives at Gotham Library where Barbara Gordon works. It should be interesting indeed to see how the tale of that tome plays out in future issues.
Serious comic books can be truly exhausting. What with the drama and the angst and such. Fun, wacky comics are energizing. For all the criticism of the '66 live action Batman series, it is as enduring as The Dark Knight himself. Adam West stands on top of every poll of the best actors to play Batman. If not on top, then certainly an honorable mention as a pioneer. The series was silly and campy. It was a reflection of Batman comic books of the time; the '50's and '60's. It is great to see The Bright Knight return and carve out a spot beside The Dark Knight. One hopes that alongside rogues like The Bookworm and Olga, characters like Harvey Dent's Two-Face will make their eventual appearance.