After the successful adaption of “The City on the Edge of Forever” by IDW, another Harlan Ellison script has found its way to publication. This time Len Wein and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez give life to an unused “Batman ’66” script that brings Harvey Dent into the fold. Should this script have remained unused is the question.
Written by Len Wein & Harlan Ellison
Illustrated José Luis García-LópezDuring the original Batman television series run, legendary science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison turned in an outline for a story that would have introduced Two-Face. The story never made it to air, and Two-Face never entered the TV show’s Rogues Gallery. Now, “The Two-Way Crimes of Two-Face” is adapted to comics by two comic book legends: writer Len Wein and artist José Luis Garcia-Lopez. Also included in this special edition are Ellison’s original prose story outline and the complete, original pencils by Garcia-Lopez.
I really like “Batman ’66”. The television show is one of the first things that ever exposed me to comics and the digital first series is a quirky book that is always good for a few laughs. The thing about the comic series is that it’s a way to continue the show by giving reader stories that would have easily worked as episodes. This of course creates a big problem. It is pretty much impossible to introduce new characters into the world. That changed when DC announced that they would adapt and unused treatment by Harlan Ellison that introduced Harvey Dent to the show. It took 40 or so years to happen but we finally get to see the Adam West version of Batman go toe to toe with the one and only Two Face.
The plot is simple, as it always is in this series (good thing). Harvey Dent is a former district attorney who has acid thrown on him scarring half of his face. This causes him to have a mental breakdown of sorts and go down the path of villainy. Batman and Robin are chasing him all over Gotham City because in this world his main crime is robbery. He flips a coin to decide if he’ll steal the items or give them back.
This issue is adapted from Ellison’s television treatment so while the framework was there, writer Len Wein had quite a bit of work cut out for him. He was tasked with not only staying with the already created story but also staying within the tone and style of the entire series. While this isn’t the goofiest “Batman ’66” story it still feels like it belongs with the rest of the series. Wein writes in some solid Robin “Holy Batman” lines that got a nice chuckle from me. The plot, while simple, is still compelling enough to carry the entire book. As it is a bit longer than a typical issue, Wein gets to play around a little more and we get character development that we don’t typically see.
That character development, more than anything, stuck out the most. This isn’t “The Dark Knight Returns” dark but it’s a little darker than what we usually get from this series. Just reading Harvey Dent’s story is upsetting. While this still fits in well with “Batman ’66” most of the lines are not jokes. It’s full of exposition, detective work and this actually feeling of dread. It creeps up on you but doesn’t get too overbearing. It’s those moments of lightness that make it fun again and distracts you from the darker undertones. It’s a nice balance that works here but isn’t something I’d like to see going forward as the new norm. I liked it here in a self contained story but I wouldn’t want the whole series to lose it’s zany aspect.
The art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is a little bit of a mixed bag. Mostly because I don’t think what he did was bad but it may not have been the proper style to bring to this comic book. Garcia-Lopez does a really nice job visually. This is a very pretty book from the backgrounds to the way characters look while in motion. The design of Two Face is very good but compared to the rest of the main cast looking like real life people (the actors), he kind of sticks out a bit too much. It’s like watching Adam West and Burt Ward enter a comic book. It almost looks like two things happening at once which was a little weird. “Batman ’66: The Lost Episode” comes off a little too serious for “Batman ’66”. I look for a more Saturday morning cartoon visual with this series. Something with extra bright colors and more cartoony expressions. Garcia-Lopez created a beautiful book but not quite “Batman ’66” enough for me.
Continued belowThe price point is also a big problem. I have a hard time understanding the $9.99 price tag. The story is fine, nothing spectacular and the extras are okay. It depends on the reader. After the full story there’s an “unwrapped” section that features Garcia-Lopez’ pencils. For anyone who truly appreciates art this is a nice addition. I liked looking at it but I’m not an art expert or artist so I can’t say I needed to have it. The original treatment by Ellison is included as well and that’s another cool bonus but not totally necessary.
“Batman ’66: The Lost Episode” #1 is a nice story that brings a lost script to life. For the most part it stays true to what the comic series has been since it began. If the cover price weren’t so high I would suggest this to everyone but unfortunately I think the only people who will be willing to shell out $9.99 for this are the “Batman ’66” die hards and even then it’s a stretch.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – “Batman ’66” fans will be able to find something to enjoy here but $9.99 is definitely not justifiable.
