Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet #4 Review

Written by: Ralph Garman and Kevin Smith
Art by: Ty Templeton
Cover Price: $1.99
Release Date: July 2, 2014

The Heroes Fight Back

I was down on this book when it first started, but I have been warming up to it.  Maybe I expected too much from Garman and Smith right off the bat because each issue is getting better and better.  A warning to new readers, this is not a Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman book with Batman in it,  it is a Batman '66 book written by Garman and Smith.  The two of them (especially Garman) respect the material too much to make it otherwise.  This issue continues the upward swing by giving the most "TV Ready" script of the series and some of the best use of the motion comic medium  I've ever seen.



Last issue ended with a great cliffhanger.  If you haven't read it, do so now or proceed into Spoilerville.  General Gumm has teamed up with the Joker and this issue reveals that the fossil caper was only to prove his worth to the Clown Prince of Crime.  Gumm may feel disrespected, but when he tells Joker about killing Batman and Robin and the Green Hornet and Kato he gets a little more respect.  Of course the reader knows different.

The two groups of heroes search for Gumm's hideout and it's so good.  Garman and Smith show the similarities and little differences in the two teams.  They both figure it out (of course) and get there at the same time.  An awesome fight breaks out, but ends in an appropriate cliffhanger.

Garman and Smith continue to show they know these characters.  They nail the voices of everyone involved from Batman to the narrator.  I've mentioned before in my reviews of Batman '66 that when it's done right you can hear the voices in your head.  Adam West, Burt Ward, William Dozier...I heard them all while reading this issue.

Ty Templeton has outdone himself this issue.  This book has looked good up to now, but this issue is awesome.  It's not just the art, though.  Like I said above, this is one of the best uses of the motion comic I've seen.  It is not just a mere gimmick, but makes it so much better.

Bits and Pieces:

Batman '66 Meets Green Hornet #4 is another good issue.  Garman and Smith know the characters and put them in situations that could be from a lost episode.  Ty Templeton's art is awesome and the motion comic aspect makes it even better.  This series is getting better and better as it progresses.  Highly Recommended.

9.1/10