Batman '66 #48 Review

Written By: Jeff Parker
Art By: Scott Kowalchuk
Cover Price: $1.99
Release Date: November 26, 2014

Batman in Papyrus

Despite DC Comics late release of a Batman zombie story, getting it on digital stands in time for Thanksgiving instead of Halloween, they managed to release quite a tale. The last issue left off with Batman & Robin facing off against King Tut's army of the undead, who had been exposed to the Osiris virus. This issue follows up on that.

As is to be expected from a Batman story (especially one in the world of Batman '66) the Dynamic Duo seemingly find themselves on the verge of death and then--spoiler alert--they seemingly come back from the dead; all while explaining what transpired. This time around, however, it seems that the antagonist of the tale, King Tut, actually has some degree of common sense as well as decency as he questions why he never stays to watch the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder die--the reason being he has too much decency. Arguably, this is the first time (at least that I've seen) where a villain flat out says "I don't have the stomach to watch these two heroes die by my own hand."



Jeff Parker continues to show (as always) why he is the scribe of the Batman '66 universe. Despite the heavy tone of this issue--the Osiris virus, zombies, the potential death of a billionaire and his ward--Parker still manages to slip in the trademark humor that one comes to expect from a Batman '66 project, given its campy origins.

Scott Kowalchuk's really grew on me this issue and almost had a retro feel to it. Based on the last few issues it seems the book is being created by a revolving carousel of artists so I am interested to see who sits at the drawing desk next issue.

One thing I particularly like in this adventure was the portrayal of the zombies of Gotham City. Normally zombies are mindless undead creatures only capable of moaning "Brains...." and limping along. While the citizens of Gotham aren't cunning linguists under their current state of mind, their brains still function enough to grab shovels and fill in a grave if need be. I liked that.

I do have to question, though, when and why Batman published a guide on Ancient Egypt...

Bits and Pieces

The Osiris Virus is a story that I maintain DC Comics published a month too late, but regardless I really enjoyed the payout. Over the course of the issue you get to see the various citizens of Gotham transformed into green undead characters and that's a lot of fun--especially when it happens to one of the Dynamic Duo's allies. Over all this was a great story and I am pumped to see what the next issue brings.

8/10