Holy Molars, Batman!

This past week, I had some dental issues, but thankfully no major work was required and the problem seemed to fix itself. The dentist couldn't find the actual cause of the pain I felt when I chomped into a sandwich, but he thought maybe the tooth was bruised (I'd never heard of such a thing before, but I'll defer to the expert, who also said this can heal on its own) or that there was a hidden crack. I'll have to wait and see.

Which brings me to molars, and then to Batman, more specifically the 1960's TV series. Was there ever a cooler show for kids back then? Cartoons aside (and this almost qualified as a cartoon with the colourful "Ka-pows!" that splashed across the TV screen whenever somebody landed a solid punch), there were few programs that had such broad appeal. Sure, there were the grown-up jokes which I certainly didn't understand when I was a youngster, but down on my level, Batman appealed to my sense of the silly (like parking the Batmobile and then putting change in the meter). And the totally pure-of-heart values of Adam West's Batman didn't come off as cheesy to the young me... instead, as a positive role model, he became an example of what I might aspire to as a person. Maybe not scaling skyscrapers and punching evil clowns, but at least becoming someone with a good set of morals and values. I talk a bit more about this in another post about heroes

But the deadpan delivery of such ridiculous lines was often lost on me, just a dopey kid who wanted to see the Dynamic Duo punch it up with the Joker's henchmen. The TV show was pure camp, a send-up of the much more serious characters who first appeared in the DC Comics. As a lad, I enjoyed both the Batman and Robin books and the "lone Batman" ones. DC's Detective Comics introduced Batman to the world in the May 1939 issue, and then Robin was brought on board in April 1940 - all long before my time. I wonder who could have predicted back then that these comic book crime-fighters would become such enduring characters in pop culture. 

The Dark Knight Returns briefly revived my interest in the published Batman back in the mid-80's. I was fresh out of school and in my first real job when this four-issue series hit the stands. Artist Frank Miller offered us a gritty, stylized version of Batman, Robin, and even Superman in this story arc. The books are about retired and aging Bruce Wayne dusting off his cowl and cape for another round with the bad guys. And of course, the books inspired the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, which kicked off a dark and serious reboot of the film franchise. I must admit I'm not a big fan, mainly because I just can't get over the light-hearted fun of Adam West's 60's Batman. The TV show was my childhood.... I wore a Batman T-shirt, and I play-acted the character the way Adam West did. Do kids today play-act the whispering Christian Bale's Dark Knight, a Batman of few words? He's tough, yes, but fun?

Oh, and who can forget the Batusi go-go dance of the 60's? Get down with your bad self, Caped Crusader....