Gotham City meets Riverdale in this crossover graphic novel that brings together some of the most iconic characters in comics and television!
Two iconic comic book characters meet up for the FIRST TIME in this historic crossover mini-series! A battle in Gotham City extends its reach into Riverdale--with Mr. Lodge becoming enemy #1 of the dynamic duo! Now it's up to Veronica to recruit some help and place a call... to the Batcave!
Tired of being defeated by Batman, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman set their sights on a new target: Riverdale! Will Batman, Robin, and Batgirl be able to stop the United Underworld when the town's entire adult population is in the thrall of those malicious malefactors?
When I saw this being solicited, I knew I'd have to read it at some point. Batman '66 is tons of fun and I loved Archie vs Predator. Totally worth it.
Archie Meets Batman '66 starts simply enough. Batman and Robin are battling Poison Ivy and her Snapdragon while The Bookworm and Footnote are plotting to steal the world's first electronic book. Poison Ivy's inevitable defeat provides Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman with the spark they need to pull up stakes and move somewhere else, a town with no criminal elements whatsoever, the town of Riverdale!
Dick and Barbara go undercover in Riverdale and the usual teenage hijinks ensue. Circe the Siren is a nice foil to use, her siren song being the main part of the plot. Wasn't she a Wonder Woman villain originally? The writing captures the spirit of Batman '66 very well, not surprising since Jeff Parker has been writing the caped crusader for something like 10 years at this point. There is a lot of humor, poking fun at both Batman and Archie. "How many classes does that crone teach?" was one of my favorites.
The art is a nice mix of Archie style and silver age DC. The Archie characters look great. The girls even have some curves. I love that Dan Parent even took the time to drawn in Cesar Romero's mustache under the Joker makeup. He also did a better job capturing the likeness of the actors than some other Batman '66 artists.
From a pure fun standpoint, Archie Meets Batman '66 is hard to top. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I'm not dipping too deeply into this series. Mash-ups like this remind me of the gimmicky Pride and Prejudice and Zombies book series. I'm just reading this volume because 1) I had been reading other silly comics mashups, such as the Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman, you know, just for yuks, and 2) I had read the first in the Batman '66 series. So Parker's tapping into some goofy vein that does not require him going down the Dark Tunnel he seems to think comics have gone off track on. He just wants to have fun, and he does. So it's perfect in a way that he begins his travels down Route 66 (versus Route 666, which is the one you travel if you are, say, Alan Moore or Christopher Nolan) by reinventing Adam West's campy version of Batman in Batman '66. He does other mash-ups, too: Green Lantern, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Parker loves him some sixties pop culture, and so did I. As Parker sees comics, they are escapist, they are fun, stop trying to create Crime and Punishment in your comics!
So, for Parker's purposes it is perfect (yes, that's alliteration, kids, POW!) to have him and his team meet and greet Adam West's campy Batman with Archie of the sixties on Route 66, more superficial fun. How does this come about? Well, they don't seem to have an adequate police force in Riverdale, YIKES, so Batman comes to save the day, POW! Nothing happens here, I have already forgotten it, but Parker recreates the look and feel of Archie comics (I read them religiously as they came out in those days) and I kinda liked going down that route with him, but I am going to take out my deadly Dark Knight for a few minutes, here. Fun fluff, Archie Meets Batman '66; it does what it set out to do. Fun enough.
I like most of what Jeff Parker has done with Batman '66, but this was a dud. In typical Archie fashion, nothing happens. The basic premise is that Batman's rogues decide to go to Riverdale because there aren't any crime fighters there. I did like that Parker used some of the villains created just for the TV show like The Siren (played by Joan Collins if you can believe that) and The Bookworm. It did crack me up that Dan Parent drew the Joker with his makeup covered mustache. Unfortunately, this was more 60's Archie than Batman '66. The jokes fell really flat and most of the book is just characters standing about talking. It's missing the fun and campiness of the Batman TV show. The best part was the Michael Allred covers.
Frustratingly dull with very little of anything. When looking at the title, you assume that you're in for something silly and fun, and you certainly get silly, but the fun never appears. It does nothing to make you want to finish it, instead cruising along with jokes that don't land and a plot that offers nothing of substance. It also does the ultimate sin of endless dialogue without progression, making each page a chore to get through. Boring, mostly unfunny and overall bland, I've had a better time watching the Riverdale Musical Episodes, and that's an extremely low bar when it comes to entertainment.
Every now and again I go and read a graphic novel and I have a few favorite series and the Archie comics have always been a strong favorite of mine. Even more so now that the TV series Riverdale has been on Netflix, it reignited my love of Archie comics but when I was 9-10 years old I first discovered Archie comics from the second-hand bookshop. This one grabbed my attention with the Batman crossover as I am also a big DC fan. The villains of Gotham have invaded Riverdale and want to make it their own town. Needing help to reach an outsider, Veronica heads to Dilton Dooley and using his radio frequencies he manages to get the channel for the BatCave and soon Batman and his team of Robin and Batgirl come to save Riverdale along with the help of Archie and his friends. Can they save the town of Riverdale before the Villians decide to recruit their friends as the Villians of Gotham have their eyes on Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. Archie Meets Batman "66" was a fun read for those who are not only fans of the classic Archie Comics but also love a bit of superhero in their lives and like most graphic novels – this was a quick read.
This was such a fun read! Great artwork, good story, and lots of campy antics. Loved that the villains included Bookworm and Footnote! They weren’t in the story much but I’m hoping they’ll reappear in future volumes.
“Yeah bro, I read. I read like crazy actually. My favorite book? Damn, it’s gotta be the mf uhhhhh Archie x Batman ‘66 collab. Yeah, that shit is FIRE. Fucking Jughead can’t eat hamburgers and he almost becomes braindead lmao”
It’s 1.5 stars. I don’t know how I got this, when I got this, or where I got this. It’s been sitting in my bookshelf forever. I grew up reading Archie comics and Batman is probably my favorite superhero. But this is nothing other than a quick gimmick, just like all the other Archie crossovers (there’s one with Kiss). I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t brought back to my childhood reading this (Jughead easily the best character, don’t @ me). But nothing actually happens and you can call everything from the beginning. Nobody gets hurt, there aren’t any real stakes, and it mostly consists of dialogue. However, the book itself is gorgeous. I found the actual art of the story to be a bit dull but the cover art for each chapter is beautiful. I loved the ending with all the alternative covers from various artists. Clearly they had a blast making them. But also, there’s more plot involving teens falling in love with Gotham residents than actual action. Not a joke. Everyone finds everyone hot, ESPECIALLY if they’re rich. But yeah, it’s Archie. It’s the pinnacle of literature.
A retro crossover between two endearingly goofy franchises since eclipsed by their grim'n'gritty reworkings. Just imagine a more modern version, with Christian Bale in Riverdale – I suppose it would at least rhyme nicely. Actually, given the way they cast former teen stars as the grown-ups, I suppose the new lad could play nicely into that, given his time at the sparkly vampire coalface. Ooops, I think I've won myself around. ANYWAY, this version is jolly enough, though perhaps a little stiff in places, a little reluctant ever to let the smiles slip even for a moment, so that Jughead in particular tends still to be grinning even when mild peril looms. But the premise does make a surprising amount of sense, with the Cesar Romero Joker et al realising that maybe their crimes would be less readily foiled were they committed somewhere other than Gotham.
Catwoman! Joker! Penguin! Riddler! That’s right the United Underworld wants to take over Riverdale. And they’re bringing Siren along for the ride to mind-control everyone in town. Archie and gang are up against the worst Gotham City has to throw at them, but with the help of Batman, Robin and Batgirl, how bad could things get. Well … pretty dire indeed. Also includes appearances by Bookworm (yay! Roddy McDowall!) and Poison Ivy. There are some anachronisms, but the story is fun and in many ways feels like the original Batman TV series.
So much fun from the beginning to the end. Everything works perfectly! Loved seeing all the villains, would love to see more in another volume (King Tut especially.) Fun for fans of either, and of course especially for fans of both!
It was a fun little team up between the two series. I think this might have been stretching the ability for an effective team up, as neither one felt completely true to the source material, but it was still a fun little read for what it was.
The combined forces of the Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman descend on Riverdale in their bid to take over the world. Figuring that Batman is the reason they can't conquer Gotham City, the villains of the United Underworld embark in their most devious caper yet in Archie Andrews' backyard! Aided by the enchanting songs of the Siren, the fiends manage to enslave the adults of Riverdale. But for some reason, the lyrics just don't affect the teenage population.
With the Bookworm on the loose in Gotham, Batman can't afford to leave the big city. So the Caped Crusader sends Robin and Batgirl in his place. Meet Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon, the newest students of Riverdale High School. Along with Archie and his gang, these young heroes may be the last line of defense between 4 of Batman's most deadliest enemies and the fate of the free world!
Regular Batman '66 writer Jeff Parker pens this swinging 60s era crossover. There's a lot of the magic of that monthly series in this book. But of the Batman '66 crossovers, this is probably my least favorite. The other team-ups made by the Dynamic Duo involved other live action characters like the Green Hornet and the Man from UNCLE. Those stories felt like natural progressions of the TV show. Having Batman, Robin and the rest interact with the Archie gang felt more like those Scooby-Doo cartoon crossovers from the 70s.
The artwork by Dan Parent was superior as ever. The definitive modern era Archie artist proves that he's got the chops to tackle the Batman '66 universe. And then there's the covers! A half-dozen regular cover masterpieces from Michael Allred (Madman). Plus, there are literally dozens of variant covers by many amazing artists such as Joe Giella, Jerry Ordway and Art Baltazar.
I must make one giant complaint. There's a great Batman '66/Archie connection that would have made a great capper to this story. Unfortunately, Jeff Parker ruined the moment by having Bruce Wayne flippantly ruin things with an off-the-cuff but it all makes sense sort of observation a couple of issues prior to the ending.
Plus- isn't Barbara Gordon an adult on the Batman '66 series? So why isn't she susceptible to the Siren's call like the other adults? Okay- so I had 2 complaints!
I had read issue #1 a long time ago when it first came out in 2018. And then I had forgotten all about it until just recently. Worth the wait. Just not as perfect as I had built things up to be in my head.
This is exactly what you imagine and it's fun as hell.
Batman has defeated the villains of Gotham City to the point where the villains decide to infiltrate Riverdale instead! They sneak their way into town and use the powers of The Siren to brainwash all the men in town into going along with their plan. Veronica and Dillon get word to Batman after Hiram Lodge falls to the villains, and Barbara Gordon and Dick Greyson enroll in Riverdale High as High Schoolers to keep tabs on the situation.
At one point Jughead gets kidnapped by the Joker. It's great.
My favorite part of this whole thing is the best ever villain, The Bookworm, and his accomplice, Footnote, making an appearance.
This is exactly what you'd expect. Wackiness, adventures and SO. MANY. PUNS. Like think about how many puns you'd expect and double it. It's that many puns.
Lucky for me, I love a good pun. I love Archie. Batman is cool. A win all around. Blog / Twitter
Some of these Batman 66 team ups are hit and miss... This one is more a Hit... Am The main Batman villains decide to leave Gotham City and dash off to Riverdale. Soon they are setting their Master Plan in motion. Batman, Robin and Batgirl (yummy) team up with the teens of Riverdale to save the day. The art is great, for the most part. Though Catwoman is drawn without gloves for some reason.(and she's based on the likeness of Lee Meriwther) Story wise, it is what it is... Having Dick Grayson pose as a high school student is fine...but Barbara Gordon? Come on now. (If we are using the Yvonne Craig Gordon) Good fun though.
I love Batman '66, and I really enjoyed the comics, as well. This team-up special was really cute. A strangely plausible crossover with a fun story, faithful characterization, and an all star cast of villains. The outfits were on point, the vibe was authentic, and the art... well, the art was kind of weird, actually. In my opinion. It was a mash-up of the two styles, the one used in the '66 comic series and, of course, classic Archie comics. It sort of worked, but there was something a little off? I did really enjoy the gallery of variant covers at the end. Some were just brilliant, and they were all really clever and interesting.
It's not bad, but it's also not for everyone. This book does exactly what it says on the tin - serves up the kind of Archie treatment you'd expect from the mid-1960s (complete with goofy cartooning and hyuk! hyuk! humor) with the over-the-top campiness of the Burt Ward/Adam West Batman TV show. The result is a harmless caper in which Gotham's crooks pull some shenanigans in Riverdale and it takes the combined efforts of Archie's gang and Batman, Robin and Batgirl to set things right. If you're looking for something mildly pleasant and unchallenging, this will do. If you're looking for something a little less of a softball, you might want to keep looking.
Pop cultures clash as the United Underworld of the Batman 66 movie makes a play for Riverdale. Holy Crossover, Archie!
As with all the Jeff Parker-penned Batman 66 work (here aided and abetted by Panel Pal Mike Moreci), this is an excellent, loving tribute to the show. Jeff just naturally understands how to do all-ages comics (His all-ages Marvel material is something I revisit often) and make them work. For Batman 66, that's the perfect trait. With cool art from Dan Parent, J. Bone, and Kelly Fitzpatrick, this just sings to me in all the right ways.
The Dynamic Duo (and Batgirl too) trek to Riverdale to help Archie and the gang thwart the sinister machinations of the United Underworld. Dan Parent and J. Bone expertly align the Archie house-style with the pop art camp of Batman's 1966 TV series. Jeff Parker and Michael Moreci write a fun tale that plays to the strengths of each cast of characters and all the major players are utilized well. Fun times.
This is not the kind of story where I'd expect a Jorge Luis Borges references, but it has one anyway, and it gets Batman out of a deathtrap. For me, that's a plus. Aside from that, these two mythos match up surprisingly well. The Big Bads relocate to Riverdale where they can take over without any Caped Crusaders to stop them. As the Siren seizes control of the local adults, Archie and his friends team up with the Dynamic Duo to outwit the bad guys. Cheerful silliness results.
I just love the 1966 Batman TV show, so I'm currently reading through all of the comic books that are associated with that brand of Batman. From what I can remember, I've never read an Archie comic book before, but I am familiar with the world. This crossover ended up being a lot of fun to read, and the artwork was perfect for the story. Plus, the main covers were done by the Allreds, some of my comic book favorites.
Perfect mash up! Can’t believe it took over 50 years to bring these two franchises together. Have been reading all my purchased graphic novels from the Archie line since Jughead the Hunger and I gotta say this is the most well written and more importantly COMPLETE storyline they put out in that timeframe of like 2016-2021
Es una gilipollez hasta para ser Batman'66, pero simpática y entretenida. No conozco de mucho a Archie y su panda, pero creo que le sientan como un guante a la psicodelia naif del mundo de Bruno Díaz y Ricardo Tapia. Eso sí, el dibujo... durillo de tragar; no digo que no le pegue a la historia, que sí que lo hace, pero durillo de tragar. Las portadas de Allred, magníficas.
The Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, and Penguin decide to take over RiverDale by using the Siren and her call to use mind control over the adults. When Archie and his friends call on Batman, the whole Batfamily shows up to help. Fun, nostalgic , and full of easter eggs for those who read and look carefully.
Great mix of two different comic universes that can coexist in the same time period and not seemed forced. I've read probably more "Archie" comics than any other comic, and I love me some Batman, so this was a fun meet-up for me. Now on to "Batman/TMNT"!
quite a weird mash up but it was really nice to see that archie comics are still running ((MY CHILDHOOD IS SCREAMING!!!!)) and expanding; exploring more themes. would definitely keep a lookout on others.