Adam West's Batman Returning as Digital Comic Book

Get ready to dance the Batusi, ladies and germs.

Announced today along with a slew of new merchandise based on ABC's Batman that ran from 1966-68, DC Comics will be launching a new digital-first comic book series this summer, written by Jeff Parker with first issue art by Jonathan Case and covers by Mike Allred, continuing the adventures of Adam West and Burt Ward's Batman and Robin.

Titled Batman '66, the series will launch this summer and feature a structure similar to the old show, with a villain-of-the-week format that will include the likes of Riddler, Catwoman, and, of course, the Joker. It will release on the DC Comics app powered by Comixology and be collected monthly as a print comic, similar to DC's other digital-first releases. Here's some early teaser art:

This news comes not long after Mattel debuted new images of their upcoming line of '60s Batman toys. Now that the legal mumbo-jumbo regarding the show has been settled, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and its partners is taking advantage of the property.

“The juxtaposition of offering a retro Batman ’66 comic as a current and modern digital first title is fun,” stated DC Entertainment President, Diane Nelson in a press release. “DC Entertainment is the most prolific producer of digital first comics and, as we work to create new and compelling content, this is a great way to also preserve the legacy of our characters. It’s exciting to roll out the new Batman ’66 comic as part of this bigger initiative with our Warner Bros Consumer Product partners.”

Parker's work on the fantastic X-Men: First Class is a fine example of what's possible with this sort of retro series, and Allred's pop-art stylings certainly makes him the perfect choice as a cover artist. Just take a look at this unused (for legal reasons) cover from DC's old Solo series:

And here are some more official character teasers, courtesy of DC Comics. Joker even has his makeup over his mustache!

Awesome.

Joey is a Senior Editor at IGN and a comic book creator. Follow Joey on Twitter @JoeyEsposito, or find him on IGN at Joey-IGN. If he could, he'd run away to live amongst wild cats for the rest of his days.

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