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"Batman's Anniversary/A Riddling Controversy"

Aired February 8/9, 1967

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The Riddler is back in town and he needs $3,000,000 in order to acquire a device that will give him absolute control over Gotham City.  Can Batman and Robin solve his baffling clues in time?  Will they realize the Riddler's looking a little different this time around?  The whole thing is heading for an explosive climax as John Astin takes on the role of the Prince of Puzzlers.

 

Joining John to talk about John Astin's performance and how it differs from Frank Gorshin's Riddler portrayal is Gotham City 14 Miles editor, Jim Beard.

 

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Jim Beard was introduced to comic books at an early age by his father, who passed on to him a love for the medium and the pulp characters who preceded it. After decades of reading, collecting and dissecting comics, Jim became a published writer when he sold a story to DC Comics in 2002. Since that time he's written official Star Wars and Ghostbusters comic stories and contributed articles and essays to several volumes of comic book history.

 

His prose work includes GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES, a book of essays on the 1966 Batman TV series; SGT. JANUS, SPIRIT-BREAKER, a collection of pulp ghost stories featuring an Edwardian occult detective; MONSTER EARTH, a giant monster anthology; and CAPTAIN ACTION: RIDDLE OF THE GLOWING MEN, the first pulp prose novel based on the classic 1960s action figure.

Currently, Jim provides regular content for Marvel.com, the official Marvel Comics website, and is a regular columnist for Toledo Free Press.

 

Websites

http://www.facebook.com/thebeardjimbeard

http://www.sgtjanus.blogspot.com

 

 

Click on the image to get your copy of Jim's collection of essays on the Batman 60s series from Amazon.

This episode of The Green Hornet aired the Friday following these episodes of Batman.

The famous underwater Batfight from John Astin's Riddler episode.

Detective Comics #140 was used as inspiration for this episode of Batman.  It was the first appearance of The Riddler in the comic series.  He would only be seen twice more before appearing in the television series. Click on a page to view in expanded mode.

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