The Silver State Chronicles

Finally, an endorsement that carries some weight!

From the venerable New York Post…

Adam West gives ‘crime-fighter’ Coffey AG nod
By Brendan Scott

Holy endorsement, Batman!

The star of the campy 1960s “Batman” TV series swooped into Gotham yesterday to boost a Democratic contender for state attorney general ahead of tonight’s cliffhanger ending to the primary race.

Adam West, now 81 and living in Idaho, lent his sonorous voice to automated phone calls boosting prosecutor-turned-trial-attorney Sean Coffey for the Democratic Party’s nod to succeed Andrew Cuomo as the state’s top lawyer.

The actor famous for his cheesy, melodramatic delivery and lumpy physique channeled his classic role as the Dark Knight to assure Democrats that Coffey is the “best crime fighter” in the crowded five-way race.

“I know a thing or two about keeping Gotham City safe,” West told voters on a 45-second recorded message. “Sean is an independent voice who wants to fight those villains in Albany.”

Coffey first teamed up with West a few years back while fly fishing in Idaho’s Silver Creek, and the duo has since forged a dynamic friendship.

“I came to the conclusion Sean Coffey’s not only a good guy, but a clear thinker,” West told The Post. “I’ve been a pretend crime-fighter for years. Now, we’ve got a potential real one with him.”

The heroic assist came as voters prepared to narrow the field in key statewide races and numerous congressional and state Legislature posts.

Why So Serious?

Death Knocks Three Times!

With the success of my recent post, Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando & Dawn, I decided to post this neat cover of Batman # 180, which hit the stands back in 1966!  Indeed, this time it’s death that’s knocking three times!

Hope this isn’t true

Welt Online reports that this week’s media golden boy, Christian Bale, is accused of assault by his own mother and sister.

Christian Bale accused of assault by sister, mother

Batman actor Christian Bale has been accused of assault by his mother and sister, and will face police questioning.

‘The Dark Knight’ actor allegedly lashed out while staying at London’s Dorchester hotel on Sunday, where he has a suite. His mother Jenny (61) and sister Sharon (40) lodged a formal complaint against the star at a police station in Hampshire, Southern England. Bale (34) was permitted by police to attend the European premiere of ‘The Dark Knight’ – in which he plays superhero Batman – last night but will face questioning over the claims.

Police in London are expected to speak to the Welsh actor later today.

A police source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “It was a very difficult situation but it would have been wrong to have wrecked the premiere over a complaint which we don’t yet know is founded in truth. But Mr. Bale will be contacted at the earliest opportunity and be asked to provide an account of anything that happened.”

A spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police said: “We can confirm we have received an allegation from another force in relation to an alleged incident in central London.”

I had expected The Dark Knight to do very well in its opening weekend, roughly matching Iron Man’s opening weekend box office of $100+ million. Well, I was wrong: Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily reports the fantastic news…

‘DARK KNIGHT’ BREAKS EIGHT RECORDS; $155.3M Weekend

I’ve just been told by unofficial sources that Warner Bros’ The Dark Knight is playing to packed Sunday performances for over $40M and maybe as high as $43M.

That would mean a 9th record for the latest Batman installment since Spider-Man 3‘s Sunday take in 2007 was a record-setting $39.9M. It’s also now abundantly clear that the Warner Bros caped crusader will crush the old 3-day weekend non-holiday record set by Spidey 3 last year.

So rival studios were wrong to question whether Warner Bros’ Sunday numbers were too aggressive! Also, Dark Knight should break its 9th record by beating the all-time weekly tally. Meanwhile, in its first six days, DK will have grossed more than the entire run of Batman Begins.

Media By Numbers’ OFFICIAL DARK KNIGHT RECORDS SO FAR (in order of occurrence):

1 - LARGEST NUMBER OF OPENING THEATRES WITH 4,366 (MORE THAN THE 4,362 DEBUT THEATRES OF PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END IN 2007).

2 - BIGGEST MIDNIGHT PREVIEW GROSS WITH $18.489 MILLION IN 3,040 THEATRES (BEATS STAR WARS EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH AND ITS $16.9 MILLION IN 2,915 THEATRES IN 2005).

3 - BIGGEST IMAX MIDNIGHT PREVIEWS SET AN NEW RECORD WITH $640,000 (INCLUDED IN THE $18.489 MILLION PREVIEW NUMBER).

4 - BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY GROSS IN BOX-OFFICE HISTORY WITH $67.850 MILLION (BESTS THE $59,841,919 SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

5 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY WITH $155.340 MILLION (BESTS THE $151,116 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007).

6 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND GROSS FOR AN IMAX RELEASE IN BOX OFFICE HISTORY WITH $6,214,061 MILLION IN 94 THEATRES WITH $66,107 PER THEATRE. (BESTS THE $4.7 MILLION SET BY SPIDER-MAN 3 IN 2007.) IMAX SHOWING AT FULL CAPACITY $1.9 MILLION ON SATURDAY ALONE.

7 - BIGGEST OPENING WEEKEND OF 2008 WITH $151.340 (BEATS INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL‘S $101.137 MILLION FROM MAY 23-25, 2008)

8 – BIGGEST JULY OPENING EVER (BEATS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST‘S $135,634,554 ON JULY 7, 2006).

9. BIGGEST OPENING SUNDAY BOX OFFICE: $40-43 MILLION

The Early Days of the Dark Knight

Fans of The Batman know that he hit the scene in Detective Comics #27, published in 1938, just a short while after Superman made his first appearance (and changed comic book history) in Action Comics #1.

Writer/Artist Bob Kane is given credit for creating The Batman, though much of the more enduring Batman mythos was either created (or co-created, depends who you believe) by Bill Finger, a largely unheralded figure in comics history for many decades.

Well, when Kane was handling his duties on Batman in the earliest issues of Detective Comics, the results were crude and uneven. The art was sub-par, even for its era. The stories were dull and uninteresting. Batman himself was a different character than most are familiar with today – he packed a gun, for example, and wasn’t shy about using it.

Indeed, I have maintained for years that if the Bill Finger contributions had not been made, Batman would have faded into the past and largely forgotten, like most of the Golden Age comic book characters.

But in any event, Bob Kane did deliver one of the greatest comic book covers of all time with his cover for Detective Comics #31, which is a lot more stylish than the much more popular cover of Detective Comics # 27.

This comic features the first appearance of a character called The Monk, a vampire who wore a red gown and hood, and caused all sorts of trouble for The Batman. Indeed, The Monk story was The Batman’s first extended adventure, as the storyline lasted more than one comic. At the end of their battles, The Batman shot The Monk with a silver bullet, ending the vampire’s existence.

The Monk remained unseen for several decades, only returning to action in 1982 in Detective Comics # 515.

Pretty forgettable stuff, truthfully, but one of my favorite comic book covers of all time! Enjoy!

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Leave it to the Dark Knight Detective to have to tangle with a British musical group that’s almost identical to The Beatles!

Seems like some kind of murder mystery based on the rumor/innuendo that Paul McCartney had died way back in day, and was replaced in the group by a lookalike.

Enjoy!

Batman vs Blockbuster

One of my alltime favorite comics book covers featuring The Batman swooping down on ol’ Blockbuster, who is doing a number smashing Batman’s logo. Pretty sure this is by the talented hand of Carmine Infantino, but if it isn’t please let me know.

Now that’s a pretty sharp cover! In the story inside, lower-tier Bat-Villain Blockbuster undergoes some therapy so that he would be filled with love, rather than hate & rage!

Initial results of the therapy are promising, but when Blockbuster catches a glimpse of some Batman related toys, he is thrown into a fit of uncontrollable rage, turning him truly ‘Bat-Mad!’ Don’t miss this issue!

No idea what this one is about

The Greatest Comic Covers collection returns with this gripping cover for Batman # 162, featuring ‘The Batman Creature.’

Evidently The Dark Knight has turned into some kind of monster, and has scaled a skyscraper, prompting the US Air Force to dispatch some jet fighters to bring him down. I suppose you really had to have been there!

Many pretenders have followed, but there is only one Batman!

I was checking out some stuff on YouTube this weekend and came across a great tune from 1989, by renowned raconteur, Wally Wingert.

I recall how the anticipation for the upcoming Batman film was tempered by concern by fans of the 1966 tv series (like me). In the end, the Batman film was a huge hit that spawned several sequels, but it just didn’t capture the escapist fun of the original tv series.

To me, there will always be just one Batman, and that is of course the legendary Adam West. And the sentiment is shared by Wally Wingert in his classic song. ‘Adam West.’ I enjoyed the video immensely and decided to share both versions of the tune!

Adam West by Wally Wingert