Writer: Reed Lackey

Pencils: Russell Dauterman

Colours: Kamui Ayami

Bluewater Comics, out now

Adam West, once a household name synonymous with the legendary 1960s Batman TV series, is disillusioned. Hollywood isn’t what is used to be and the public aren’t interested in the kind of classic-era heroes he plays. Suddenly he finds himself adrift in a world of anti-heroes and scripts full of dark humour and dystopian misery. Unable to stomach the ethically barren roles his agent keeps pitching to him, West finds himself facing the end of his career. But, when someone posts him a mysterious amulet that has startling powers, things suddenly become positively surreal for the down-and-out actor…

My first reaction to this comic is to wonder why on earth one would want to read a comic about Adam West. Granted, the man is a legend, but what exactly is he going to be doing in the story that will be interesting to readers? Imagine my surprise and relief when The Mis-Adventures of Adam West turns out to be a delightfully off-the-wall account of the famous actor’s run-in with a magical amulet that makes him young again at the same time as it drops him into scenes from the very Hollywood scripts he scorns.

The Mis-Adventures of Adam West features wonderfully snappy and funny dialogue. Reed Lackey has a sense of comic timing that had me chuckling at the first page. Issue one clearly shows that this is a story that is out to have some good-natured fun with Hollywood tropes and sets out as it means to continue. The pacing is excellent and the cliff-hanger ending has me wishing for a copy of issue two. There are still many questions to be answered and, I suspect, much amusement to be had.

Russell Dauterman’s art is well executed throughout and makes very effective use of light and shadow. The use of shadow, especially in the first few pages, gives the story an element of grim noir hopelessness that underscores West’s initial disenchantment. Later on Kamui Ayami makes a few odd choices in the colouring, particularly where West suddenly looks bright pink, but otherwise the visual aspect of this story is solid throughout.

Verdict:  A great read which makes you look forward to finding out what happens to our hero next! 8/10

Bernice Watson

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