Vids I Dig 843: Razörfist: The Shadowcast No. 2 – The Shadow & The Green Hornet: Dark Nights

Book Review: ‘The Official Batman Batbook’ by Joel Eisner

When I was growing up in the ’80s, this was my introduction to Batman. It was the first version I really got to know because I discovered it a few years before the 1989 movie came out. That movie then blew my tiny little mind but it also never diminished or replaced my love for the ’60s television series.

In fact, I loved that series so much that I bought this book with my miniscule allowance money and read through it in its entirety at least a dozen times. The big reason for that was because we didn’t have streaming services, DVDs or even VHS tapes of this show. I could only catch it when it was on sporadically and therefore, didn’t get to see all of the episodes until a friend of my mum’s made me bootleg copies of the entire series in the early ’90s.

This book was special because it gave a synopsis and extra details on every single episode. I’d read through them like a novelization (or a modern Wikipedia article), envisioning the scenes playing out for myself. It made me love many of the villains and characters before I even got to see them onscreen. This also helped generate a lifelong obsession with all things Vincent Price.

At some point in the ’90s, after moving around multiple times, this book was lost. It wasn’t until recently that I came across another copy and had to buy it and revisit it.

Sure, this is probably nostalgia speaking but this was a solid book and once again, all these years later, I couldn’t put it down.

This is great because it gives you so much information on the show and if you’re a fan of it and have never read this, you probably should.

While I don’t think this is even in print, you can find copies on eBay and periodically on Amazon. There is a version with a different cover but nothing pops quite like the original.

Rating: 9/10
Pairs well with: if you want more about the ’60s Batman television series, check out the Batman ’66 comic books. I’ve reviewed many of them already.

Documentary Review: Action Heroes of the Cliffhanger Serials (1992)

Release Date: 1992

89 Minutes

Review:

Weirdly, even IMDb doesn’t have much info on this release, which is why I have barely any info in the credits section.

Also, this isn’t really a documentary like I had hoped it would be. It sort of starts out as one and then it is just a collection of trailers from old school action serials.

Now I love old school action serials and I have reviewed more than a dozen since starting this site back in November of 2016 but I would like to know more about them, their development and how the whole system worked from a production standpoint.

This “documentary” doesn’t tap into that and unless you want to watch 90 minutes worth of trailers, it’s sort of a waste of time. Honestly, I’d rather just watch the serials themselves.

So it’s hard to review this but I wanted to let everyone know what this is if they happen to come across it streaming for free on Amazon Video.

If anyone knows of a good documentary on old school action serials, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to see one and review it.

Rating: 5/10
Pairs well with: The actual serials it features.