Holy 1960s Batman, Batman! is currently playing Saturdays at 8pm. Every show features a guest villain, and the second guest is Mike Kinald, a founding member of Improv for Evil, a master of silly accents, and a 1960s Batman fighting-style expert.
So let’s talk to Mike!
Roy: I’m particularly excited for your turn as a Batman villain. When you taught us how to fight in the 1960s Batman-style, it was clear you knew an INSANE amount about the show. What draws you to the 1960s Batman show, and what are some of your favorite fight moves?
Mike: I think what attracted me to the show the most was that while it was campy, it never took itself serious like the other superhero shows that had come before or that were playing at the time. You had these cool villains with elaborate plots, but they were often comedic, like the Joker turning Gotham’s water supply to Jelly, or the Penguin rigging a horse race. Another thing that really stuck with me was the whole morality issue with Batman and Robin; there was one scene where they parked the Batmobile on the street to get to a villain’s hideout. Batman stopped to feed the meter while telling Robin how the money collected from parking meters would help improve the roads of the city. Material like that just helped to make the show more interesting to watch. I like that the show also helped to revive interest in the Batman comic; before the TV show aired, DC was considering canceling Batman’s books due to low sales. The show helped to bring a new audience to the comics and revive the character.
As for the fight moves, I’d have to say my favorite moves are anything where Batman grabs Robin and swings him as a weapon into the villain’s goons. Here you have a 30-something year old man using a high school kid as a blunt object. Batman was supposed to be a highly trained fighter, and yet on every show he’s running at his opponents with his fists in front of his face, or telegraphing his punches. I tried to teach almost the same moves to the cast during their fight lesson, as the fights were an integral part of the show, and you can’t do a proper homage to the 60’s show without getting the fight scenes right.
Roy: It’s kind of amazing to me that people like the newer, dark takes on Batman so much, but they still love the 1960s Batman, too. Do you have a favorite Batman era?
Mike: I have to say that the mid to late 1980’s is my favorite Batman era. You have a variety of graphic novels and stories coming out which are regarded as some of the best Batman stories ever told: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, The Killing Joke by Brian Bolland and Alan Moore, Year One in which Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli redefined Batman’s origins. The 80’s was also the first time DC comics let the public vote on the fate of a major character- Jason Todd. You could call a number on the back of certain issues of Batman and vote on whether Jason Todd, the current Robin, would live or die. I remember the vote was real close- less than 100 or so at the outcome- but the public voted to kill him off. The Joker beat him senseless with a crowbar and then blew him up. The cover was striking- Batman in anguish holding the broken body of Robin in his arms.
I just loved reading the Batman issues that came out at that time. DC had also established that most of the Justice League was a little spooked by Batman. Here’s a mortal man with no powers except a well conditioned body, a drive to avenge his parents, and a fantastic intellect keeping up with the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman. DC also alluded to the fact that Batman had devised a way to defeat every member of the Justice League if he had to. The character was just so great at that time.
But I can see why people are attracted to both the dark Batman and the TV Batman. The 1960’s batman only alluded to his parent’s death during the pilot. If you tuned in at a later episode and had no clue about his back story, you would just assume here’s some millionaire who dresses up like a bat and fights crime while leading a moral and clean life. The show is more about how Batman can overcome his enemies with his amazing intellect and equipment rather than some tortured soul who takes this persona to avenge his parents’ murder. I think for the 1960’s they had the right formula to make people interested in Batman as a whole. The TV was what made a lot of people want to read the comics, and I guess because it is so tongue in cheek it endears itself to most folks who watch it.
Roy: What kind of villain are you secretly hoping to play this weekend? I’m sad that you already played the Irish card in rehearsal as Father No-Malley, just because you do it so well.
Mike: Thanks. I guess I’d like to play someone who just allows me to take the suggestion and get playful with it. Father No-Malley was great to play because I got to lose myself in both an accent and the costumes that you provide for the show. I think it makes a difference when you are wearing something that you can work with to base a character off of, be it a hat, a shirt, or even just a small physical mannerism. Batman was full of colorful characters who you would never look at as ‘real’ villains like Liberace playing an Concert Pianist who had an evil twin committing crimes in the cities where he toured. Art Carney played a Robin Hood knock-off where he stole from the rich and kept it. So there’s a lot of potential in every audience suggestion and as for character development I find that I can immerse myself in a character if I have just a hat or small item of clothing like a vest or glasses because they all help to define who the character is, like the Joker’s squirting flowers, or the Penguin’s umbrellas.
But if I had to make a specific choice, I guess I’d like to play some obscure foreign villain who shows up in Gotham to steal the parking meters or something trivial like that because they have some personal vendetta against them. But I know whatever suggestion I get, I’ll have fun creating that villain while making trouble for the Dynamic Duo.
Roy: Awesome! Thanks, Mike! See you this Saturday.
Buy your tickets to Holy 1960s Batman, Batman! right now. It runs every Saturday at 8pm in May and June.