A Dark Knight At U-City Holy John Hancock! Bat-Men, Women And Children Seek Caped Crusader’s Autograph
Michael Keaton? Val Kilmer?
They’re big names, sure. But Saturday’s crowd didn’t want to see the latest latex-armored, pretty-boy hero du jour.
They waited in line from noon to 3 p.m. at University City Shopping Center to see the real Dark Knight Detective.
For a whole generation of baby boomers, Adam West was - and judging by the line, still is - the real Batman.
The line of signature seekers stretched all the way from Newberry halfway down the length of the mall. Many came with their favorite piece of Batmobilia in hand.
They carried comics, action figures and glossy photos. Some, like Comic Book Shop owner Craig Barnette, brought valued keepsakes.
Barnette gingerly displayed a record album sleeve, with a fresh blue John Hancock from TV’s original Caped Crusader.
“It was my first record album ever,” he said.
The most ambitious Batfan of all, though, wasn’t a baby boomer. It was 20-year-old Robert Clark. Like probably a dozen other guys, he was dressed in a Batman costume. Unlike them, though, he lugged behind him the tailgate to his black Dodge pickup.
He wanted West to sign it with a silver paint pen. His truck’s license plate reads “Batman1,” Clark said.
Clark has about 200 pieces of Batman memorabilia in “every room” of his house. His infant son’s third word, after “Mom” and “Dad,” was “Batman.”
When Clark finally got to see West, he pulled up his sleeve, showing the actor a Dark Knight Detective tattoo.
“Does that come off?” West asked with a look of alarm on his face.
Holy tinted epidermis, Batman. It’s for real.
West, 66, has been pretty busy lately. He recently wrote a book, “Back to the Batcave.” He said his new TV series, “The Clinic,” debuted Saturday on Comedy Central. A new film, “Not This Part of the World,” debuts next month in New York. He makes appearances like the one in Spokane - sponsored by the mall, Inland NW Family Magazine and Cox Communications - twice each month.
He said his Spokane appearance was special, though - he grew up in Walla Walla. He even ran into a long-lost relative here.
It surprised some Saturday, but not West, that baby boomers weren’t the only ones who acknowledge him as THE Batman. Granted, a lot of West’s fans did watch his show during the 1960s, but many youngsters suited up for the occasion, too.
“It’s now past three generations,” West said in his easily-recognized super hero voice.
“It’s on twice a day in most parts of the world. In the UK, I just heard it’s rated top-10 in prime time. And, they just released our original Batman movie in theaters and on video there.”
Blair Heath and his costumed 5-year-old son, Derek, were perfect examples of the wide appeal of the vintage TV show. Heath watched the show growing up, now so does Derek.
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