Comic Book Men 708 “The Canine Crusaders”
A distinguished member of Bat-royalty passes by the shop this week when Burt Ward, the Boy Wonder dishes on his time on Batman. Canine Crusaders also features Burt as he helps judge the Stash’s Canine Cosplay contest and the episode’s Batman theme continues when a rare Bat-vehicle is brought to the store.
To kick things off, a couple of customers roll into the Stash with the promise of a rare bat-vehicle. This piques the interest of Walt and the gang and they head out front to see what the customers have to offer. To their surprise it’s a vintage coin-operated Batmobile kiddie ride based on the iconic Batmobile from the classic 60’s Batman TV show. The vintage find brings back memories of coin-operated rides found out front of grocery stores. Ming takes the mini Batmobile for a test ride and the sight of him squished into the cockpit as the car rocks back and forth is quite amusing. Walt asks the customer to name his price and the initial price knocks him for a loop. The item is a must have and the haggling begins but both parties hold firm and no deal is done.
The Stash is sponsoring a dog adoption drive and to help promote it a few ideas are bounced around. Ming throws out the idea of making it a doggie cosplay event where the dogs are dressed up as superheroes and are judged on their looks. Walt is skeptical of the idea especially with dogs being in the store but Mike is a fan of the concept. To help sway Walt’s mind, Mike suggests that he may be able to get a celebrity judge, none other than Burt Ward.
Burt is a huge dog advocate and his involvement in the event makes perfect sense. When he arrives at the Stash the conversation soon turns to remembering the recently departed Adam West, their relationship and memories of their time on the set. After the trip down Bat-memory lane Burt educates the crew on the finer points of canine care and then it’s time for the contest. Burt is the MC and the dogs come in dressed as various superheroes including Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Aquaman and Robin, the Dog Wonder. Walt and the boys, dressed as canine superheroes, chat with Burt to determine a winner and after some careful deliberation the first ever Secret Stash Canine winner is announced.
A customer comes into the store and asks to take a look at Tales of the Teen Titans #44, which featured the first appearance of Nightwing. Dick Grayson’s transition from Robin into Nightwing is discussed as well as the immense popularity of the title back in the early 80’s. The customer balks at Walt’s price and the two go back and forth a couple of times until a deal is made.
The Canine Crusaders is an informative and entertaining episode of Comic Book Men. It’s an example of how certain shows and figures form pop culture can have a lasting impact as well as bring awareness to other aspects of life. Batman was a seminal show and its characters as well as the actors who portrayed them continue to make an impression to this day.
