Watch Superheroes on PBS. See more from Pioneers of Television.

I’m a low-level documentary-a-holic (shut up, it’s a thing), and when the documentaries are geeky it’s even better. And yeah, this episode of PBS’s Pioneers of Television, about the superhero shows of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, is narrated by Ryan Seacrest. But I can let that slide if I’m watching Lynda Carter, Julie Newmar, Adam West, Burt Ward, Lou Ferrigno and more talk about the history of superheroes on TV for an hour.

(via: ComicsBeat)

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“[INSERT DISNEY-OWNED CHARACTER HERE], I am your father,” by Gale Williams. (via io9)

We’ve featured the work of phantasmagorically talented makeup artist Jangsara here before. We can’t help it, every time we come across more of her work we spend a good fifteen minutes just pawing at our computer screens, contemplating whether it makes any sense at all to go on a MAC shopping spree to try these looks on our own eyes, even with our less-than-steady hands. Her work is always good for filling our daily quotient of Pretty Things to Look At, and these recent efforts are no different. Click through to witness some of her geek-inspired eye-art, and make your peepers a little bit jealous.

Most of us remember the impression Batman left the last time he starred in a live-action television show. Adam West’s portrayal will never be forgotten but in the wave of Christopher Nolan’s more realistic (and highly successful) take on the character in film, could Batman ever be brought back to the small screen? According to the CW’s Arrow writer Marc Guggenheim, the answer is yes. 

We all have different preferences. Especially when it comes to Batman. You’ve got your Adam West lovers, Tim Burton fans, Joel Schumacher mostly haters, and Christopher Nolan devotees. And of course there’s many who like a mix of those as well but Val Kilmer, who donned the Batman costume in Batman Forever, knows exactly where things went wrong – his film. 

Cast members of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises have been giving the smallest bits of information they could give about the film in recent interviews. But Anne Hathaway recently got to chatting with Hero Complex and gave a whole bunch of info about her character Selina Kyle, Gotham City and more! Read on, spoilers will be covered up. 

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It is also Adam West‘s 83rd birthday.

So please enjoy this video of Pirate Adam West trying to sell you on aftershave; the video blurry, the voice unmistakable. Likewise, the following image of Pirate Batman, from an issue of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne in which Batman does not appear as a pirate.

Julie Newmarr thinks that Batman these days is just too scowly and dark. The first woman to play Catwoman on TV (Lee Meriwether played her in the 1966 movie), Newmarr longs for the days when the Bat was a light-hearted, silly crimefighter played by Adam West who had fights festooned with comic book-style violence bubbles. And while she thinks Anne Hathaway will do a fine job in the role, she had a few choice words about some other latter-day Catwoman portrayers.

Back in 1964, before they were TV’s Batman and Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Adam West and William Shatner shared camera time in a failed pilot for ABC called Alexander the Great. It was meant to be a “buddy comedy” set during the Battle of Issus with Shatner in the role of Alexander (the Great) and West as his “compatriot” Cleander. So as not to let one diva outshine the other, the plan was to let each star play the lead in alternating episodes. West says that it was “one of the worst scripts I have ever read and it was one of the worst things I’ve ever done,” and Shatner was “deeply, deeply, horrendously disappointed when this series didn’t sell.” Let us now mourn what could have been.

(Hero Complex via Comics Beat)

I know from experience that this week’s Comic-Con is bound to attract a force of fans like no other. They are the enthusiasts, the critics, the predictors, and the deciders of what we will dine on in the feast of amusement that is our pop culture. That’s why the major studios, the producers and the stars turn up. We are all there seeking endorsement from those hardcore fans whose good or bad wishes will cause the next pop culture tsunami. These are the fans who let you know what your box office chances might be. These are the fans who energize our work and determine the duration of our careers. — Adam West

This year’s San Diego Comic Con is upon us, where all the hallowed bastions of geek entertainment line up and do their best to impress a broad swathe of the public, some more cynical than others. And while many of the usual takers and names are conspicuously absent, possibly giving us one of the most comics focused Comic Cons in years, fans are still there, with more than a thousand already lined up to storm the hall already. So remember: whatever this year’s Comic Con may bring, it’s ultimately up to we the fans to make it an event.

(via Movieline.)