LIFE has posted rare photos from the classic Batman TV show and spreads from this March 11, 1966 issue. “Mad New World: of Batman, Superman, and the Marqus de Sade.” What a headline. And the first two sentences in this paragraph from the story resonate with me for obvious reasons.
The boom in bedlam springs, of course, from man’s old love of the bizarre and the fantastic. But it also reflects today’s restless, volatile spirit. Pop art and the cut of camp have turned Superman and Batman into members of the intellectual community, and what the kids used to devour in comics books has become a staple in avant-garde art. Any way you slice it, the new super madness is breaking the laws both of gravity and logic ad providing a useful escape hatch from the booby hatch. In a world that often looms confused and loony, it helps clear the air to see it portrayed that way.
“Behind The Scenes on the ‘Batman’ TV Show”