Back on Halloween in 1966 I was 11 years old.
The Batman TV Series had premiered on January 12th of that year and by the time Halloween rolled around 10 months later the comic book character had become a bonafide cultural phenomenon.
And that was the year I went trick or treating as the Caped Crusader.
Now, you might be thinking, “But Jeff, you were and are a hardcore Superman fan.” And you would be right. But that year I was as caught up in The Batman craze as all my friends and school chums.
So, at my request, my mom bought one of the thousands of newly created Batman costumes put out by the Ben Cooper company.
I THINK she paid $2.99 for it, like the Woolworth’s ad shows, but I don’t remember for sure. I do remember that, at the time, you could buy most costumes for anywhere from .99 cents to $1.99, so this was a bit more expensive.
It was a fun night and I saw lots of other Batmans while out roaming the neighborhood. I remember that I did not like the mask because it was vinyl and it covered your entire face so you ended up sweating a lot while out in South Florida on a late October night. It was so uncomfortable that I would pull the mask up to the top of my head while walking between houses and only pull it down when I approached a front porch or door.
But, Holy Halloween Batman!
