Robin actor Burt Ward from Batman TV series gets his own comic book!

BURT WARD, who played Batman's sidekick Robin in the 60s TV series and its spin-off movie, is returning to the comics world that spawned his iconic Boy Wonder.

Ward, now aged 66, will appear in a new miniseries from Bluewater Productions that "showcases his superhero legacy and his post-acting passion for pet rescue."

The project is a spin-off from his former co-star's own comic book, The Mis-Adventures of Adam West.

Burt Ward, Boy Wonder will appear first as a free issue during Free Comic Book Day this May and then as a full four-issue mini-series in summer. It's described as "a campy take on Ward's fictional post-Batman life."

The premise follows the actor as he returns to superhero status, this time with his own canine sidekicks as they travel though time fighting villains.

Ward said: "I am excited about working with Bluewater Productions to create a comic book based upon my crimefighting adventures as Robin, the Boy Wonder.

"I am even more excited about incorporating my superhero adventures with my amazing rescued Gentle Giant and Little Giant canine kids who are also dedicated to fighting heinous villains."

Written by Emmy-nominated filmmaker and humour writer Darren Garnick, Burt Ward, Boy Wonder aims to capture the carefree spirit of the old Saturday morning cartoons as well as the kitschy humour of the 1960s Batman series.

Garnick said: "There's certainly room under the Comics Big Tent for everyone, but I see no need for infusing depressing, angst-filled themes into superhero stories - which seems to be the case with many contemporary incarnations of the characters.

"I embrace the BAM! and POW! of a good old-fashioned choreographed fist-fight over a terrorist car bomb."

As well as the Adam West title, Bluewater publishes The Secret Lives of Julie Newmar, a miniseries featuring the actress who played Catwoman in the first two seasons of the 60s show. (Eartha Kitt stepped in for the third and final season and Lee Meriwether took the part for the spin-off film)

Bluewater says The Mis-Adventures of Adam West did so well as a miniseries and graphic novel that it is becoming a monthly book.

Darren Davis, Bluewater Productions president, said: "Call it one part nostalgia, one part great storytelling and all parts camp, these three titles are a joy to produce."

"What we lost with the cancellation of Cartoon Network's The Brave and the Bold series we get back with Adam, Julie and Burt: books that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults."

A percentage of the proceeds of Burt Ward, Boy Wonder go to the actor's charity Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, the largest giant breed dog rescue in the world.

West and Ward have become inextricably linked to the 60s show over the decades.

They teamed back up to voice the dynamic duo in The New Adventures of Batman cartoon in 1977, then reprised their roles in the Legends of the Superheroes television specials in 1979 and the 2003 TV movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt.

In 1995, Ward published his autobiography Boy Wonder: My Life In Tights.