Click above to view a variety of Bat-products!

May 4 might be a good time to ready yourself for Batmania version 3.0. That's the street date for a DC Comics six-issue miniseries reuniting three Batman comics greats - and the start of more merchandise to come. Certainly after May 4, there will be an onslaught of Caped Crusader comics, paraphernalia and souvenirs, all in anticipation of the June 15 release of BATMAN BEGINS.

TV audiences got a taste of the movie earlier this month when the trailer ran once on CBS during the NCAA national playoff and several times on ESPN and Spike TV. We'll get a longer peak during an eight-minute preview to air during the season finale of "Smallville."

My gut instinct tells me BATMAN BEGINS - not a prequel, but a complete restart from the previous four films - will be one of the biggest moneymakers this summer. I think the only other contender for king of the summer 2005 box office will be Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (May 19, PG-13).

The first time America saw such widespread Batmania was about 1966 when BATMAN: THE MOVIE was released during the height of the popular, goofy TV series. In 1989, after years of the comics reintroducing the Caped Crusader to his dark roots, director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton brought us BATMAN.

That moody film spawned another avalanche of Batman merchandise and made it cool to like the Dark Knight. Three additional films, two more Bat actors, eight total villains and nearly $706 million later, the franchise had run its course. Batman fans had run out of patience waiting for Batman "done right" on the big screen. It looks like the wait may be over starting June 15.

BATMAN BEGINS literally will reintroduce the world to Gotham City's brooding guardian. As the title suggests, the movie will show us Batman's early days.

We won't see a hybrid of Hollywood and comic books as we did with the Burton/Joel Schumacher films. Instead, this cinematic Dark Knight (directed by Chris Nolan) will be close to the comic book original. We'll see how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) transformed the rage and loss he felt as a child losing his parents to a double murder into becoming the world's greatest crimefighter/detective sworn to protect the city he loves.

Since you're reading this on the BATMAN ON FILM Web site, you already know BATMAN BEGINS has an outstanding cast of surprisingly big names.

Personally, I'm surprised Hollywood executives moved as quickly as they did in restarting the franchise, but that's neither here nor there....

BATMAN COMICS CRAZE: Now for a round-up of some notable Batman comic books hitting the newsstands this summer:

"Batman: Dark Detective" (first issue May 4) - A twice-monthly six-issue miniseries by writer Steve Englehart and artists Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. In addition to the Dark Knight taking on the worst (or is that the best?) of the Rogues Gallery, Silver St. Cloud returns to Gotham City and Bruce Wayne's love life.

"Batman: Cover to Cover" (May 4) - This 240-page hardcover oversized book organizes the best Batman comic book covers of all time by theme. Some commentators include Nolan, Adam West (TV's Batman) and Mark Hamill (the voice of the animated Joker).

"Year One: Batman/Scarecrow" (first issue May 25) - A two-issue prestige format comic that provides more details about the origin of Jonathan Crane as the Scarecrow, leading up to his first confrontation with Batman and Robin. The Scarecrow is one of two villains in BATMAN BEGINS.

"Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul" (June 15) - Batman must confront his longtime foe Ra's al Ghul in order to find out why Gotham City's hospitals, homes and streets are overrunning with the undead. Ra's al Ghul is the other villain in BATMAN BEGINS.

"BATMAN BEGINS Movie Adaptation" (June 22) - No doubt this will join the tremendously long line of lame comic book versions of the big screen story, complete with art that vaguely resembles both the actors and the characters. However, it's nice to see DC release the adaptation after the movie's release - something they failed to do with the other franchise.

"The Batman Begins: The Movie & Other Tales of the Dark Knight" (June 22) - This trade paperback collects the movie adaptation with four previously released Batman stories. One of them is a "Secret Origins" story by the classic combo of writer Dennis O'Neil and writer Dick Giordano.

"All-Star Batman and Robin" (first issue sometime in July) - Writer Frank Miller teams up with artist Jim Lee in this six-issue miniseries to tell early adventures of the original Dynamic Duo in a contemporary setting. Everything I've read indicates that it is DC Comics' answer to the "Ultimate" books from Marvel Comics.

Personally, I'm most excited about the "Batman: Dark Detective" and "All-Star Batman and Robin" miniseries.

Englehart, Rogers and Austin did an amazing run in "Detective Comics" in the late 1970s that was nothing short of spectacular. The Batman seen in the animated series of the 1990s owes a great deal to their storytelling. I can't wait to see if this reunited team can still bring their same magic, mystery and chemistry to the Dark Knight, his allies and foes.

Besides, it's hard to resist a series in which the Joker runs for governor with a campaign slogan of "Vote for me - or I'll kill you." The cover of the first issue looks promising.

What can I say about Miller and Lee that hasn't been said before? I've always thought Lee's art was overdone, but his work with Jeph Loeb on the "Hush" storyline was solid, even breathtaking at times.

Miller is virtually legendary because of his powerful tale of Batman's possible future in "The Dark Knight Returns" and the mother of all origin retellings, "Year One." I anxiously await their interpretation of Batman and Robin. BATMAN BEGINS is largely based on Miller's "Year One" concept and an early script with the same title.

Are you ready for a third run of Batmania? I say, bring it on!

Cary Ashby writes a twice-monthly comic book column for the "Norwalk Reflector." He is also the newspaper’s crime and education reporter. He can be reachedvia e-mail at ashby@goreflector.com.