I feel really really bad! A new function of the BAT-BLOG is to wish a Happy Birthday for all people who are related to Batman in some way. Well, last Sunday, July 29th, was the 66th birthday of David Warner & I forgot to do the post! So, here's a belated birthday wish to David! He's an incredible actor who I am sure many of you have seen in television & films. He was also the voice of R'as al Ghul on the Batman: The Animated Series...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR.WARNER!
Recently the BAT-BLOG has sort of been bogged down with THE DARK KNIGHT movie news so I thought I would do a traditional posting that is about Vintage Batman Toys. Which, is the main function of this blog! Here's some nice examples of different Batman Puzzles made thru the ages. The 1st one is a 1966 Batman & Penguin Puzzle made by Whitman. The graphics are really wonderful with a cool vintage Batman-Logo. The next picture is one of those Batman "Canister Puzzles" made by APC from 1973. I always thought that the way they sold them in coffee cans was kind of neat. The graphics on this baby were done by the Classic Comic Book Artist Carmine Infantino...nice! The next puzzle is one of my favorites. It was made by Aurora of all companies. They specialized in slot cars & model kits but I guess since they had the rights to use Neal Adams' awesome artwork they went ahead & made this puzzle. The cool thing about this puzzle is that it is super-HUGE & when put together it's almost 9 square feet, GIANT-SIZE, & great for display on the wall!! The last puzzle is a wooden frame tray puzzle made by Playskool. It features the cartoon version of the Batman & Robin movie, very obscure!
Warner Brothers is being very sneaky with some "Viral Marketing" for their NEW Batman movie THE DARK KNIGHT, to be released in 2008. Here's a YouTube video of the new teaser trailer for THE DARK KNIGHT. It was 1st posted by "The Joker" on the Joker's webpage.
Here's a NEW photo from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie showing The Joker ( Heath Ledger ) attacking Rachel ( Maggie Gyllenhaal ) with a knife. This is gonna be the sequel to BATMAN BEGINS & we can't wait!!
Here's a really great example of the kind of high-quality costumes that some serious Batgirl / Batman Fans are able of making. This costume is a 1966 Batman TV Series version, just like Yvonne Craig wore in the classic TV show....enjoy!
Introducing the debut of Robert Tonner Character Figures™ (TCF™) collection based on classic superheroes appearing in DC COMICS. The DC STARS Collection, by award-winning designer, Robert Tonner, bursts onto the scene with BATGIRL! She is pretty LARGE-SIZED at 16" tall with multiple articulated joints, hand-detailed face painting, rooted hair, & authentic costuming inspired by the superhero's life, from origin to secret identity. She is very high-quality (very well made) & priced at $129.99. She includes super hero outfit with cape, boots, removable cowl/hood, gloves, utility belt, & display stand. Christmas is coming up if any one wants to get one for me, ha ha!
More information can be found at this web page: http://www.tonnerdoll.com/dcstars.htm
Every Wednesday is "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" at the BAT-BLOG. Today we thought we would go with a Batman Batmobile theme! The 1st photo was sent to us by a loyal BAT-BLOG reader in Ohio named Gabe who's friend saw this 1966 TV Show Batmobile replica car at a shopping mall in Ohio! The photo is extremely excellent & large enough for a sharp Batman Wallpaper, enjoy. Oh yeah and Thank You Gabe! The 2nd graphic is a prototype photo of the BRAND-NEW Batmobile Toy Car ( comic book version ) for the BATTLEAGUE DC Comics Action Figures Game-Series by Mattel. Look for it's release later this year! Be sure to return every Wed for new wallpapers & be sure to check out the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for many many more! We also have a BATMAN WALLPAPERS PAGE, the link is on the top right-hand side of this blog....See you tomorrow!
Lego just announced that there will be 2 brand-new BATMAN Lego Play Sets. The 1st one will be called THE BATCOPTER: THE CHASE FOR SCARECROW #7786,Ages: 7-12, WITH 293 Pieces. It has 2 vehicles: a high-tech Batman Batcopter & a Scarecrow Bi-Plane. Includes Batman and Scarecrow mini-figures & accessories! The 2nd play set is called THE BAT-TANK: THE RIDDLER & BANE'S HIDEOUT # 7787, Ages: 8-12, WITH 645 Pieces. It has a large Batman Vehicle called the BAT-TANK. It also includes Batman, The Riddler and Bane mini-figures, plus accessories. Look for these in stores soon!!
A really really great vintage Batman comic book cover...e'nuff said! Click on the cover for a larger, more detailed, picture. be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for more Batman fun!
A friend of ours from Brasil sent us this photo showing some older vintage 1970's Batman toys from Argentina. You can click on it for a way bigger photo. They are tiny figures of The Penguin (Pinglino) & The Joker (Quason) that were FREE premiums inside JACK Chocolates. Below the photo of those figures is an ad from a comic book showing all 55 figures to collect. There are more Batman-related ones: The Batmobile (Batmovil), Batgirl, Batman, Robin, Riddler (Acertlio), & Catwoman (Catubela).
Recently on eBay I discovered an artist who has made some really incredible 12" custom toy dolls of both Batman & The Joker. They are the versions from the 1989 Batman movie starring Michael Keaton & Jack Nicholson. His name on eBay is CUSTOM-HEROES & I think his real name is Jon....very nice stuff, great custom job!! I mean, look at the 2nd photo with Batman's face....that's Micheal Keaton's lips & chin, ha ha! ( Click on the picture for a larger photo ). Be sure to search him out because he does great work!
On the left is the original artwork ( pencils & ink ) drawn by Jim Lee for the cover to Wizard Magazine in November 2002. As usual you can click on the picture for a much larger, sharper, photo. It features Batman with The Joker. A lot of BAT-BLOG readers are BIG fans of Jim Lee's art so we knew you would like these...enjoy!
Shown in the photos up above are some examples of foreign Batman comic books that are in different languages. They are Spanish ( Argentina ), Italian ( Rome ), & Portuguese. We really love these kind of comics because they're really RARE & very unusual. Speaking of foreign languages, the BAT-BLOG uses a "Google Translator" to alter this website from English to 8 different languages. Just click on one of the FLAGS you see on the very top right-hand side of the blog. This will translate the page into Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, & Korean.
Here's a brand new photo sent in by a loyal BAT-BLOG reader. Be sure to click on it for a larger, more detailed, photo. He said, "Here's a cool photo of some of the BATTLEAGUE Action Figures that Mattel is gonna release in 2007. My favorites, of course, are ALL the Batman-related characters!". WOW!! Thanks Jimmy for the wonderful photo. We have to agree with you about the Batman figures, they're awesome!! We're really excited about this new line of toys by Mattel. The sculpting is really detailed & these look great! Thanks so much for the nice photo. If any other readers have ANY cool Batman photos then please send them.
In a recent post at the BAT-BLOG Message Board a new member, who is female & named Kandyegirl, requested a wallpaper of Christian Bale. We know all the women readers of the BAT-BLOG are gonna love this! I mean, he is a handsome guy, right? ha ha!! This image is from Batman Begins....enjoy ladies!
On the left is a picture by Bob Kane from the golden age of Batman. On the right is a more modern-day version of that classic pose penciled by Jerry Ordway who obviously wanted to pay homage to Bob Kane. I just thought it would be neat to show this as an example. The artwork of comic books has progressed quite a bit, don't ya think?
During the 1966 Batman TV Series the Topps Trading Card Company went nuts releasing many different '66 Batman Card Sets. Here are some photos of one of the wrappers & store display boxes. The last photo is an example of a special packaging they used to sell multiple cards of the "color photo" series. They were sold in a hanging bag with header card. These "hangers" are extremely RARE! Our photo here shows both the front & back.
The LATINO REVIEW recently released a photo that is thought to be Heath Ledger as The Joker in the new Batman movie THE DARK KNIGHT. This photo shows more of what his costume will look like & you now get to see his "green hair"....looks cool! This clown looks pretty scary if ya ask me.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
Please put the JOKER Banner ( The Dark Knight Movie ) seen below on your MySpace Layout, Blog, or Website!! Just copy the code below & paste to your profile! Thank You!
Remember, you can always get 2 fresh NEW Batman Wallpapers every Wednesday at the BAT-BLOG. For today we have an awesome graphic of Batman fighting the Joker. They are on a Gotham City rooftop & Batman is pimp-slapping The Joker, nice!! It's really sharp & the coloring is really cool too. This comic book art was done by Alan Davis. The 2nd picture, to brighten your desktop's background, is an awesome graphic of Batman by the iconic comic book artist Neal Adams! These also look really great in MySpace layouts so feel free to use them there too....Also, Be sure to tell ALL your friends about BAT-BLOG.COM!
George Dzundza ( pronounced "ZUHN-zuh" ), was the voice of Arnold Wesker, the Ventriloquist on Batman: The Animated Series. He turns 62 on July 19th.
You might recognize him from other TV shows or movies. He was a regular on LAW AND ORDER, he voiced Perry White on the new Superman cartoons, & has been seen on current episodes of Grey's Anatomy. He also played across from Denzel Washington & Gene Hackman in CRIMSON TIDE. Happy Birthday George!!
A loyal Bat-Blog reader named Tony sent us this autographed photo of Francine York. She played a character named LYDIA LYMPET that was a side-kick to the 1966 Batman TV Series Villain THE BOOKWORM ( Roddy McDowall ). She only appeared in a few episodes but is very VERY much a '66 Batman Fan Favorite....MEOW! Thanks for the awesome photo Tony!!
She currently maintains a website with a lot of information about her life & even sells autographed photos, check it out! http://www.francineyork.com
I collected the Batman comic books along time ago & even bought a few toys but I blame the 1989 Batman Movie for turning me into a super-huge toy collector / Bat-Fan! That year was also the 50th anniversary of the character so it really sparked my interest in the vintage toys. It's hard to believe that this movie came out 18 years ago! I love it, it's a classic. One of the Batman vehicles featured in the movie ( & pretty cool too ) was the BATWING, Batman's Jet Plane that was in the shape of the Bat-Symbol logo. My only gripe about it was that all the Joker ( Jack Nicholson ) had to do to defeat it was shoot it one time with a small Joker-Pistol gun....lame. Ha Ha! Still, a great movie! Here's a few vintage toys of the BATWING they made during the 1989 Batman Movie. We hope these pictures bring back some fond memories.
A regular reader of the BAT-BLOG sent us this wonderful Batman & Robin photo & it's very funny! She wrote: "Hey Bat-Blog, I love your website & visit almost daily. I am always surprised by both the quality & variety of your posts. I guess I'm a HUGE fan! My main interest is Batgirl but when my Mother e-mailed me this funny dogs in costume picture I knew I had to send it to the Bat-Blog! Please feel free to post it & keep up the good work. Love, Debbie". Hey Debbie! Thank you very very much for this wonderful photo of Batman & Robin, it's totally hilarious!! We also appreciate the kind words about the BAT-BLOG & we'll try to always have cool stuff here for you to enjoy. Thanks again for the pic, please feel free to send more anytime!
Here's what the cover for Batman #162 looked like, it's a classic! This was produced during DC Comics "wacky period" where they did strange stories with their characters. That era was a lot of fun, ha ha. Click on the small graphic for a larger picture. Also, be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for many more Batman items. It's on the right-side of the blog...enjoy.
Are you a regular reader or fan of the BAT-BLOG? Then please help spread the work & tell all your friends or family members who are also Batman Fans. Up above is are some cool graphics you could use in your website, blog, or message board postings. We have other banner graphics you can also use on this page & a few more on our Bat-Blog MySpace page. If you would like a special size then just let us know & we will make a custom one just for you...Thank You!!
Please be sure to link it to: http://www.bat-blog.com
Yesterday I opened our e-mail & was surprised by these 2 great photos! They were sent by a loyal BAT-BLOG reader named Gabe, he wrote:
"Hello, Tommy. I've been meaning to do this for awhile. About a month ago a friend of mine spotted a 1966 model Batmobile in Ontario, Ohio at the local Best Buy store ( I guess Batman needed to get the latest in technology ) anyway, although I didn't get to see it in person ( would have loved to ), my friend took some pictures for me because she knew I liked Batman so much. I attached the pictures here and thought you might want to show them on the Bat Blog. One of the best things is the fact that the car was parked in four spots of the parking lot! Hope you like them! Oh and also I do plan to send you some pictures of me in my Batman costume, I just haven't had a chance to do it yet. All the best.Batfan in Ohio,Gabe"
Thanx Gabe, these are beautiful!! The 1966 Batmobile car looks great & what a shock to see it at Best Buy, ha ha. Can't wait to see those Batman Costume photos. Thanx again for sending the new Batmobile pics!!
This Christmas 2007 Hallmark Stores will release a brand-new Batman Keepsake Ornament called THE VILLAIN DATABASE. Designed by Lane Feuer it measures about 4 1/4" wide & with the push of a button will reveal new pictures of different Batman Villains. The retail price will be $16.50...look for it.
Here's a really RARE video showing the screen test for the 1966 Batman TV Series. It shows Adam West & Burt Ward sort of playing Batman & Robin in a more serious tone. Later they decided to go with the wacky campy-style we all know & love. But this video makes me wonder what the show would have been like if they went the other way, it might have been even cooler! While watching the video be sure to check out the strange BAT-CHEST LOGO on Adam West's Batman costume, it's kind of neat to see.
While surfing the world wide web the other day I came across these 2 different photos showing the art work of 2 tattoo artists. One did a really great BATMAN FACE Tattoo & the other did a very nice EVIL JOKER Tattoo. I wish I could remember their names because we always like to give proper respect to the skilled talent these guys always have. The one of the Batman sort of kinda looks like a Neal Adams version, don't ya think? Anyways, we hope the BAT-BLOG readers enjoy these beautiful pieces of Batman-Tattoo ART!
OK, here at the BAT-BLOG we seriously LOVE the original comic book art work of Jim Lee. His attention to detail is insane & nobody draws buildings as realistically as he does. He is an extremely talented artist & from what we have heard a pretty nice guy, very down-to-earth. Personally, I like the little touches he adds like the waffle-pattern on the bottom of Batman's boots or the way Batman will have 5 O'Clock shadow. I mean, hey, if he's chasing the Joker for 6 days who has time to shave?! Ha Ha. Up above are Jim Lee's pencils for the covers to ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN # 6 & # 7. We love seeing the Black Canary character again & that Batgirl is pretty sweet too!
Be sure to click on the pictures above for much larger, sharper, photos. Also, remember to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for way more Batman art work from Jim Lee, Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Dick Sprang, Bob Kane, Mike Grell, etc...
