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It's with a heavy heart that we, here at the Bat-Blog, have to report the passing of a Comic Book Legend & a Pioneer of the Batman character. We're talking about the Artist Lew Sayre Schwartz. He was a major contributor during the early development of the Dark Knight. He was 85 years old & will be deeply missed. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to both his Friends & Family. For more information please be sure to read the news story posted at THE BEAT!RIP Lew Sayre Schwartz (1926-2011)
Well, it looks like the DETECTIVE COMICS #27 recently auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, TX is now totally famous as being the world's most expensive auction price for a Golden Age Comic Book! Of course all Batman Fans know this issue to be the very 1st appearance of the Dark Knight in 1939. It sold for $1,075,000. Yes, you read that right, One Million Seventy Five Thousand Dollars!! Just 3 days prior to the Batman comic book selling so well a company called Comic Connect auctioned off a vintage issue of Superman ( Action Comics # 1 ) for 1 million. Then, Batman beat that record price by 75 thousand!!
This is pretty cool! In a small Government Building in the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah there is a small plaque hanging on the wall that is a Tribute To Dick Sprang. Of course he was one of the original comic book artists of the Golden Age of comics!! Here at the Bat-Blog we totally love his artwork, he's really great! This weird piece of Bat-History was discovered by our friend Wayne Smith, who stumbled upon it while on vacation! Take a look at his photo & read what the message says, it's pretty interesting! ( Thanks for the pic Wayne )
At the Skirball Cultural Center, in Los Angeles, they are having an exhibit called "Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950". It features a mind-blowing collection of superhero and comic book rarities, including the first sketch of the Joker, the Original 1966 Batman TV Show Bat-Cycle, the earliest known sketch of Superman, a RARE copy of Action Comics #1 ( 1st appearance of Superman ), Captain Marvel Toys, Wonder Woman Memorabilia, & much much more! The event runs from February 19th - August 9th, 2009. I wish it wasn't so far away from me or I would go, it sounds extremely cool! For more details be sure to check out this review at the LA Weekly website. Here's a link:
Here are a set of 2 totally amazing custom-made dolls of a Golden Age Batman & Doctor Death. They were sold on eBay awhile back & I was extremely impressed with their craft & attention to details. Before I get into this post too far I want to apologize to the artist who made these because I forgot to get his name to give him credit. I had bookmarked the information & now, later, I can't find them. I searched forever! But, while these photos were sitting in my bat-folder for a long time I knew I had to get them up here anyway so, sorry. Basically, there's a Batman Fan out there who is extremely creative & was inspired by some 1930's & 1940's Batman stories to create these 2 Custom Dolls. These figures really deserve to be called ART MASTERPIECES because they are so extremely well done. One, of course, is BATMAN, who we all know. But the other one might be a character that some Bat-Blog readers are unfamiliar with. His name is DOCTOR DEATH ( real name: Doctor Karl Hellfern). Basically he was Batman's very 1st "Super-Villain". He first appeared in Detective Comics # 29 in July 1939. This book was Batman's very third appearance as a character so it's an extremely "early story". His deal was he liked to kidnap very wealthy people, inject them with a toxic poison, & then hold the antidote for a ransom of very large sums of money. Yeah, a real wack-job! The artist who created these did them with amazing detail. he sculpted the heads, painted them, created the clothing & costumes, and even made some props. I had to share these because they are so beautiful, really, & if any reader knows the artist who made them please let me know so I can get his name in here. For now, just please enjoy the pictures. Click on them for larger, sharper, verisons ( they're nice ). As a side note: the very last photo is a Detective Comics # 35 comic book ( January 1940 ) that was recently auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries in 2006 for almost $18,000.00!! Yes, Eighteen-Thousand!!
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?
In a continuing collaboration, Dark Horse Comics and DC Direct, are teaming to create a new series of vintage-style statuettes featuring four of DC Comic's best-known characters. Modeled after products that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s, the four new statuettes being produced by Dark Horse are designed and manufactured consistent with earlier "syroco"-style figures. Joining the initial release, Superman, is none other than Batman. The sculpting and packaging design is inspired by the art style of original Batman creator Bob Kane, and echoes the look and feel of his first comic appearances. The style, costumes and other details will be consistent with the original "Golden Age" look of the character from the comics of that period. Limited edition of 2,000 pieces. Each statue is packaged in a litho-printed full-color tin box and includes a vintage-style pinback button, and booklet about the character. This item is ready for pre-order from TFAW at a 20% discount. I suggest buying one early because these are known to sell out pretty quickly, I already ordered two of them! Here's a LINK to check it out!!
