OK, Right off the bat I wanna say that the above photo is actually made into a "Desktop Wallpaper", for those interested, & it's kinda cool. The thing is, a new friend to the Bat-Blog named JR, sent me a really big photo of his amazing Vintage Batman Toy Collection. But, the picture deserves to be seen large just so you can focus on all the stuff here...it's amazing! This is an extremely impressive gathering of Bat-Memorabilia. There's a ton of vintage 60's items mixed with stuff from last week, I like that. There's also a few pieces that are extremely RARE! I spent a lot of time looking at every single clue as to what each item was & there's a lot of high-quality stuff here. What many Toy Collectors call "Museum Pieces". Oh sure, a couple of things are kinda common. We all have stuff like that because it's neat to have & you can usually find it at a garage sale for cheap. But, there's some other collectibles here that I will never get ( or see in "real life" )...unless I win the lottery! Thank you JR for sharing this pic with us. You have a nice collection to be vey proud of. Personally, I hope you send us more photos!! hint, hint.
A Bat-Blog Reader named Brad wrote us this letter, "Here is my best friend, Jay, dressed as The Joker for the opening night of “The Dark Knight” in Eugene, Oregon at Cinemark Theaters. Jay stayed in character for the entire film, handing out playing cards, & asking everyone, “why so serious?” Ha Ha, Thanks Brad. Please tell Jay that his costume is awesome & the make-up looks pretty good too. I love to see fans get serious! ( Excuse the pun ). This must have been a lot of fun for you guys & I bet it made the movie experience a lot better for many who got to meet "The Joker". Also, handing out playing cards was a great idea. Thanks again for sending the story & cool photo, I appreciate that. One other thing, is Jay still wearing that same outfit today? If so, tell him he is not the "real" Joker! ( I'm kidding, ha ha ).
A friend of mine sent this hilarious picture because she knew my readers would love it. It is pretty neat ( Thanks, Debra ). It shows the actual Batman "movie scenes" that were parodied on The Simpsons. That TV show is famous for making "Pop Culture references". On the left is the scene from the cartoon & on the right is the "moment" it is making fun of. Most of them are from the classic 1989 Batman Movie but the last one is the 1966 Batman TV Show where they hit the Bat-Poles to go to the Batcave. You might have to click on the photo up above for a larger, more readable, version but it's really worth it... very funny!
Here's a video, that as soon as I saw it, I knew it was worthy of posting at the Bat-Blog, ha ha! It's sort of a video montage showing all the original Batman Comic Book Covers from the very 1st "Golden Age" Issue all the way until the more recent Batman #671. It's really neat to see how the cover design elements have changed over the years, especially the logo...check it out!!
Greetings Batman Fans, it's time again for "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday"! Now, I know you gotta love ONE of these backgrounds because they're BOTH very cool, ha ha! The 1st one is a graphic from the new MORTAL KOMBAT vs DC UNIVERSE video game. It's a lovely picture of the Catwoman perched on top of a building in Gotham City...MEOW! (This one is on my desktop now, hubba hubba! ). The 2nd one is a recent publicity shot for the Toyota Racing Team. Their TDK Race Car hasThe Dark Knight Batman movie logo all over it. The other car is, of course, the Tumbler Batmobile from the actual movie...very cool!
Here's a brand-new Batman product that I am kind of excited about. It's the 2009 BATMAN Wall Calender! This is the Batman Comic Book version & not the Dark Knight movie one. The graphics are really cool. I'm guessing with the success of the film that both Warner Bros & DC Comics are gonna go crazy making new Batman Merchandise, T-Shirts, Posters, Toys, Graphic Novels, & more!! For me, as both a writer of this blog & a BIG collector, it's driving me totally crazy trying to keep up with all the new stuff coming out, ha ha! But, I guess that's a good thing. If you want to see better pictures of what the calender looks like then here's a link to the only company I know that sells it. While there be sure to check out some of the superhero clothing they have. There's a very cool Batman-Logo Belt Buckle I'm thinking about getting but the only problem is that I don't even wear a belt! It's just that it looks so cool, ha ha.
Here at the Bat-Blog we recently posted some funny Batman-related comics & humor photos that were sent in by Bat-Blog readers. They were all great but one caught my eye because it had a logo for the comic strip & listed the creators. I got to thinking about it, hit Google, & came up with their website. Actually, it's a webcomic & it's titled "LEAST I COULD DO". It's drawn & written by Ryan Sohmer & Lar Desouza. The artwork is pretty amazing & the nice thing is that it's really funny! Lately they have been poking fun at the DC Universe: Superman, Wonder Woman, & of course, Batman. There's a few examples posted here & if you like what you see then just click this link button down below. But, please remember to BOOKMARK the Bat-Blog before ya go!
OK, I was gonna write a film review for the recent release of BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT, the new animated movie by Warner Bros & DC Universe. But I decided that since somebody already wrote one better than I could I would just post a link to it, ha ha! That person is Stephanie, over at GEN ( The Girl's Entertainment Network ). Yes, women dig the Batman! She wrote a great review and it is very detailed with lots of accurate information. I like to do reviews every now & then ( I seriously loved this movie ) but I have been wayyy too busy lately. So, for a great review of this movie just click on the link button down below, thanks.
I know that Batman ( Bruce Wayne ) is a multi-billionaire but even he is affected by high gas prices, ha ha!! Thanks Billy for sending this hilarious cartoon comic strip! This is now my favorite "Batmobile", ha ha!
Yesterday I received a nice e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader, named John, who said, "Hey Dude, Love your Bat-Blog. I'm a HUGE Bat-Fan & I gotta share some photos of my new "Heath Ledger Joker" Tattoo. I got my work done at DNA Tattoo in Williamstown, NJ, By artist Dan Craft." Wow, John! Please tell Dan he did a very wonderful job on the artwork, very nice coloring & shading. Of course it's the now-famous The Dark Knight movie poster we're seeing here. Considering your tattoo's large size it must have hurt like heck! The Joker looks great though & thanks for sending the photos, I appreciate that.
Here's the brand-new movie trailer video shown at the recent San Diego Comic Con for BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, a new animated series coming soon ( November 14th ) from the Cartoon Network! Batman, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, and Plastic Man all look awesome! The art direction & backgrounds look great!! I think this is going to be an amazing TV show... I can't wait!!
The Bat-Blog was totally honored recently with an interview by the AMC TV Channel Website & also to be named "The Site of The Week" at their SCI-FI SCANNER Blog! The American Movie Classics channel is the home of one of my favorite TV Shows called MAD MEN ( about advertising executives in the 1960's, wonderful writing, great acting, very cool hyper-accurate art direction, etc...check it out sometime! ). So, it was a big surprise to be featured there! I don't mean to be bragging or anything but I thought it was cool that they wanted to talk with me, that's neat! Here's a link if you want to read the interview. I love that the BAT-BLOG LOGO is so BIG!! ( Thank you Kevin for this rare treat, it's been a lot of fun ).
Our friend Matt sent these 2 very cool photos showing him at the actual location where one part of THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie was filmed in Chicago. Do you remember the now-classic scene in the movie trailer where the Joker is standing in the street & Batman whips the Bat-Pod motorcycle around, then there's a close-up of the Joker ( Heath Ledger ) looking back? Well, this is that street! Ever since seeing that famous scene I knew that this exact location would be a super-famous tourist spot! I mean, it's gonna be like that cross-walk in England where the Beatles shot that Abbey Road cover!! Chicago is a beautiful city & I know that the next time I'm there I am gonna have to get a shot like this, ha ha! Matt, thank you for sharing these pics, they're great, good job! But, could you please send me the address of this street because a million readers are gonna ask, ha ha! Just please leave a comment & they can read it there, thanks again.
Remember our new friend Kuan who, in a previous post, sent us some really interesting photos of "Batman Movie Advertising in Singapore"? Well, yesterday he sent a few pics of his amazing Batman Action Figure Collection! The 1st photo shows the 1st 100 Kenner Batman Action Figures & I gotta admit that they're pretty impressive. ( If you look at the very 1st figure at the far top left-hand side, that is the Super Powers figure from the 1980's! ) It's always neat to see toy collections & I really like how this one is displayed on that staircase, very cool! The 2nd photo shows a few Batman action figures he has bought recently that are related to both The Dark Knight & the Batman Begins movies. It's really neat to compare the ones made by many different toy companies like Hot Toys, Takara, Mattel, & Medicom. Also, the Tumbler Batmobile is 1/6 scale & is the Remote Control RC Car by Tyco. WOW! Great collection Kuan & thank you very much for sharing your pictures, they're awesome! I want to invite ALL our Bat-Blog Readers to send us photos of their toy collections.( One last note, if the pictures seem small then just click on them for larger, more detailed, versions ).
Here's a video showing "The Making of..." the New DC Comics Warner Brothers Video Game called DC UNIVERSE ONLINE. Basically it's gonna be like World of Warcraft where you become a character & go around a huge environment, many cities actually, & fight crime! This is gonna be available for the Playstation 3 & it looks awesome!!
At the next San Diego Comic Book Con be sure to look out for this SDCC Exclusive Boxed Set of Hot Wheels 1:50 Scale BATGIRL CYCLE, 1966 BATMOBILE, & BATCYCLE Diecast Cars! The photo shows what the packaging looks like & it's pretty cool ( Click the image up above for a larger version ). The display box has sort of a "Batcave" design, very neat. Now, I already have the 50th scale Batman Car & Bat-Cycle so hopefully Mattel will be selling the Batgirl Motorcycle all by itself at the convention also.
OK, I know that The CATWOMAN movie with Halle Berry is one of the worst movies of all time but she still looks pretty good in that tight black leather cat-suit, MEOW! While filming in Canada the famous Batman Comic Book Artist Jim Lee got to visit the set and, while there, drew a classic image of Catwoman. The 1st photo shows him drawing. The next one is him showing his original artwork to Halle. I thought that fans of his art would get a big kick out of this. Plus, he got to meet THE Halle Berry...lucky!
Ok, Ok, I know I already posted some Batman Desktop Wallpapers ( because we post brand-new ones every Wednesday ) but this one was so cool I couldn't wait to get it online now! Here's a fresh high-resolution graphic from the new Cartoon Network TV Show BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD! This image features Aquaman & Batman...underwater! I'm really liking the style of the graphics I have been seeing from this animated series lately, it could be very cool, I can't wait! Let's just hope the toys & action figures are cool too, ha ha!
It's "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" again & I thought I would post 2 FREE Batman Wallpapers to celebrate the current Bat-Blog Contest going on. If you missed the post just look down below a few posts & you'll see that The Bat-Blog is giving away one free 1966 BATMAN THE MOVIE Blu-Ray DVD! This is the classic movie featuring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder!! The contest ends on July 31st, 2008 so be sure to check out that post for all the details. You have to enter to win!! Oh yeah, one more thing, I hope you enjoy this week's wallpapers!!
Over at the Popular Mechanics Magazine website a reporter, named Erin Scottberg, interviews Nathan Crowley, the production designer for The Dark Knight Batman movie. The main focus was the creation of the Bat-Pod motorcycle & the problems they had maneuvering a bike with such HUGE tires! Pretty interesting.
Over the last 3 days I have been in nightmare-mode trying to keep the graphic banners & buttons working! It appears The Joker has hacked into my account & is messing things up, ha ha! Actually, I am getting between 500-600 visitors an hour & it's crashing my bandwidth! Yesterday the Bat-Blog received over 10,000 visitors in one day ( that's a record! ). I apologize for any buttons temp missing but the main content of the blog ( which is stored with Google Picassa ) is always up & running so when you visit you can still enjoy all the articles & main photos. Mainly it's just the banners & buttons that are screwed up. But, I'm working on it & apologize for any problems. I'm sort of conflicted because I'm super excited about the site's popularity, that's the goal of every blogger & I honestly appreciate everybody visiting, that's awesome! But this bandwidth thing is a nightmare, ha ha! Ya'know, this August is the 2nd anniversary of this blog & to celebrate I plan on creating a whole new page with new design features. It should be way better & I will continue to try to bring the best content I can! So, look for the new design in a few weeks. Thank you!
Here's a really interesting TV commercial from back when the BATMAN FOREVER movie teamed up with McDonalds Fast Food Restaurants. Since we're not getting any kid's "Happy Meal" toys for The Dark Knight ( in the USA anyway ) I thought I would post this!
A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Kuan, sent us these 2 wonderful photos in response to a previous post where we showed some advertising billboards & banners from New York City for The Dark Knight Batman movie. Kuan lives in Singapore & recently saw some outdoor signs for The Dark Knight. Well, the amazing thing too is that he got some pictures from when the movie Batman Begins was showing there a few years ago! As you can see from the dates on the photos they were both taken on almost the same day but 3 years apart! Wow, how cool is that?! I want to personally thank Kuan for sending in these great pics, Thanks! And while I'm at it, I wanna invite all our other readers to do the same.( On a side note, I think it's amazing getting communication from a guy all the way in Singapore. I love the internet! )
The Bat-Blog is happy to announce another famous contest! Enter here to win a FREE copy of the brand-new DVD Blu-Ray BATMAN THE MOVIE, 1966! Here's the simple rule, just e-mail us your full name & address. Please put "BATMAN BLU-RAY" in the title. We don't sell, distribute, or give away your information in any way. The contest runs until July 31st, 2008 till 11:00pm Central. The winners will be picked out of a hat at midnight & then announced on August 1st, 2008. Enter Today!!
One last thing, I guess I gotta remind people that this is for Blu-Ray only & will not work in regular DVD players. You'll have to have a blu-ray machine or you can play it on your TV using a Playstation 3. Otherwise, it's a great movie that I am sure will bring back a lot of fond memories! Here's a classic movie trailer to remind you of the wackiness, enjoy!
CONTEST RULES:
The contest is open to the general public as well as anyone currently reading the BAT-BLOG on a daily basis. Employees of the Bat-Blog and employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this contest.
The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded.
Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available.
By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which Bat-Blog may deem appropriate.
In accepting the prize, the winner, and any reader(s), acknowledges that the Bat-Blog may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize.
The person whose name is drawn as being the winner of the specific prize will be required to send us their correct mailing information before the prize is awarded to them. Postage to be paid, free of charge, by the Bat-blog.
Detailed contest rules applicable to this contest, including contest entry dates, how to enter, and prize value, number and any restrictions applicable to these prizes are available upon request by reading these Contest Rules, ha ha!
The Bat-Blog retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever.
This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws.
The Bat-Blog reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.
Here's a wonderful black & white photo sent in to us from a Bat-Blog Reader named Michael who said he loved this old publicity photo of Chief O'Hara from the 1966 Batman TV Show reading Mad Magazine. I have to agree, it's very cool! The actor's name is Stafford Repp. While watching the show, as a little kid, I always liked his thick Irish accent. Thanks Mike. The photo inspired me to hunt down my old issue of this classic magazine cover. I show a picture of it next to yours & even made a Desktop Wallpaper for you to enjoy...Thanks again.
