![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ucFUuJ0NaOBrGJ8YyRpmbEDOMpuBguNMzJrTNEnGWlcOkynLO6RNAu1NEKh98LP3kA9cVoJmXFR9KOT_pL7kk2y2KTrHSV-Dz9Trs6AZBuG0cY3rZ2KMp7osHMO8bD4IXM1BMBdpHb8/s400/Batboy_Alexandre.jpg)
I was pleasantly surprised to find this very wonderful vintage family photo in my e-mail last night. It's from a reader in Brazil named Alexandre. He wrote, "I'm a reader of the Bat Blog and I noticed that you post pictures of your readers dressed as Batman. I was looking at some old pictures and I found this one in which I am dressed as Batboy. That has a history. I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and we have an annual festival called "Carnival" (in Portuguese, "Carnaval"), held 4 days before Ash Wednesday, in which people use costumes just like Halloween in USA. For that year Carnival (in 1982. I was just about to be 5 years old) I asked my grandmother to make me a Batboy costume, so that I could fight crime along with Batman and Robin. So she came up with this fantastic costume, inspired in the Bat suit, but with more childish features. I think it's funny that she make a mask so similar to Nightwing's 2 years before George Pérez invented it. I hope I could contribute to your Blog." Yes, thank you Alexandre. This is an awesome contribution!! I seriously love old photos like this. Your Grandmother did a wonderful job on this costume. Ones made at home are always better then store-bought ones because of all the love that goes into it. She made what could easily be an art masterpiece. Thank you very much for sharing this personal photo & story, I appreciate that. I want to invite ALL Bat-Blog Readers to do the same!!