The Bat-Blog was recently blessed with a preview of a brand-new illustration by famed Graphic Designer Christopher Franchi. He's the Art Director for Metaluna 5 Media, which handles a lot of licensed properties like: KISS, Bettie Page, Alice Cooper, Star Trek, Superman, Spawn, Peanuts, Evil Dead, Betty Boop and the list goes on & on. Here is an EXCLUSIVE & Super-Awesome 1966 BATMAN WALLPAPER Chris created for the BAT-BLOG! Well, he did all the artwork & I put the Bat-Blog Logo on it, ha! Now, of course, this image relates to the 1960's BATMAN MOVIE because it shows Lee Merriwether as Catwoman. Plus, it's got the other Super-Evil Villains: The Joker ( Cesar Romero ), The Penguin ( Burgess Meredith ), The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), and the Hero himself, BATMAN ( Adam West )! The artwork is extremely amazing! The illustrations were all done on Cold-Press Art Board with Gouache and Colored Pencil. Then, they were scanned and assembled digitally. I like how each character has their own colored-outline, to make them sort of pop-off the page. There is also that "light ray" effect that's pretty freakin' cool!! ( Thanks Christopher, I know everybody is going to totally love this incredible Bat-Art!! )
Here's a totally cool personal photo sent in to the Bat-Blog. It shows our friend Gene when he got to meet Frank Gorshin, Live in Person, at the Chiller Theatre Convention back in 1999. He said he was extremely gracious & a very nice guy, very down to earth. Actually, this is the only thing I have ever heard about him, that he was just a really great guy to be around. As a little kid I always loved him as the Riddler on the 1966 BATMAN TV Show. It's so cool that he was such a good person too. RIP Mr. Gorshin, you are missed. ( Gene, Thank You very much For Sharing Your Wonderful Photo ).
This week I thought I would post some "Blast from the Past" Batman Wallpapers! So, here are some Desktop Wallpaper Background images from the Classic 1966 Batman Movie! The fun thing is we get to see Batman ( Adam West ), Robin The Boy Wonder ( Burt Ward ), The Joker ( Cesar Romero ), The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), & Penguin ( Burgess Meredith ) in all their crazy-zany glory...IN COLOR!!
Here's a pretty cool video I came across & I can't help but think this is our old friend Martin from the UK. He was really into collecting Custom Dolls & Action Figures, especially ones that were related to the 1966 Batman TV Series. Hmmm, I need to contact him & see. Either way this video is very interesting. In it this toy collector showcases his collection of Custom Toys that were made to resemble 4 Bat-Villians who were known as THE UNITED UNDERWORLD in the BATMAN feature film of 1966. The evil group included The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), Catwoman ( Lee Merriwether ), The Penguin ( Burgess Meredith ), & The Joker ( Cesar Romero )! Now, before you freak-out & start asking, "where do I buy these?", ha ha. These Mego Dolls are all custom made, even the display boxes. But you have to admit they're all extremely well-done. The head sculpts of each character look almost exactly like the real-life actors. The costumes are very accurate too & the display boxes are just a total bonus! Martin, if these are yours please contact me.
A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Rick, sent me an e-mail about his cool hobby of making custom dolls & action figures. He calls his company DARKSIDE CUSTOMS & his work is totally amazing! His focus is on the many different characters from the classic 1966 Batman TV Show. The attention to detail is totally insane! Plus, I really enjoy that he made a few of the obscure villains. Now of course he made a Batman & Robin ( Adam West, Burt Ward ) but the rouge's list includes: Catwoman ( Julie Newmar ), The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), Bookworm ( Roddy McDowall ), Mr. Freeze ( Otto Preminger ), The Madhatter ( David Wayne ), & Egghead ( Vincent Price ). I'm showing only a few examples here so if you like these be sure to visit Rick's website!
Remember, we post 2 NEW Batman Wallpapers every Wednesday! For today I thought I would go with a "Vintage Black & White Photo" Theme. Here are 2 really great graphics! The 1st one features 3 original Batmobile Cars: The 1966 Batmobile customized by George Barris for the 1960's TV Series, The 1980's Batmobile from the 1989 Batman Movie, & the 1990's Batmobile from that crappy movie ( Ha Ha! ). Seeing all three cars together is a real treat! Then, in the 2nd Batman Wallpaper is a RARE vintage 60's photograph showing the original Batman creator Bob Kane with Adam West & Frank Gorshin in a special "Behind the Scenes" moment during the 1966 Batman TV Show. We hope you like one, or both, of these & be sure to check the Bat-Blog ARCHIVES for a ton more! Also, please feel free to use them as a background in a Live Journal or MySpace Layout. I guess they could also liven up your PC's desktop, ha ha.
Shown in the photo up above are some Custom-Made Toys from a friend to the Bat-Blog. Please be sure to click the picture for a larger, more detailed, photo. We asked him about these amazing pieces of ART & he wrote,"They are made out of Super-Flex Sculptey and painted with Acrylic Paint. They each took 3-4 days to make, and they're plastic army man scale, about 2 inches in height. They are not for sale at the moment. I make them for the sheer fun of it". WOW!! These are really beautiful, good job!! I love that you did some of the very obscure TV Villain characters. The figures include: Batman, Robin, The Joker, Riddler ( Wow, That face looks exactly like Frank Gorshin! ), Batgirl, Mr. Freeze, Madhatter, Catwoman, Egghead, The Penguin, King Tut, & Bookworm too! The faces on ALL of these figures are amazing. For example, look at King Tut's face. It looks EXACTLY like the actor!!
