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Right now at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas ( for the next day & 1/2 ) they're having an auction for an original piece of Batman Comic Book Art by Frank Miller. It's the famous splash page from BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS ( © 1986 ) showing Batman & Carrie Kelley ( The 1st Female "Robin" ) flying through the sky of Gotham City. It's an extremely iconic image & also a major part of Bat-History. Right now the piece is up to $100,000.00! Yes, you read that right, one hundred thousand dollars! Man, being poor totally sucks, ha! For more info, or to bid on this baby, just click HERE!
The big news in both the auction world & comic book fandom is that Heritage Auctions ( Dallas, Texas ) is offering the Original Production Proofs for Detective Comics # 27 ( 1939 ) that were once owned by Batman Co-Creator Bob Kane. Of course we're talking about the first appearance of the character here! A "Proof Page" in comics was a test printing of an uncolored page used by artists and writers to see how their work would look on the printed page. Now, while this is not the actual original art, this is probably the closest anybody will ever come to owning some production material from this landmark issue. They're estimated to sell for at least $1000 each & they have 5 of them for sale, which are pages 2-6. The image up above shows page 3 & if you click on it, it's extremely sharp, you can see the amazing details of this item. The "Batman Page Proofs" will be part of Heritage Auctions' Signature Vintage Comics & Comic Art Auction held on February 24th, 2011. For more details, click HERE!
There's a HUGE BUZZ in Auction News right now with the Artist Jerry Robinson putting up an extremely famous piece of Original Comic Book Art on the market. We're talking about the cover art for a Golden Age classic, Detective Comics #69 ( Nov 1942 ). This "Joker Double Guns" cover is beautiful, showing Batman, Joker, and Robin, the Boy Wonder! It's important to note that Jerry Robinson created "The Joker" character so it makes this piece even more wonderful. Be sure to click on the image up above for a nice large sharp picture...it's beautiful! The art is being auctioned by a company called Comic Connect and, at the same time, they will also be offering another classic cover, Superman #14 with artwork by Fred Ray. To bid, or for more information, be sure to click HERE!
Back in 1990 DC Comics published a one-shot Batman Graphic Novel, written & drawn by Pepe Moreno, called BATMAN: DIGITAL JUSTICE. I remember when it came out & it was a very big deal. I bought it & have totally loved it all these years. The main thing about it was that the artwork was totally created on a computer and, at that time, it was extreme state of the art. I mean, it was groundbreaking! Now, by today's standards, the art may seem kind of cheesy ( no offense to the artist ) but back then it just blew everyone's mind!! Plus, the artwork was really great especially if you consider that it was drawn with the earliest of computer graphic programs. It must have been painstaking to draw between computer crashes, ha! The other cool thing was that the story was really good too. So, all around, it was just a very wonderful Batman book. Over the years it has been translated into many different languages ( the pic up above shows the Spanish version cover ). The sketch of Batman, up above, was the original mock-up drawing for the cover. Obviously the story was set in the far far future. It was actually way after the death of our modern-day Batman. Parts of it were almost sort of like the TRON movie, but not really. It dealt with a deadly "Joker computer virus" that was threatening the future Gotham City. Anyways, it's a book I highly recommend. Another thing, if you have already read this novel & you're a fan of it then you might be happy to know that the artist Pepe Moreno has been posting a lot of personal sketches from this classic book on his art blog. They're really great to see & they're a very interesting piece of bat-history. Here's a link to check it out, just click HERE!
Here's an extremely cool photo I found awhile back while researching some major "Pop Culture Collectibles" auction. In one of their lots they had some original comic art done by Norman Saunders ( Click on it for a larger, sharper, version ). Of course he's the ultra-famous illustrator for many of the vintage trading cards made by TOPPS back in the 1960's & 70's. This photo shows the original art (custom framed) with 2 actual 1966 Batman Trading Cards. This is card #1B & features "The Joker's Icy Jest". The weird thing is that you can see that the artwork is only a little bigger than the actual card, very cool! But regardless of size, it's an incredible piece of art....a total masterpiece! I never checked back on this thing to see what it went for. I mean, what's the use? I knew it would be totally out of my price range, ha ha! Whoever owns it now is an extremely lucky person.
The Cartoon Art Museum ( San Francisco, CA ) and the Japan Society of Northern California will present a lecture with author / book designer Chip Kidd on Thursday, June 17th, 2010 for a special presentation entitled "Bat-Manga! A Secret Look at the Secret History of Batman in Japan". The exhibit will include some original art by Jiro Kuwata that has not been seen for almost 40 years. It really looks like a great event! For more information be sure to visit the Official CARTOON ART MUSEUM website by clicking HERE!
WOW! The Bat-Blog is known for sharing a ton of news about Batman but this is actual BAT-HISTORY right here! The image you see up above is a photo of the original Batman Pop Art Oil Painting "done by" Bob Kane, the co-creator of Batman. The pics were sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Rick, who actually owns this amazing piece of art ( Be sure to click on it for a larger, sharper, image ). He explained how he got it in this email, he wrote: In 1966, after the television show hit big, Bob Kane did a series of 12 large pop art oil paintings. This is one of them and, I think, the best of the bunch. I saw about 8 of them in the early 90's when Kane exhibited them at an art gallery in Beverly Hills. Mine was owned by Cary Grant for 20 years and hung in his guest bathroom. I've owned it since 1987.
Oh man! I've known about these paintings for years & it's so cool to actually meet someone who owns one. I've never seen one in real life, only publicity photos. To publish an actual photo of this on my blog is a total honor, no kidding, it's great! Thank you Rick for sharing your story.
While surfing through the Heritage Auction Galleries website last night I saw the most amazing piece of Batman Comic Book Art that I have seen in a long time. This is an original penciled & inked drawing for the cover to Detective Comics # 415. This was drawn by Neal Adams ( pencils ) with inks by Dick Giordano. It's going to be auctioned off on May 21st, 2010. With this being an incredible piece of Batman art from the Classic Silver Age period, plus - with the recent passing of Dick Giordano, it's going to be interesting to see what this item goes for. - Estimate $16,000 - $24,000
- Starting Bid $5500
Yes, it's wayyyy outta MY price range, ha!
Fans of Original Batman Comic Book Artwork are gonna totally love this! Up above is the Cover Art done by Mike Parobeck for issue #35 of THE BATMAN ADVENTURES. This was basically a tie-in for the Animated Series Cartoon & done in the exact same style. Personally, I have always loved the TV Show so the comics they made were great too because you got the same great graphics. (( Please be sure to click on the pic up above for a way larger, more sharp, picture )) The minimal-clean artwork is totally beautiful! Also, the cover features both Batman & Catwoman so that's kind of cool too.
This morning DC Comics released the Original Comic Book Art Drawings for the covers to BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, Issues # 3 & 4. They're both drawn by Andy Kubert & are totally cool! The 1st one shows the Dark Knight as a Pirate. Yes, a Pirate! In the 2nd Book Cover he is a Cowboy, AWESOME! Please be sure to click on them for larger (sharp) versions!
I totally love Original Comic Book Art & if I could afford it I would totally collect it. I have a few pieces of art but nothing really Batman-related. Well, I did meet Art Baltazar recently & got an "Adam West Batman" sketch from him. So, OK, maybe 1 item. But shown here is an amazing piece of art that I would totally love to have. This is the original cover art for BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL # 28. It's done by no other than Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, a legend in the industry. It features the Riddler as the main villain & the composition is really striking. Be sure to click on the picture of the artwork for a larger, more detailed, photo ...it's really really nice! OK, If there are any Bat-Blog Readers out there who specialize in collecting Batman art then please send us some pics. It can be Comic Book Cover Art or Pages, Animation Cels, Production Art, Style Sheets, etc...
This was on eBay the other night & I thought it was too cool NOT to post! This is the Original Production Art for the Batman ( Dark Knight Collection, not the last movie ) "Blast Shield"Action Figure made by Kenner. This was a "boxed item" that came out, I think, in 1991. I remember when it was in the stores & I thought the box concept was kinda cool. But even cooler is this original artwork by Dick Giordano because he's such a Comic Book Artist Legend! I would totally love to have this & Christmas is coming up, hint, hint.
Oh yeah, this is just a quick post to announce the future publication of a brand-new Alex Ross art book, Rough Justice, which will be published by Pantheon next March, in 2010. OK, I know it won't be released for awhile but I'm already stoked! If you're a big fan of Alex Ross' artwork then you're gonna love it. It's main focus will be the DC Comics characters & it's gonna be co-written / designed by Chip Kidd. So, you know it will be cool!
Starting August 1st, 2009, the TOONSEUM at The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh will have a special art show titled TOM RICHMOND:The MAD ART OF CARICATURE. Basically, since 2000, Tom has been one of the main artists for Mad magazine. This show will feature tons of his original artwork & the reason I'm posting it here is because there will be some Batman drawings shown too. Plus, I'm a huge fan of comic art & it's my blog, ha ha! But seriously, if you live in the area ( Pennsylvania ) then you should check it out because I bet it's gonna be a real treat to see. The show runs until October 4th. For more information, please be sure to visit their website by clicking HERE!
On Saturday, August 8th, 2009 ( 5:00pm - 11:00pm ) in Albuquerque, New Mexico the TRILLION ART SPACE ( 2nd & Marquette ) will have an art show titled, "WHY SO SERIOUS?". The show will feature art work in many shapes, forms, & sizes but all of it will have a special focus on Batman and/or The Joker. There will be paintings, photos, colleges, etc... Shown here are just a few examples. The 1st photo shows the poster for the event. The 1st painting is a large car hood that has been painted almost Graffiti-Style with a portrait of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight Batman movie ( Awesome! ). The next one is a Cubist-Style painting of the Joker that looks exactly like Pablo Picasso's famous self-portrait ( I love the parody here, good job, instantly recognizable ). The next few are examples of image-appropriation where they have taken existing photos or art & defaced them with Joker face make-up. Plus, at the art show, there will be much more artwork & it really looks like it's gonna be an extremely cool event! So, if you live in that area be sure to check it out ( Please send us some pics if ya go! ) Oh yeah, the last photo looks like maybe a postcard they made to advertise the event or maybe it's just a flyer, not sure. But the graphics are pretty sweet!
Here's a United States Fighter Jet Aircraft with amazing "Nose Art". No, seriously! It is a Batman Logo by TSgt Kevin "Node Man" Patnode, who flew 45 missions in Desert Storm and had markings on both sides of the aircraft...WOW! ( Thanks to Eric for sending this incredible photo! )
