Hey Comic Book Collectors! Tomorrow, on Wednesday, August 3rd, be sure to keep an eye out for the latest DC Comics' RETROACTIVE 1980's BATMAN title. This all-new criminal mystery is written by Mike W. Barr with art by Jerry Bingham. It also features another Reaper story (the start of the BATMAN: YEAR TWO storyline) by Mike W. Barr, Alan Davis, and Paul Neary, that was originally published in the 1980’s. For a FREE PREVIEW of the 1st few pages, click HERE!
OK, if you're hitting the Comic Book Shop today then you need to keep an eye out for this baby! This is the cover to the "DC Retroactive 1970's BATMAN #1" One-Shot. I love the old DC Comics logo, & speaking of that, I also love the 70's BATMAN logo too ( Click on the above graphic for a larger photo ). You see, these are the comic books I grew-up with & it's just nice to see them again. Of course back then they only cost 25 cents, "Holy Inflation, Batman!" This one-shot issue features both a brand new story and a classic story by Len Wein, originally published in the 1970s. It also features art by Tom Mandrake, John Calnan and Dick Giordano.
Oh yeah, for a teaser where you can read the 1st few pages for free, click HERE!
This is sort of sad news for Toy Collectors out there. Mattel has decided to cancel the RETRO ACTION DC SUPER HEROES Toy Line. These are the brand-new 8" figures that were made to sort of be like the old vintage MEGO DOLLS from the 1970's. They're totally great toys, very very cool! Well, some Toy Collectors have got together & created a "SAVE THE RETRO LINE" Petition to try & get Mattel to continue making the figures. Basically, what they're saying to Mattel is, "If retail stores don't seem like a profitable solution, then consider making these Retro figures as exclusives on mattycollector.com or consider an annual subscription service." It's sort of a desperate attempt but I think if they got enough people involved then maybe it has a chance. So, if you love the Old Mego Dolls or enjoy collecting these new ones then please CLICK HERE & sign the petition. Every signature helps! Also, please be sure to tell all your friends about it too.
OK, are these called "buttons" or "pins"? ( In England they call them "badges" ). But what ever you call them these brand new Retro-Style BATMAN & JOKER Pinback Buttons are awesome! They look like they're vintage, like from the 1960's & I love the design. My favorite is the one with Joker's face, very cool. Also, the great thing, is that they sell for only $1.75 each so even I can afford to buy them all, ha ha! These are being sold over at the SUPERHERO STUFF website, here's a link to check them out.
Here's a fun video sent in by our friend Michael. He and his wife made their cat, DONUTS, a Batman costume for Halloween. They did a really great job on it and, personally, I like that it's the older "vintage 1970's retro-style" outfit with the blue & gray colors, very cool! So, Here's DONUTS IN ACTION!
OK, I know that I have reported this news to death but I just got some very cool pics of this new FUNKO TOYS product & I wanted to share them. So this will be a very quick post. Here's an Official Photo of the "Wacky Wobbler Bobble-Car" showing the retro-style Batman & Batmobile in all their glory, pretty awesome! The next 2 pics show the original prototypes of this toy, in both the black & blue versions. Yes, this toy will be created in two colors to make us buy them both, ha ha! But if you just bought one, which color do you like the best? ( Yes, I know I don't have a finished pic of the black one so you'll have to use your imagination ). Personally, I'm totally digging the "blue one", because it reminds me of the Vintage SUPER POWERS Toy by Kenner.
Our good friend THE BATFAN went on a wacky Batman shopping spree the other night & found some really great stuff at Wal-Mart. Shown here are some amazing school supplies with Vintage Retro-Style Batman Comic Book graphics! Now before you start to think you're seeing double, one set are some folders & the other ones are spiral notebooks. I thought I would show them both because they're just so beautiful, seriously, I love the artwork on these!! The one on the left is Carmine Infantino & the one on the right is Neal Adams...how cool is that!?! Then I guess he hit the action figure aisle & found this Wal-Mart EXCLUSIVE DC Universe Action Figure Set of the Dynamic Duo, Batman & Robin! I really like these figures & the packaging is pretty awesome. Now, THE BATFAN found a few more items while there ( mainly clothes ) & I'll be posting those pics later so be sure to stay tuned to the Bat-Blog! Also, if any other of YOU readers out there spot any brand-new Bat-Merchandise then please send us some information. The main focus of this site is sharing the love of collecting the Dark Knight. ( Thanks for the great pics BATFAN! )
Michael B. Myers is a 27 year old Graphic Designer and, as a personal project, he recently created a few "Vintage Style Superhero Posters" featuring a few of our favorite DC Comics characters. He actually made a lot of them ( Green Lantern, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, & Hawkman) but because the Bat-Blog is mostly Batman-related, I thought I would just post these 2 of The Dark Knight and Robin. If you would like to see more then just click HERE!
OK, this is really great! We received a ton of great vintage "Batman-related" photos from our friend David the other day. I thought I would post them every now & then. You know, to spread them out a little bit. I know you're going to love every single one of them! This first one is David from around 1977. He's shown here wearing a Vintage 1970's Batman T-Shirt that has actual bat-graphics done by the Legendary Comic Book Artist Neal Adams!! Plus, as a bonus, I have placed under that a Batman Wallpaper Background of that classic artwork, it's totally iconic art! Please feel free to use this as a background on your PC or MySpace page. Also, thanks to David for all the great pics, I appreciate that very very much.
OK, remember along time ago, during the early 1989 Batman movie there were some GIANT-SIZE Fabric Wall Scroll Hangings with Batman graphics that were pretty cool. Well, a company recently created a few modern-day products using retro-style graphics from the 1980's. There are a few fabric banners with the Caped Crusader & one with the Joker. The first 3, shown here, are being sold at Superherostuff & the last banner ( clip art ) will be available at TFAW ( links down below, just do a search for "batman wall" ). I totally love the 1st two with the Batman & Joker graphics. These images are completely iconic!
Here's a totally cool vintage 1970's family photo of our friend David when he was a little boy. He was completely into Batman back then & still is today. The toy shown here is the 1966 Batman Punching Bop Bag. Now I have to wonder why they didn't put the JOKER on here instead because who would want to punch Batman? ( ha ha ). Oh well, I still think the retro-style graphics are AWESOME! Many thanks to David for allowing us to post this wonderful piece of Bat-History. Speaking of that, be sure to check out this older post on the Bat-Blog where we show a few vintage toy catalog scans that feature this same exact toy, just click HERE!
Here's a few Batgirl T-Shirts I found on the web that I had not seen before & they're both pretty cool! The 1st one is my favorite & it's more modern-day with the Batgirl from "The Batman" Animated Series Cartoon. It also has a cool "Anime-Look". The second one is Vintage-Retro with the 1980's-Style graphics that were originally drawn by the famous comic book artist, Dick Giordano. I found them both at a website called WebUndies. They sell T-Shirts, Underwear, Pajamas ( Tops & Bottoms ), & other clothing. They also have Batman T-Shirts for Kids, Men, & Boys. Their merchandise is kind of unique because it's stuff you don't see everywhere.
Recently a Bat-Blog Reader ( David ) sort of introduced me to another artist named Larry Malott. Now I really appreciate that because this guy's work is AMAZING!! He is also very versatile as he likes to work in many different mediums. He draws, paints, does 3D computer graphics, sculpts statues, sews costumes, etc...this guy is almost insane, ha ha! ( Sorry Larry, I mean that in a good way ). For example, the 2 graphics shown here are of some 3D Model images he made. It's for an idea he has about some new vinyl toy he would like to make. It's name is BAT-MOUSE & I totally love it! Readers, please be sure to click on the small graphics up above for larger, more detailed, versions. The modeling is awesome & I love the retro silver age style of the bat-costume. In fact, when I asked him if that one picture was inspired by original Neal Adams' art ( because of the classic pose of the character ) he said, "YES!". He said he totally loves Adams' work & is even in the process, right now, of creating a "Neal Adams Style" Batman Costume. Now, I've seen some of his other costumes he has made so I know it will be totally great! I can't wait to see it!! ( Larry, You better send us some photos of it later, ha ha! ). I wanna thank both David & Larry for introducing me to this art. Larry has a lot of other artwork ( most non-Batman-related ) that is really great too & if you would like to see it then just click HERE!
A friend to the Bat-Blog, named "Mike Destructive", sent us this photo of a painting he did recently. It is a Batman-Inspired piece titled "Zotham City"...because Batman, Robin, and The Joker are all Zombies!! ( I like how you can see the Joker's brains, ha ha! ) It has sort of a retro-groovy 1970's feel about it. Just click on the picture up above for a larger, more detailed, version. Also, I think he has it for sale or if you would like to see some of his other artwork then click HERE!
BBBBBBATMAN IN SPACE! I was kinda bored last night & decided to try to be creative so I made these 2 wacky "Batman in Space" Desktop Wallpapers. Please feel free to use them as a background in a MySpace layout or just to brighten your PC desktop. There are 2 versions: one in glorious color, the other is black & white to give it a retro feel. Please let me know what you think about them by leaving a comment ( & be honest! ). Thanks, hope you like at least one of them, ha ha! Go ahead & click on one to see the larger version, the details are pretty sharp!
Here's a total blast from the past! This is the BATMAN'S WAYNE FOUNDATION Mego Toy Play Set TV Commercial from 1977! We have featured this amazing vintage toy in our blog before but this is such super-rare television footage that I just had to post it! Also, at the end of this post is a link to the extremely cool MEGO TOYS BOOK by Benjamin Holcomb. So, be sure to check that out too!
OK, a Bat-Blog Reader, named Barry, wrote me recently & said he seriously loved my Batman Desktop Wallpapers that I post every Wednesday ( Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday ) but could I please do something with retro-style graphics. Like maybe something with a 1960's Vintage Batman Item. So, I thought I would use some graphics from the cover of an extremely RARE 1966 Whitman Batman Coloring Book. Here's what I came up with & there are 2 variations. Barry, I hope you enjoy BOTH of them! If any other readers have anything they would like to see then just let me know. This blog is for serious Batman Fans & I want everybody to be happy!
This post features a really great Vintage TV Commercial but it is also a test because I created it then posted it on YouTube. So, I am seeing if it works, ha ha! This was a famous TV spot for Zeller's Toy Stores. I really like the art direction of the animation, not bad. It also features the Riddler as the main villain...enjoy! Oh yeah, if you have a blog then please embed this video on your site...thanks!
The other day I was trolling the NECA Website for some new Batman products. Later this year they will release 2 new Batman Items that are not "Dark Knight" movie related but will feature vintage retro-style graphics. The 1st piece of merchandise uses the most retro-thing you can have... it's a large BATMAN GOLDEN AGE 1939 COMIC BOOK COVER Hanging Fabric Wall Scroll. Of course, it's the cover to Detective Comics #27 which we all know was the very first appearance of the caped crusader! It measures about 22" X 32", which is actually kinda BIG! I'm really liking this item & think it will be a "must have"! They also have a vintage ACTION COMICS / SUPERMAN cover too. The next photo shows us some neat SUPERHERO TIN BANKS they're gonna release & one of them is Batman! The other two are Superman & Wonder Woman. These too have retro-graphics because they sort of look like they have 1980's artwork. If anyone knows who the artist is for these please let me know. I think they look kinda like Dick Giordano's artwork. Anyway, here's some new stuff to keep an eye out for & if ANY Bat-Blog Readers hear about ANY brand-new Batman Merchandise then please shoot us an e-mail so we can share. This blog is all about connecting collectors with great information!
Here are 3 very stylized graphics of Catwoman, Batgirl, & a Retro-Style Batman.These were done by commercial artist & graphic designer Rafael Navarro. ( Thanks for the pix, Rafael! ) He told me he's currently doing the animation storyboards for the new season of THE BATMAN cartoon.Since 1996, Rafael has self-published the Xeric Award winning comic book SONAMBULO. He has a website for that comic. It's a pretty cool site with some great artwork. Here's a link to check out that character.
