OK, Long time Bat-Blog Fans know the drill. Every Wednesday we post a few custom-designed BATMAN Wallpaper Backgrounds for you to enjoy....so, enjoy! The 1st one is an homage to 1970's Batman. I think this artwork was originally the comic book art of Neal Adams, a Bat-Fan favorite! Then, the 2nd one is a parody of the 1960's TV Series Logo. It says, "HENCH", referring to "Henchmen". This is all about some characters on the modern day TV Cartoon, The Venture Bros. On that show there's an evil Super-Villain named "The Monarch" & he has a very large team of Henchmen. This graphic design is actually from a T-Shirt & if you would like more info on that then just click HERE!
OK, I woke-up this morning to discover that there are even MORE MORE MORE Costume-Mod Skins for Batman: Arkham City! Keeping up with it all is driving me crazy and I predict that there will probably be many more, ha! For now, here are the ones that will be foreign exclusives to certain companies. I would like to add that I think all of these will be made available to everybody in the future. I mean, you know everyone world-wide is going to want each and every Bat-Suit! Here they are -
From left to right: Batman Beyond, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Earth One, 1970's Batman, and The Animated Series. The last one is the Regular "Arkham City" Version.
For now, the break-down on who is offering these skins is as follows:
ShopTo.net (UK) or Toys ‘R Us (USA) – 1970′s Batman
MightyApe – Batman Beyond, Earth One, The Animated Series
In BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM we could all pretty much be Batman but all with the same costume. For BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY there has already been an announcement that, in the Special "Limited Collector's Edition" of BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY, it will include a Frank Miller-style "The Dark Knight Returns" Batman skin that will change the appearance of the character to look like the TDKR version.
OK, it's been announced in the UK that if you buy the "Limited Collector's Edition" of BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY from a company called SHOP TO, you can get a free EXCLUSIVE download that will enable you to have a 1970's Inspired Costume Skin ( see the pic up above ). Now, I'm not sure if this will be made available in the USA or if it will even work with American Consoles. But if you're curious & wanna check it out then here's a LINK!
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!
OK, This week's "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" is gonna get really really weird, ha! First off we have a very nice piece of art sent in to us by our friend Gary. It's an image of one of the strangest Super-Villains in Comic Book history, COMPOSITE SUPERMAN! This weird character has developed sort of a cult following over the years & keeps making appearances from time to time. Basically, his costume is half-Batman and half-Superman. I don't know, I've always thought it looks pretty cool! If ya wanna learn more about this guy then just click HERE, it's pretty interesting stuff. Also, a special "THANKS!" goes out to Gary for sharing his awesome artwork with us, good job!
Next up, the Bat-Blog is mostly known for being a place where Serious Batman Toy Collectors show-up. The history of merchandise for the Caped Crusader is vast & we love all the cool vintage stuff that's been made over the years. One area of collecting that I have always loved are the Mego Dolls from the 1970's. In this wallpaper I used a simple clean photo of THE RIDDLER Figure. Go ahead, try it as a background, you'll like it, ha!
Here's a wonderful photo sent in to us by our friend Yuji. He had a BATMAN Birthday Cake with a graphic of his favorite Vintage Toy, a 1970's Batman MEGO Doll... I mean, Action Figure! This cake looks goooood & it's making me hungry, ha! Plus, I totally love Mego Toys so this is great stuff! ( Thanks Yuji for sharing your pic ).
OK, I know that this is really not "Batman -Related News" but I'm a HUGE FAN of the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN Movies from the 1970's, so, here we go! HOT TOYS has just released a teaser photo of one of their next major figures they're going to release. It's the SUPERMAN THE MOVIE Figure, a Classic Christopher Reeve version! The pic doesn't show his face, but knowing this Toy Company, it's gonna be awesome! Now, let's just hope they do every single character in the film, "KNEEL DOWN TO ZOD!"
If you have ever read the Bat-Blog for a few days or longer then you know I love the Batman Toys, ha! I like everything from the 60's all the way to today. But the stuff that's the most special to me is the merchandise made in the 1970's. You see, I was born in 1964 so I remember most of the bat-products on the shelves around that time. I guess you could say they were "the toys of my childhood". So, I'm sort of nostalgic for them. Now, in the 70's there was a "retail-marketing thing" called RACK TOYS. They were usually extremely cheesy plastic toys that were sold inside a clear bubble-pack on a thin-cardboard header card.
You would see them all the time at Grocery Stores, Drug Stores, & especially 7-Eleven! They were inexpensive & some modern-day Toy Collectors call them "Shut-Up Toys". You know, you would whine that you wanted it & Mom would say, "OK, here, get this one & be quiet!", ha ha! So, this post is dedicated to those wonderful collectibles from the past. Most of the photos are pretty self-explanatory so I'll just let you check them out. Also, if you have any special memories of this stuff then please share.
I don't know what my fascination is with "Foreign Batman items" but that sort of stuff is really cool! Plus it's very hard to find. Here's some great examples: The 1st photo shows a JAPANESE POTATO CHIP BAG with a 1989 BATMAN movie promotion. Now, how wacky is that! Speaking of "Japanese", right now my heart goes out to all the people of Japan. The recent events there are such a tragedy. Let's hope things get better soon. The next pic features a 1980's German-Language BATMAN Comic Book... from Germany ( Duh!, ha! ). The the last group of photos are vintage Batman items from Australia. These Australian comics are from the 1970's. So, what do you think? Is this stuff kinda cool!? Hey, I got a question, Do YOU have any foreign bat-items you would like to share? If so, then please send us some pics today. Remember, the Bat-Blog is all about sharing information about the joys of collecting.
Just the other day I got an email from a Bat-Blog Reader asking me about a Batman Promo Glass he found at a Garage Sale. He sent a photo of it and as soon as I saw it I knew what it was. I mean, I totally remembered these from my childhood in the 70's. It's a glass from the 1976 DC Comics Superhero Pepsi Series. If I remember right, they were a promotion at Burger King, the Fast Food Restaurant ( or was it Arby's? ). But either way here's a photo that shows the complete set of 6 glasses ( Click on the pic for a larger sharper version ). OK Rob, you now need to find Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and the Flash!
I recently got a message from a guy named Steve who is searching for a piece of his childhood. Well, he's looking for a Batman Rain Coat that he had as a kid in the 1970's. He wrote me to see if I had any information but I have never seen this bat-product before. The cool thing, he made these 2 awesome drawings to represent what he's looking for. Yeah, he got into heavy detail here, ha! the Coat was made out of Heavy Black Latex Rubber & was sort of like a Poncho. It had a Bat-Cowl Hood with a Clear-Plastic Visor. On the back was a Large BATMAN Logo ( 1970's Style ) inside a Yellow Oval-Shape. So, has anybody ever seen this thing? If so then please let us know. Thanks.
Do you remember those wonderful Mego Dolls from the 70's? Do you collect them? Well, the Mego Museum is having their annual MEGO MEET again this June. I know, that's about 3 months away but I thought I would report it now so many of you can make travel plans. I will probably remind everybody closer to the time it actually happens but it's good to know early. Now, for people who have never been, MegoMeet is a chance for the Mego Toy Collectors Community to get together in person to trade and buy parts and action figures, sit in on sessions designed to educate and answer questions about the Mego Corporation and the Toys they made, but more than anything a chance to hook up with friends and fellow collectors live and in person, instead of over the internet. This year it will be in Wheeling, West Virginia at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. The date for the event is June 11th & 12th, 2010. OK, this thing is always way too far for me to go so if any of you go please send us some cool pics!
Here's a pretty cool video that was featured on an eBay posting ( I always think that's a really great idea to do that ). It's a Japanese ( Vintage 1970's ) ALPS Batman and Robin BATMOBILE TIN TOY that is one of those fun Battery Operated Cars! Now, this is a bootleg toy ( not licensed ) but still, it's a lot of fun & very very RARE! Plus, it's really neat to see it in action, ha!
OK, since today is "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" and the Bat-Blog is mainly all about the love of collecting Vintage Batman Toys, I thought that today's Desktop Backgrounds would be "Retro Bat-Toy" related. The 1st one is the totally beautiful BOX ART for the 1970's MEGO BATMAN BATCAVE PLAYSET! This is one of those vinyl case toys that open-up to become an environment for dolls or figures. In this case, it's the Mego Doll 8"Action Figures...CRAZY! The next wallpaper uses the graphics found on an original package of 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW VIEW-MASTER REELS. I used to completely love these things as a little kid & would stare at them for hours, ha ha! Now, if you don't like these backgrounds then please keep in mind that we have hundreds more here at the Bat-Blog! Just click the button down below for the most current ones ( around the last 20 or so ) or be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES ( located at the lower left-side of this page ) for many many more!
The main focus of the Bat-Blog is really about the joys of Collecting Batman Toys. So I thought it would be a good idea to get back to that, ha ha! Up above are some photos of a few really RARE pieces of Bat-Merchandise! The 1st item is from the 1970's & is one of the weirdest Batman Products I have ever seen. It's an unopened package of SILLY-SACKS Wastebasket Liners. Yes, Trash Bags! The company that made these printed DC Comics Superhero Characters on white trash bags, ha ha! I guess it tricked a lot of kids to take out the trash? But overall I think these are pretty cool just on the rarity scale! The next picture is guaranteed to make Vintage Bubble Gum Card Collectors totally drool. This is the original Retail-Display Box for the 1966 Batman TV Series Trading Cards made by Topps. This was a later series where all the cards had color photos of the actors instead of painted illustrations...nice! Now, the last photo is sort of weird but when you think about it, it's a really cool toy! This is a BATMAN Inflatable Swimming Pool Toy that was made by Ideal in the 1960's. It's so cool that it is still in the original package with the header card & everything! OK, I hope you have enjoyed some of these & if YOU have any photos of special Batman Toys that you would like to share then please send them in today. Our e-mail button is always at the top right-hand side of this page!
In Argentina, in 1978 & '79, DC Comics teamed up with Pepsi-Cola for a very cool DC SUPER HERO Promotion! They had special Super Hero Bottle Caps placed on their Pepsi Soda Pop Bottles with very cool graphics of a comic book hero or villain. Quite a few of them were Batman-related so that's what you see in the 1st photo, click on it for a larger version. They made ones for Batman, Robin, Commissioner Gordon ( Comisionado Gordon ), Batgirl ( Batichica ), Bruce Wayne ( Bruno Diaz ), The Joker, The Riddler ( El Acertijo ), The Penguin ( Pinguino ), Catwoman ( Gatubela ), Ra's Al Ghul ( Ragul ), & The Scarecrow ( El Espantapajaros ). The next two photos show a special in-store Paper Place Mat that contained a "Collector Board" on one side ( in color ) & a "Checker Game" on the other. These photos also show the other Bottle Caps of Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Flash, etc...so be sure to click on one of those to see them! I gotta say that I am totally loving the vintage graphics on all of this stuff, great stock art! The last photo is a super close-up of the BATICHICA Bottle Cap. I really love the sound of that word, Batichica! Speaking of her, these photos were all sent in by our good friend Milotik who lives in Argentina ( Thank You! ). These DC Comics Bottle Caps are a part of his amazing Batgirl Toy Collection. You see, Milotik's main collecting focus is on her & that's very cool. He has some very neat stuff, some of it extremely RARE! He even has a great website where he shares his collectable adventures called EL BLOG DE BATGIRL which you can visit by clicking HERE!
From BRAVE AND THE BOLD #148 ( March 1979 ) we get the heartwarming Christmas story titled "The Night the Mob Stole X-Mas". Written by Bob Haney with artwork by Joe Staton and Jim Aparo. You can read the entire comic book at the Diversions of The Groovy Kind website, just click HERE!
I think in response to a recent post here at the Bat-Blog, about Batman Tattoos, I got these in the mail from 2 different Bat-Fans. The 1st one is our new friend Jake. He got a Vintage 1970's Batman Comic Book Logo on his arm, it looks great! This has always been a favorite logo of mine, good choice Jake & it looks really well done! The next pic is from a cool guy named Andy who said he saw a Dude with a Batman Tattoo & had to get a photo for the Bat-Blog. WOW! Thanks for thinking about us, that's awesome! Here's a cool Bat-Tat that is kinda weird but not really once ya know the story. The guy said he got this to remember his dog who recently died. His Dog's name was "Batman". I think that's really nice. Andy also said that the guy told him that the cityscape in the background isn't Gotham City but it's Chicago, IL. Thank you very much Jake & Andy for sending these 2 photos to us, I appreciate that a lot. I also wanna invite any other Bat-Blog Readers to feel that they can send pics anytime, anything Batman-related! Thanks Guys!
