DC RETROACTIVE - NORM BREYFOGLE & ALAN GRANT Are Making BATMAN COMICS Again!

OK, Batman Comic Book Fans from the late 80's & early 90's will totally remember the artwork of Norm Breyfogle. He drew the character from 1987 to 1993. Well, DC Comics is bringing him back for a one-shot called "DC RETROACTIVE: BATMAN, The 90's". Now, don't look for it real soon, it doesn't hit the shops until August 17th, ha! But it should be pretty cool & well worth the wait because they're also bringing back the same Writer from that period, Alan Grant! Both Norm & Alan will revisit a pair of villains closely associated with their original run on The Caped Crusader: The Ventriloquist and Scarface! Released on a technicality one year after being arrested, this bizarre duo is determined to reclaim their status in the upper echelon of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. This “lost tale” of the era spins directly out of DETECTIVE COMICS #613, reprinted in this issue!

BATMAN MEMORABILIA From Around the Globe!

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.

BATMAN AND JOKER 1989 Movie Collectibles

One of my many favorite areas of BATMAN TOY Collecting is all the crazy merchandise made during the 1989 Tim Burton Movie. This film was a HUGE blockbuster & they made a ton of tie-in products. Here are just a few really fun examples: The 1st pic shows a Promo Poster for TOPPS Bubble Gum Trading Cards. The graphics are pretty simple but also very cool! Dealers could find this poster inside a case of cards & it was made available to them to promote the product. The 2nd photo shows a BATMAN Playdoh Play Set. It was made by the, now classic, Kenner Toys Company. The graphics on the box are really great! I love how it combines both photography AND graphic art... nice. Plus, it came with a Batmobile & Joker-Car! Speaking of Joker, the next item is a really nice JOKER FACE Cloisonné Pin. It's more of a "Comic Book" version but still came during the film. Now, the last item shown here is actually kinda hard to find ( Here in the US anyway ) because this was a Magazine published in Canada. It was called TRIBUTE GOES TO THE MOVIES & it's best feature was that it always came with a few promo posters inside. This one as a nice color photo on the cover of Michael Keaton & Jack Nicholson, in costume. I hope a lot of people enjoy seeing this stuff again.

Sarah Silverman Loves Batman!

Here's an old photo showing the Comedian Sarah Silverman sporting a Vintage 1980's BATMAN T-Shirt!

Vintage BATMAN and JOKER JACKET - Great Graphics!

All the way from Mexico we got an email from a Bat-Blog Fan named Pablo. He wanted to share a few pics of one of his favorite items in his collection. He has this extremely cool Vintage "CHALK LINE" Batman Jacket. From the style of the artwork used I'm guessing it's from the late 1980's. I totally love the image on the back with Batman & Joker in the heat of battle. They are shown in the Silver-Age Comic Book style...what a lot of people call the "Gray & Blue Batman" ( this is one of my favorites ). Thank you Pablo for sending the nice pics, I really appreciate that. This thing is GREAT!

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! - Funny Parody Comic Book Cover

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! Yes, you read the title correctly. Here's a totally hilarious parody comic book cover done by our new friend ( & great Graphic Artist ) Jim Mohan. It makes fun of the old 1980's BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #1 Comic Book Cover by replacing a few superheroes with characters from Gary Larson's famous comic strip, THE FAR SIDE. It's also sort of a tribute to the original artist & creator Jim Aparo. The artwork is awesome & it is really really funny! ( Thanks Jim )

Video: Vintage TV News Footage of 1989 Batman Movie VHS Release

OK, it keeps freaking me out a little bit that the 1989 Batman Movie was 20 years ago. I feel so old now! Here is some old Local TV News Footage from back then talking about the release of the Warner Bros BATMAN VHS Video Tape in Retail Stores. The moment was almost as hyped-up as the original movie premiere, ha ha! In fact, at the time, it did set a record for fastest time for a movie to become available in stores ( 4 months ).

Kenner ROBIN SUPER POWERS Action Figure Comic Book

Back in 1985 a toy company called Kenner made a line of DC Comics action figures called SUPER POWERS. When you bought a figure you also got a free mini-comic book included in the package, located behind the figure ( see 1st photo ). Well, this post is a reprinting of that comic book that you can read ( Be sure to click on the above images for larger, more readable, pictures ). I hope it brings back good memories. In fact, they're kinda fun to read!!Plus, be sure to check out other Bat-Blog Posts from the past for more of these wonderful comics: Batman, Joker, & Penguin.

1989 BATMAN MOVIE JEWELRY Reference Guide!

Awhile back, I got an e-mail from a guy who told me all about how he made some Batman Jewelry back in the late 1980's. Actually, the stuff came out during the 1989 Batman Movie craze! His company made many different versions of Batman-Themed Rings, Pendants, Pins, Buttons, Badges, Earrings, etc... They were all either Batman or Joker related & were the actual characters or their respective logos ( like the Bat-Symbol or Comic Book Logo ). Shown here are 2 Advertising Pamphlets featuring the work. Oh man, they're all so cool! The funny thing is I think I have one set of those Bat-Symbol Earrings, I'll have to dig those up later! Anyway, I wanna thank him for sharing these great pics. This stuff is an amazing piece of Vintage Bat-History! ( Readers, be sure to click on the above photos for larger, more detailed, pics ).

Halloween Costume Memories: DAVE IS BATMAN!

OK, as promised here are the wonderful photos of our buddy Dave dressed a s Batman! In earlier posts we shared some pics of him in various Halloween Costumes he has worn over the years. There have been costumes of The JOKER, both "Vintage Comic Book" & "Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight movie" versions. Plus he has been Robin, The Boy Wonder! Well, here's a nice collection of Batman costume photos! In the 1st photo it looks like he wore his costume to the office one day. So, I guess, his cubile on that day was called the "Batcave", ha ha! In another pic, from around 1989, he is with a very pretty girl who was dressed-up as Catwoman ( ya gotta love that ) & in another he is shown with his "Batmobile Car". Actually it's a black Hyundai with cardboard tail-fins, ha ha! ( I totally love the creativity of that ). Before I forget, I wanna thank Dave for all the great photos he has sent us. They have all been really great & I really appreciate that. I also want to invite all other Bat-Blog Fans to send in their Halloween memories, thank you.

Kenner BATMAN SUPER POWERS Action Figure Comic Book

Back in 1985 a toy company called Kenner made a line of DC Comics action figures called SUPER POWERS. When you bought a figure you also got a free mini-comic book included in the package, located behind the figure ( see 1st photo ). Well, this post is a reprinting of that comic book that you can read ( Be sure to click on the above images for larger, more readable, pictures ). I hope it brings back good memories. In fact, they're kinda fun to read!! Here's the Batman one & later, I plan on posting the Robin one so keep an eye out for that.

Vintage BATMAN Halloween Costume: Dave as...ROBIN, The Boy Wonder

Here's our good buddy Dave as Robin, The Boy Wonder! These Vintage Photos are from the 1980's, like, totally! Now I'm not sure if these were for a Halloween Party or if Dave dressed like this all the time, Ha Ha! Thanks Dave for sending the cool pics. Now readers, you might remember the post we did awhile back of Dave as the Joker, same guy. Well, later, we're gonna post some of him as the Dark Knight himself, The Batman! So keep an eye out for those. If YOU have any Halloween Costume photos from the past ( or present ) then please send them in ...before it's too late! Happy Halloween Everybody!!