Video - Michael Uslan BATMAN The Dark Knight Phenomenon

Here's an interesting video shot at New York Comic Con of an almost 1-hour speech by Michael Uslan, the Producer of the Batman Movies. This is part one ( 10 minutes ) & there are 5 total, that you can enjoy at YouTube. Basically, he shares his stories about being a HUGE Comic Book Fan & going to early Comic Book Conventions. In fact, he went to the VERY FIRST Comic Con in NYC back in the 1960's. Now the reason I'm posting this video is because he talks about Batman, a lot!

New Book - THE BOY WHO LOVED BATMAN By Michael Uslan

THE BOY WHO LOVED BATMAN, The True Story of How a Comics-Obsessed Kid Conquered Hollywood to Bring the Dark Knight to the Silver Screen. This is the new memoir written by Michael Uslan that will be coming out later ( No exact release date has been issued yet. But please stay tuned to the Bat-Blog because, "we're on it!" ). Now, some of you might think, "Hey, I recognize that name". Well, Michael Uslan has been the Movie Producer of all the BATMAN Movies. Yes, this is the guy responsible for bringing the Dark Knight to the big screen! In this new biography he shares the story of growing-up in the 1950's & totally being obsessed with comic books, especially Batman ones. He also shares his 10 year fight to get Batman to film. It sounds like a great story! Once we get more information we'll keep ya updated.



Important Side-Note:

A friend on Facebook just told me the release date will be around August 8th ( Thanks Torsten )

Vintage 1950's BATGIRL SQUADRON JACKET PATCH - US Navy VP-24

OK, I know the Bat-Blog reports some strange stuff every now & then but I thought this was pretty cool, from a "Military History" point-of-view. This is an Original US Navy VP-24 Squadron Jacket Patch from the 1950's ( probably from the "Korean War" ). It was made by the Ace Novelty Patch Company in Tokyo, Japan. The cool thing is the mascot is BATGIRL! OK, That's kind of a stretch, but it could also be BATWOMAN! I mean, look at the bat-wings cape & the mask, ha! This particular Military Patch was once owned by a US Navy WWII Enlisted Pilot who later retired as a Lieutenant. He was a survivor of Pearl Harbor & became an Aviator. He also served in the war in Korea. Toward the end of his career he was involved in Search & Rescue missions.

BATMAN NEWS: Bruce Wayne Went To Yale University!!

Batman is on the cover of this month's YALE Alumni Magazine! No, seriously! Some very serious Scholars have done a lot of research and found more than one example of proof that Bruce Wayne, while in his early "Batman training days", had gone to Yale & even got a Diploma! They cite "Detective Comics # 439, page 16" where there's an image of Batman standing in Bruce Wayne's office & it shows a framed YALE Diploma on the wall, ha! They also use the proof from another piece of Bat-Hstory where Batman is looking at a Wayne Family Photo Album & there's a picture of his Grandfather wearing a Yale Football Uniform & there's some comment about 3 generations of the Wayne Family going there. There are also many more fun references that are total proof that "Batman Went To Yale", ha! For the complete story be sure to visit the YALE Alumni Magazine website, just click HERE!



Side Note: Remember that there are different articles to read online, just look for the "March/April 2011" issue.

VIDEO - Comic Book Villain Origins - CATWOMAN

From WATCHMOJO we get this wonderful video to teach us everything we need to know about the origin of Catwoman. It covers the character from the Comic Books ( Golden Age & Modern Day ) to the Movies. It's both entertaining & educational! With "Selina Kyle" to be played by Anne Hathaway in the next Batman movie, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, this video has perfect timing... MEOW!

VIDEO 3-Minute Expert: - Who is Bane?

With the Batman BANE character expected to be in the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, we thought that a lot of Bat-Blog Readers might want to learn more about this popular Villain. So, here's this really great "3-Minute Expert" Video titled, "Who is Bane?". Check it out!

New Book - ICONS - The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee

Here's a very cool comic art book you might consider on your next trip to the bookstore. It's titled "ICONS, The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of JIM LEE". Basically it's a retrospective of his prolific artistic career. In this volume, Titan Books has completed the almost impossible task of compiling a generous amount of the last twenty years of Jim Lee’s work. Batman fans should totally love it because there is a ton of Bat-Art! There are also a lot of preliminary sketches that have never been seen before. Now, it's important to note that there are 2 different printings of this book. There's the regular edition with 296 pages. It's the one shown with a "Color Cover". Then, there is a "Previews" Special Edition, with the "Pencil Sketch" cover. The previews Edition has 8 additional pages & the variant cover. It's a little harder to find, but you might be able to get one using the link button down below.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE BATMOBILE

Here's a graphic image that has become pretty popular lately on the internet. The images are very BIG so you will have to click on each individual graphic to see the whole thing. I mean, this thing is HUGE! It's called "The Evolution of The Batmobile" & it's brought to you by both the BATMOBILE HISTORY and CAR INSURANCE websites. I kinda know the guy who does the "Batmobile History" page & it's great! It's been a favorite of mine for a long time & is an awesome reference for every Batmobile ever made. Now, back to this picture. Basically, it covers the entire history of the Batmobile car & besides being sort of educational, it's actually a lot of fun... check it out!

New BOOK: THE BAT STRIKES AGAIN AND AGAIN By Johnston McCulley

OK, I don't have any idea how this new "Batman Book" could have passed by my radar! If some of you knew about it & didn't tell me then shame on you! OK, I'm kinda-sort of kidding here, ha ha! But it's so weird that I have NEVER heard of it before! I guess that's the main reason for me posting it. You know, because some of you might not have heard of it either. The title of the book is THE BAT STRIKES AGAIN AND AGAIN & was written by Johnston McCulley with a forward by Pulp Historian Will Murray. For the first time, in one volume, all four appearances of THE BAT are collected. These stories originally appeared in Pulp Novels from 1934 to 1935. The stories detail the adventures of Dawson Clade, a man who was inspired to fight crime by a bat's sudden appearance ( sound familiar? ). These books are regarded by some Comic Book Historians as the inspiration for Bob Kane to come up with his "original idea" of a special Crime Fighter named the Bat-Man. I guess I gotta say upfront that I have not read this book yet, so this is NOT a Book Review or a recommendation, but I'm posting it mainly out of curiosity & because it looks really cool! Also, I know some people don't think Bob Kane ever stole any material so please don't flood me with e-mail, ha ha!

Promo Video: BATMAN VAULT a Museum-in-a-Book BOOK!

Here's a very well done promotional video for the BATMAN VAULT Book. It gives you a really good idea what this very interesting item looks like on the inside. As you can see it's loaded with a lot of fun reproductions to remove & look at. I still have not bought this yet but plan to get one later.

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 ).

New BATMAN VAULT "Museum in a Book" BOOK

It's been really weird lately but the brand-new BATMAN VAULT "Museum in a Book" Book has been popping-up in conversations with people on the web...a lot! Also, I have got a few e-mails about it too....very strange. So it got me curious about this book's popularity & this is what I came up with. It's just got some really cool stuff with it, especially for the price! The book is 212 pages with a lot of Bat-History & wonderful photos from the DC Archives. But that's not the neat thing really. The cool thing is that it comes with a lot of fun replicas of Vintage Batman items. A Batman Mask, a Bat-Plane Paper Airplane Glider to Make, Production Art From The Set of the 1st Batman Movie, Golden Age Comic Book Cover Art, etc...The Replica Toys are my favorite because they are pieces of Bat-Memorabilia that are extremely hard to find & very rare! All the e-mails I got were mainly from Batman Fans who were really excited after buying this book & didn't know about all the stuff inside. Now, HEY! The Bat-Blog reported about this book a long time ago & you should have known, ha ha! But anyway, the book is available now, so at your next Book Store visit be sure to check it out.