The other day I came across a really cool website with a weird twist. It features many vintage newspaper ads for bootleg films & exploitation movies that were made in the Philippines. One is titled BATMAN VERSES DRACULA & the other one is BATWOMAN AND ROBIN. It's a shame but these movies are lost in time with no known copies to exist. Oh man, these would be really great to watch. Too bad they're lost forever. The site is called Video48 & has a lot of wacky Pinoy film history. Here's a link to check it out. 
Interviewed for Entertainment Tonight in 1987, Adam and Burt reminisce about their 60's Batman days and the neccesity of wearing "restraining devices." There is also a "hint" about a new Batman movie coming out which we all now know was BATMAN, directed by Tim Burton in 1989. It's the "1st Batman movie" with Michael Keaton & Jack Nicholson. I have always wished that they would have given Adam & Burt a cameo appearance in that movie. But, they did give a tiny film role to Bob Kane, one of the creators of Batman, so that's cool. He played a newspaper reporter.
A friend sent this link ( Thanks Dave ) to an amazing commercial artist's website where he does well-known people rendered in the art style of characters from the Simpsons. It's called SPRINGFIELD PUNX! He's done a ton of famous people like Napoleon Dynomite, Steven Colbert, Jay Leno, NEO from The Matrix, Back To The Future, Pee Wee Herman, Heroes TV Show, & many many more! Our favorites are the actors from the 1966 Batman TV Show! Look at these of Batman ( Adam West ), Robin ( Burt Ward ), Batgirl ( Yvonne Craig ), Catwoman ( Julie Newmar ), The Joker ( Cesar Romero), The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), & The Penguin ( Burgess Meredeth )....AMAZING!! Here's a link button to check out more of his great artwork:
Here's a very cool Vintage Batman Toy TV Commercial featuring the 1995 Kenner CRIME SQUAD series! Ohhhhh My God, These Batman & Robin figures had special "rapid deploy techno-capes"! Showcased here are the Land-Strike Batman, Ski-Blast Robin, & Bane, the evil villain, action figures. It also shows the Triple-Attack Bat-Jet with Attack-Drone. I hope you enjoy this wonderful piece of Bat-History. Now go watch the video already! ( Oh yeah, one last thing, at the end of the TV Commercial they attached a DC Comics Company Promo that's pretty cool to see ).
Include here, for your viewing pleasure, are 4 extremely cool pieces of Batman Memorabilia from the 60's! The 1st photo is of a very hard-to-find BATMAN and ROBIN BEACH TOWEL. It features a picture of the Dynamic Duo racing along in their famous Batmobile. I don't have one of these in my personal collection but would kill for it, ha ha! The next item is pretty RARE also. It's a Plastic BATMAN FRISBEE with a large sticker that has some wonderful vintage graphics. The 3rd item is a SPARKLE PAINTS Paint Kit made by Kenner. Basically it's a Paint-By-Number Kit with special "glitter paint", snazzy! Next, we have a very cool BATMAN FORK & SPOON Set that is still attached to the vintage display card. The graphics on the card are awesome, especially with the old logo. If you look closely both the spoon & fork have a "Batman Name & Figure" each embossed on the handle, nice! The Bat-Blog is known for displaying Vintage Batman Toys so if you have some photos/information of RARE Batman-Memorabilia to share then please send it in!
Somebody wrote me the other day asking what is Burt Ward doing now? They said they hear about Adam West a lot because he's on Family Guy & makes commercials from time to time. We all know Burt Ward as the actor who played Robin, The Boy Wonder, on TV's classic 1966 Batman Series. Today he stays quite busy with a charity he created called GENTLE GIANTS. Basically it's a pet rescue and adoption center for HUGE dogs. It's actually run by him & his wife. They find good homes for large-breed dogs. Burt also makes appearances at comic book conventions / car shows every now & then. But their charity work is a labor of love. If you're interesting in adopting a new pet then here's a link:
Here are some really great photos of some amazing vintage 60's BATMAN TOYS from Japan! The 1st photo was sent in by our friend Hans who just recently bought this Batman & Robin Japanese Jigsaw Puzzle. I seriously love the retro graphics & Japanese language...nice! (Thanks Han, cool find). The next few photos are some great examples of Japanese BATMOBILE Tin Toys (OK, The Bat-Jet is plastic. But you get the idea, ha ha!). One of them even has the original box! Ya know, sometimes these things are licensed by DC Comics & other times they are totally bootleg, but I don't care, I LOVE THEM ALL! If any Bat-Blog Readers have some photos they would like to share, of anything Batman, then please send them in today! Our "e-mail Button" is on the top right-hand side of this page, thanks!
Last night I was visiting a friend's website & saw these 2 photos that I had to totally steal, ha ha! They show what the original artwork for the 1966 BATMAN and ROBIN Whitman Frame-Tray Puzzle looks like! Oh man, this is a wonderful piece of Bat-History that I had to share. ( Be sure to click on the small photo up above for a larger, more detailed, version ). I have the puzzle but to be able to own the original art would be totally insane. I mean, how can you even put a price on something like that?! So, thanks "Percy Trout Hour" for allowing me to steal these pics, not that I asked or anything, ha ha. Readers, here's a link button to his website. It's a fun place to visit with a lot of quirky weird stuff ( I mean that in a good way ). Also, it's NOT SAFE FOR KIDS, Adults Only.
While surfing on eBay the other night I saw this very RARE piece of Batman Memorabilia that I will probably NEVER see again! Detective Comics, Inc. ( now DC Comics ) made a set of BATMAN FULL-COLOR TRANSFERS 1944. They are shown here in their original packaging, a paper envelope. You got 2 sheets of transfers for just 10 cents! In the photo down below I reversed the picture & tweaked the contrast to give you an idea what the images look like. I can't even begin to explain how extremely SUPER-RARE these are, a true 1940's Batman Collectible!! Remember, be sure to click on the pictures up above for larger, more detailed, photos.
Just a friendly reminder that the McDonalds Fast Food Restaurant Promotion for LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEO GAME starts on September 12th, 2008. Hey, that's tomorrow! I guess it's time, once again, to wolf-down those McDonald's Happy Meals! There will be 8 toys total, 4 figures & 4 vehicles. The premiums look awesome & I finally got some "official photos" of the toys...just in time! ( Click on the above graphics for larger photos ).
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My friends & family know that, besides being a crazy Batman Fan, I also really love ART. I mean, just this weekend I went to 3 art gallery openings, ha ha. So, I wanted to share this artwork from an artist I really like. His name is Tommy Kane. He's an illustrator & painter. Shown here are just a few examples of his fine art. The first one is a large canvas with the image of Adam West as Batman from the classic 1966 TV Guide cover, very cool! POW! The 2nd painting shows Robin, The Boy Wonder ( Burt Ward ). He also does some smaller pieces on cardboard which is a really neat material to use. This example shows Batgirl. He makes a lot of pop culture references in his work. You can see Roy Rogers, Astroboy, The Lone Ranger, Pee Wee Herman, Green Hornet & Kato, among others. Here's a link to check out his page. But, please be sure to bookmark the Bat-Blog before ya go! Also, Be sure to check out the Bat-Blog ARCHIVES for many more examples of Batman-Inspired ART!
A friend of mine, named Dave, sent me a link tonight to an artist in Brazil named Marcelo Braga who's graphic style is pretty amazing. While visiting his site it didn't take long to notice that he must be a big fan of Batman. There's a few images of characters like Batman, Robin, Joker, etc...Shown up above is a hilarious parody of Robin, The Boy Wonder, at age 72, ha ha! Since the graphic was pretty HUGE I took the liberty of making it a desktop wallpaper ( click on it for the bigger photo ). Here's a link to check out his work. While there be sure to float through a few pages to see all his art, you'll really enjoy it. Oh yeah, also, please be sure to BOOKMARK the Bat-Blog before ya go!
Here's an awesome blast from the past! This is a Classic Vintage Toy TV Commercial for some of the action figures from the Batman: The Animated Series toy line by Kenner. It originally aired in 1993. It features "Combat Belt Batman", "Two-Face", "Robin with Turbo Glider", & The "Hover-Bat" Vehicle!
YES WE CAN!!
Here's some really great photos that a Bat-Blog Reader named Blake wanted to share & I am glad he did! Last summer Blake & his friends decided to become their favorite superheroes ( and villain ). They dressed up like Batman, Robin, & the Penguin. Blake, thanks for sending us these wonderful pics. The costumes are great & the POW you added to a few of the photos really cracked me up...good job! I also like how they have a sequential order to them like reading a graphic novel, pretty funny! I wanna invite all other readers to send us your wacky Batman-related pics. There is always an e-mail button on the top right-hand side of this page.
Shown here is an amazing Vintage Batman Toy called BAT-MACHINE! It was a special vehicle made by the MEGO Toy Company in 1980 for their line of 3 1/4" Mego Pocket Superhero Action Figures. It was a fully computer-programmable vehicle a lot like the BIG TRAX toy made by Milton Bradley Electronics. OK, I can not even start to explain how extremely SUPER-RARE this baby is but in 20+ years of super-collecting I have never seen one in the box & the loose one I seen at a toy show many years ago was totally wasted, ha ha! This one is beautiful, with the original box, & is a total museum piece!
OK, I'm a huge fan of the paintings & artwork of an artist named Ron English. So, the other day when I received an e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader who told me he saw a "Batman and Robin Kids" Tattoo I was pretty excited. The tattoo artist did such a great job that I added the image of the original painting for comparison, check it out! Oh yeah, if you would like to see more work by Ron English then be sure to scan his POPAGANDA website. Here's a link:
"Striking gingerbread fear into the hearts of holiday evil-doers!!!" The other day I got an e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader named Chris who wrote, "I hate Christmas stuff, my wife loves Christmas stuff. Knowing I'm a huge Batman fan she tried to keep me interested this year by suggesting that our family gingerbread decorations be Batman themed. It worked!" Wow, it did work! Chris sent me a link to his newly created website where he & his wife share their gingerbread cookie creations that are all Batman-themed. There are a ton of different characters & it was actually kinda hard to pick a few examples ( like the ones shown here ) but they are ALL really amazing! I like that they did a lot of obscure characters & not just the main-stream ones. But, they did those too, ha ha! There's no way for me to show all the ones they did so you will have to visit their page to see them all. Chris, thanks for sending the link, & tell your wife she's a very talented smart woman!
