Video: THE DARK KNIGHT MOVIE TRAILER Done Totally With Lego Toys!

Tonight a friend of mine at MySpace told me about this fan-made parody-trailer that literally just came out. It's THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie trailer done totally with Lego toys & bricks!! It's hilarious, ha ha ha!! Whoever did it did a great job, ha ha!

Video: McDonald's Happy Meal TV Commercial w/ Batman Returns Toys

OK, I did a previous post about these McDonald's HAPPY MEAL TOYS for the BATMAN RETURNS movie with a different Vintage-Retro TV commercial. This one is a shorter variation but still pretty cool to see. I hope there are some Fast Food Toys for The Dark Knight, that would be very cool!

Thirsty? Try Some BATMAN BEVERAGES!

As Batman Collectors we all know how the marketing people go crazy making every kind of Batman product they can & thank God because it gives us some cool stuff to collect, ha ha! Well, here's a few examples of "Batman Beverages" through out history: The 1st photo is one of my favorites. It's a can of Batman Sparkling Soda from the Cott-Cola Company ©1960's & as you can imagine it is quite RARE! The next example is newer but still extremely RARE. It's a drink-pouch of Orange Drink from Bulgaria. Yes, you read that right...Bulgaria! ( I would really like to have one of these babies, just because it's so unusual ). The 3rd photo is kinda common but still pretty cool. It's a quart carton of All-Star Fruit Punch from 1966. As you can see it has beautiful graphics all around it. They also made other flavors including Grape & Orange. The next "Bat-Beverage" came out just a year or 2 ago. It's one of those Bellywashers novelty drinks you see in grocery stores & truck stops. I think these are kinda cool & when they have make a Batman one I always get it. I think there are about 3 variations. OK, I saved the best for last! The 5th photo is an original store display poster from the 1960's to sell Batman Chocolate Milk. I think these were put out by All-Star, the company that made the Fruit-Punch up above. This is a large poster that is double-sided. So, usually when you find one there's a side that is faded & the other side is MINT. These look really cool framed to hang in the kitchen...sweet! Hmmm, ok, do any Bat-Blog readers have examples of "Bat-Beverages" not shown here? I know they also did a 1989 Bat-Cola in Australia that's pretty cool & some in the UK that had graphics from Batman: The Animated Series. Please send some photos today!

What Batman Thinks About Gun Control

I remember the 1st time I saw the new BATPOD Motorcycle that's gonna be in The Dark Knight, the next Batman movie. I was kinda mad because it had those giant-size guns on the front. Now, don't get me wrong, I think the new Bat-Bike looks really really great & is very unique. It has an awesome post-modern look that is refreshing to see. But, there was some Hollywood Industrial Designer-Guy who said, "Huge guns are cool!". Well, anyone who knows the Batman character knows he doesn't like guns one single bit. His parents were killed by a hand gun for Christ sake. Through out the history of the Batman comic books there has always been a theme with Batman & his rejection of guns. It's been an issue from the very beginning all the way to modern times. The other day, while surfing the net, I came across a story by this guy who is trying to collect all the "moments" where Batman is confronted with using a gun & how he rejects it. Here's a link to check it out. I think it's sort of in "rough-draft" but it's still pretty interesting to read & has some cool graphics. He's asking people who have pictures, or scans, of Batman with a gun to send them in. ( Ha Ha, take a look at picture up above where Batman is shoving a gun into the mouth of a criminal. It has the trademark logo "Grell", which I think is an homage to the famous Batman artist Mike Grell, kinda funny ).

Video: Julie Newmar ( 1966 Catwoman ) in Korvettes TV Commercial - 1976

Here's some extremely RARE footage of a Vintage TV Commercial from 1976. It features Julie Newmar who we all know & love as the Catwoman from the 1966 Batman TV Show!

BATMAN DESKTOP WALLPAPERS: Neal Adams Commercial Art

Remember, we post 2 Free Batman Wallpapers EVERY Wednesday! One of my favorite things about doing this Batman Fan site is getting e-mails from readers who like to share their love of the Batman character. Well, I got this letter from a guy named Jason, he wrote, "I really love your blog; it's one of the first sites I check every day. Here's a couple of Neal Adams wallpapers, made from album covers from Power Records, circa 1975. Hope you can use them!". Heck Yeah we can use 'em, they're awesome! Thank you Jason. I have a few of these records in my personal collection & really love them. My sister & I , as little kids, used to play them all the time, ha ha! Good times, yeah, good times. Plus, I am a HUGE Fan of the Batman artwork of Neal Adams so that's another reason. Oh yeah, the last wallpaper, I put the Bat-Blog Logo in there, ha ha, another shameless promotion.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN BALE!! Born January 30th, 1974

Today is Christian Bale's 34th birthday. He was born on Jan. 30th, 1974. We want to wish Christian Bale a very very Happy Birthday! In a recent Bat-Blog poll we asked readers who their favorite Batman actor was & Bale is winning the poll by incredible numbers. The Batman Begins movie, and soon the Dark Knight, has brought the Batman film franchise OUT of the retirement. Most Batman Fans are very thankful for that & it has a lot to do with Christian Bale being such a great actor & so perfect for the role. Here's wishing him more success, happiness, & heath...Happy Birthday Dude!

Video: PARKER and WAYNE, a Marvel / DC Comics Parody

OK, This video is kinda silly but ya gotta admit it is very FUNNY! Basically, Peter Parker ( Spiderman ) & Bruce Wayne ( Batman ) become partners. It's sort of a "Buddy Cop" movie...Check It Out!

MADE IN JAPAN: Vintage 1960's Japanese BATMAN Toys

Oh My God! OK, regular readers of the bat-Blog know that I am totally goo-goo over the 60's Japanese batman Toys, ha ha! Well, here are some amazing examples. The 1st one is a Battery-Operated Tin Toy of a BATMAN TANK, shown in the original box. This is a piece worthy of exhibit at a museum! I seriously love the vintage graphics on the box even though I can understand the Japanese language, at all! The toy is also extremely cool. The next photo are some playing card pieces from an older Menko Game. I really like how the colors are off just enough to avoid copyright laws, ha ha! The last photo are a pair of Batman Books. Ok, they're NOT toys but they are vintage 60's Japan so that's cool!

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Reeces Candy Promotional Poster

In a previous post we showed the graphic art for the packaging to the Reeces Candy that will feature pictures of Christian Bale as Batman, from The Dark Knight Batman movie. Yes, they're gonna make "Batman-Themed" Reeces Pieces & Peanut Butter Cups, ha ha! Well, this just came in. This is the Promo Poster for the sale of the candy bars...with an awesome photo of Batman from the movie! I love how the background as an extremely detailed photo of Gotham City plus you get another look at the Batman-Suit costume. These will probably be displayed in convenience stores & when they do I'm gonna have to pester my friend who works at 7-11 to let me have one, ha ha!

DC Direct: NEW PHOTOS of The NEAL ADAMS BATMAN Black and White Statue!

I got an e-mail this morning from Jason Spyda Adams, the sculptor/artist of the new NEAL ADAMS BLACK & WHITE Sculpture from DC Direct. I was really happy to see this super-sharp color photo of the completed piece of art, it's beautiful! The attention to detail is very impressive & the funny thing, to me, is that it looks exactly like Neal Adams' art. ( Please click on the picture above to see the larger, more detailed, photo ). As a toy collector I'm really kinda loyal to the older vintage toys & have stayed away from all the cool Batman statues that have come out over the last few years, mainly because of budget. They're kind of expensive & my money is limited. ( Yeah, being poor sucks, ha ha! ). But, these "Black & White" statues from DC Direct are very affordable. Now, this one of Neal Adams' artwork....It's really amazing & extremely well-done. For nostalgic reasons ( I grew up reading comic books in the 1970's ) I might have to break-down & get this one! If you're thinking about getting one then here's a place with great service & good prices...click the button below.

Desktop Background: THE DARK KNIGHT Movie Bat-Logo Wallpaper

Here's a wallpaper of THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Logo that you can use to brighten your desktop or please feel free to use it in a MySpace layout. It was e-mailed to us this morning from a Bat-Blog reader who wanted to share it with everybody, that's great. Thank you Jeff... keep 'em coming! :) He wrote, "I found this on the net & thought of the Bat-Blog 1st thing. I don't think it's an official graphic from Warner Brothers but it is very cool looking." Yes Jeff, it's extremely cool. I like the 3-D quality of it....nice. I want t invite ALL of our readers to send pics. That way we always have some great stuff & good variety. Thanks again Jeff.

BATMAN BIRTHDAY CAKE Photo: Happy Birthday Jordan!

Our friend Jordan, who has sent us a lot of really great photos, sent this one the other day because his birthday was the day right after mine, that's cool. The photo is of his Batman Birthday Cake that his lovely wife Natalie had made for him. It looks like a "Batman: The Animated Series" theme. I like how the cake artist used white icing to make the "Batmobile smoke-exhaust", that's funny. Thanks for sending us the cool photo Jordan & tell Natalie that's she's sweet for creating a Batman Party! Happy Belated-Birthday!! ( If any other readers have photos of their Batman Parties then please send us some photos to share! )

Batman & Robin Fight Crime With Hostess Fruit Pies!

I've reprinted a few of these vintage comic book ads featuring Hostess Fruit Pie/Cupcake products in the past & people really love 'em. They always crack me up! I like how they look just like a comic book page & they "trick you" into reading them. This is a very clever idea. I don't know why they still don't do them, they're great! You could see these in comic books from the 1970's to the late 80's & they made a ton of them. I love how the criminals, villains, or terrorists are really getting into their crime & then all of a sudden, once they see Hostess products, their brains go completely dead & they forget about doing crime! Also, It's funny how they instantly give up, ha ha! Be sure to click on the picture above for a larger, more readable, version.

Vintage 1966 Batman Movie Poster From Argentina!

I was quite surprised this morning, when opening my e-mail, that I got a response from my friend Paulo who lives in Argentina. He apologized for not writing in awhile & it was really great to hear from him. He also attached this wonderful photo, a Vintage 1966 Batman Movie Poster from Argentina ( All in Spanish ) with cool pics of Adam West & Burt Ward! OK, Paulo, you're forgiven, ha ha!

Pop Artist Stephen Jones Gets Inspiration From Vintage Batman!

A friend at MySpace sent me a link to an artist who gets a lot of inspiration from Batman, especially the golden & silver age era. His name is Stephen Jones & his stuff is pretty cool. His most recent painting is an image taken from the famous Adam West LIFE Magazine cover from 1966. Another piece of art is a Circle Painting ( I think that's called "Tondo" in the art galleries ) with a graphic that looks a lot like Batman & Robin artwork by the Golden Age Comic Book Artist Dick Sprang. The last one, is easy to guess, was totally inspired by the 1966 TV Show ( That one is my favorite! ). Down below is a link where you can check out more of his art. If there are ANY readers who have Batman-related art to share then please send us some links or photos. Also, please leave some comments down below & let us know what you think of his pop art...thanks!

DC BATTLEAGUE Batman Action Figures Game By MATTEL

Whatever happened to the new line of toys called DC BATTLEAGUE?? I just got done researching on the internet for quite awhile & have found no answers. A few people have said they have spotted them at Toys-R-Us & even seen them on eBay but I checked both sites & nothing! There's not even any reports of these figures being canceled by Mattel, very weird! If ANYONE has some information about this please let me know. For people who have not heard of them yet Mattel plans on having a new game with mini-figures ( not tiny like Heroclix ) of many of the DC Comics Superheroes. There's suppose to be a ton of Batman characters like Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, etc...Mattel presented these at the 2007 Toy Fair & they were should have been released already, like last July. These figures look really incredible & it woud be a total shame if they were not put out....strange!

Vintage 1970's "Kid in Superman Costume" Family Photo

Our friend Brian sent this very cool vintage photo of himself when he was a little kid in the early 1970's. It's him dressed-up in his Superman superhero outfit. I know it's not "Batman-related" but it's still kinda funny & very cool! Brian wrote, "I'm sending a new photo of myself just for fun. It's me in the Superman costume from the vintage Batman/Superman costume ad that you posted a few days ago. This is from about 1972 or 73 complete with 70's wood paneling and a Spock haircut. :) It looks like they dropped the red shorts portion of the costume by the time I got my hands on one. I know this isn't appropriate for the Bat-Blog since it's not really Batman related. I just thought you might get a kick out of seeing this." Ha Ha Ha, Yes! Thanks for sending this Brian. The old photo and Superman costume are really really great ( I love old pics like this )! I want to invite our readers to e-mail us with their classic photographs, even if they are not Batman-related. ( But, Batman stuff is better, ha ha ). Thanks.

A. K. A. Gallery ( Oklahoma City, OK ) Presents Colleen Cunningham, a Batman Inspired Artist

On February 1st ( 6:00 pm to 9:00 ), in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma the A. K. A. Gallery will have an opening reception for an artist named Colleen Cunningham. This artist uses a technique known as collage where she pieces together art prints that are very surreal & heavily influenced by pop culture. From her current work it seems her main inspiration is Batman! Up above are just a few examples. It looks like she has appropriated Batman, Robin, & Catwoman. She has some other works with Marvel Superheros too. I would like to invite our readers in this area to come check it out. The gallery is located at 3001 Paseo in the Paseo Arts District. Readers outside the state ( or the USA ) can visit the A. K.A. Gallery MySpace page where you can see a small sample of work. I've added a link button down below, if you're interested. Oh yeah, as a personal note, the artwork with Batman is my favorite, ha ha! Please let me know which one you like the best by commenting down below, thanks.

Video: Superfriends Cartoon Edited as Friends TV Show

If the TV Show "Friends" were really Superfriends, ha ha!

Looking For a Cool Batman T-Shirt at a Great Price? Try Here!

BATMAN WALLPAPER The Dark Knight JOKER BACKGROUNDS Heath Ledger

I received a request from 2 different Bat-Blog Readers to please please please make another JOKER/HEATH LEDGER desktop wallpaper so here's one for each of you, ha ha. I hope you like them Mike & Lisa! Ya' know, you can always check our Archives for more wallpaper backgrounds because we have like over 100 of them here. Please let me know if you use these. I wanna see them at your MySpace pages & I think it's great that you're using them for a tribute page, that's cool.

NEW PHOTOS: THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie VEHICLE TOYS & ACTION FIGURES

Here's some brand-new photos of some new Batman Toys that are gonna come out during The Dark Knight movie. Two of them are "Toy Vehicles" with Batman figures. One looks like a Space-Age Super Bat-Jet, the other a Snow Plow. Does Batman go into the snow removal business? OK, The second one looks very military, like a tank, ha ha! I don't think these are gonna actually BE in the movie, just "made up", who knows. The Bat-Jet would be kinda cool! The picture in the middle shows an Action Figure Play Set that comes with a Bat-Gun that shoots a suction-cup ( Be careful, you'll put your eye out ). After you release the line you can put Batman on there so the Dark knight can slide over to the scene of the crime. That one looks pretty cool. "Take that Joker!"

Is Julie Newmar ( Catwoman 1966 TV Show ) Still Sexy at 70?

We think so! Ha Ha, Last year I was really surprised to get a "friend request" at my MySpace page from the real Julie Newmar. OK, it's probably her assistant, but it was still an honor! Julie Newmar is still alive & kickin' & just as feisty as she ever was. Of course we all know her as Catwoman from the 1966 TV Series. She was one of the very best villains on that show. To stay connected to her fans she created a MySpace page & the pin-up photo you see above is one of her latest pictures she released...MEOW! I had to think about if I was gonna post it or not because it's kinda too sexy & I do try to keep this blog clean, to a degree, because I know children visit here ( Kids love Batman ). But I thought, what's wrong with this picture? She looks great & it's not anything you wouldn't see on any billboard or magazine cover. Ya gotta admit, for a lady in her early 70's she still looks pretty good, meow!

Funny Humor Photos: WE MADE US A BATMOBILE, YEEE HAAWW!

Ya know, the Bat-Blog has been covering a lot of the news & tributes to Heath Ledger's death that it's been kinda depressing so I thought I would try to brighten everyone's mood with some humor photos. ( I don't mean any disrespect to Heath ). Here's a photo sent in by a Bat-Blog Reader who collects pictures of custom cars. He loves the Batmobile cars & when he sees some funny ones he saves them. He sent us these..."YYYEEE HHAAAWW! I DONE MADE ME A BATMOBILE, Bang Bang Bang!"

Heath Ledger Tributes by Warner Brothers & Various People

My e-mail box has been flooding with letters about people expressing their grief over Heath Ledger's death. They have been very touching. Here are just a few of the pictures some people have attached. Jim wrote us that the Official Warner Brothers website released this image today. Here's a photo sent in by a reader who lives near SoHo in New York City & this is what the front of Heath Ledger's apartment looks like today. I really like the Australian flag, that's a nice sentiment. This last picture was one I came across while surfing through MySpace. I thought it was pretty interesting.

WHY SO SERIOUS? The Dark Knight Website Does a Heath Ledger Tribute.

The Warner Bros viral-marketing website for The Dark Knight Batman movie, called WHYSOSERIOUS.COM, did a small Heath Ledger Tribute. They placed a black ribbon on the main page. Then, when you click a "hidden button" ( just right of the x-acto knife ) the page burns away to reveal a photo of The Joker. The ribbon stays there though & is right next to his face.

HARLEY QUINN ANIMATION CEL from Batman: The Animated Series

A loyal Bat-Blog Reader named Duane sent us this awesome photo & here's what he had to say about it, "Hi. Here's an animation cel I bought from the Warner Bros Store in Columbus, Ohio back in the 90s. It's from the episode: Harlequinade." Thank you Duane, this is a very beautiful piece of ART! Is this in response to us asking people to please send a photo of an original WB animation cel if you have one? Either way, thanks! Harley Quinn is one of my favorite characters from that series. Actually ALL the characters in that show are my favorites, ha ha! That show was so amazing. I just saw an episode the other day & it isn't "dated" or anything. It still holds up today & will for a long time to come, it's that "timeless" & classic.

Another Comic Book Artist Pays Tribute To Heath Ledger With Personal Artwork of The Joker

In response to a previous post made today about a piece of "Heath Ledger Tribute Art" by Jim Lee a Bat-Blog Reader from Italy wrote, "Hi, I'm an Italian reader of the Bat-Blog. I've seen the great tribute by Jim Lee to Heath Ledger and I think you may appreciate this tribute by Massimo Carnevale, cover artist for Y The Last Man, Northlanders, and a lot more. Bye, Bapho. P.S. Sorry for my English, I know it sucks a bit :)" Ha Ha, No Bapho, your English is very very good & we sincerely appreciate you sending us this very beautiful piece of art, it's wonderful. Please tell your artist friend that he has done an incredible tribute. Thank You.

Batman Artist JIM LEE Pays Tribute To HEATH LEDGER with Joker Artwork.

The famous comic book artist known as JIM LEE is a favorite of most Batman Fans for his work on this classic character. He's an extremely talented artist but the great thing is that he's also a pretty cool, down to earth, guy! Recently, at his personal blog, he posted a picture he had drawn as a gift to Heath Ledger that was a birthday gift to him & for getting the Joker role. ( Be sure to click on the graphic for a much larger, more detailed, photo ). He posted it has sort of a tribute with "RIP" labeled under the graphic. It's an awesome drawing of the Joker with the inscription, "For Heath, Happy Birthday GO NUTS! HA HA, Jim Lee 2007". Heath was know as being a very good person & it's nice to see how so many people cared. This post goes out to you Heath, R.I.P.

Vintage Fashion Photos: ANDY WARHOL & NICO as BATMAN and ROBIN!!

OK, awhile back a reader sent me an awesome photo of the Pop Artist Andy Warhol dressed up in costume as Robin, The Boy Wonder. It also featured the German singer NICO dressed as Batman. Ha Ha, it was great! ( Thanks Deb ). But then recently another reader, named John ( known as "A. Pennyworth" to his friends. "A" of course stands for Alfred, Bruce Wayne's butler ), sent us a ton of great vintage photos from his personal Bat-Photo Archives! It appears that the original pictures were from a 1967 fashion shoot layout in Esquire Magazine. The pictures are very cool even if you're not an Andy Warhol Fan, ha ha! Thank you John for sending us the photos. I really appreciate that. Having Batman Fans get involved in this blog is what makes it great. If any other readers have anything to share then please do.

Katie Holmes Talks About Having No Regrets "Giving Up" The Dark Knight Rachel Role for "Mad Money" Movie. Yeah, Right!

At the MTV Movie Blog they have a video clip from a recent interview by Shawn Adler with Katie Holmes. He asks her if she has any regrets giving up The Dark Knight for "Mad Money" ( a bank heist comedy with Queen Lateefa & Diane Keaton ) and she replies, " Not at all. I had a great experience working with Christopher Nolan & she's sure it will be uh, a great movie and I chose to do this movie...". You can see the interview at MTV Movie Blog, click the icon below. Please let us know what YOU think.

Video: Batman Mask of The Phantasm With The Dark Knight Trailer Audio

REMEMBERING HEATH LEDGER, A TRIBUTE TO A VERY TALENTED ACTOR AND A GREAT GUY ( Desktop Background Wallpaper )

From all the e-mails we're getting we know that a lot of Heath Ledger Fans are really hurting. This makes us very sad, but we have to remember to honor those have have passed away. Today, our good friend Dave sent us this very nice "Batman Heath Ledger Tribute" Desktop Wallpaper he made as a way to honor him. Heath Ledger is best known as an actor, movie star, idol, or whatever. But it's important to remember that he was also a really great guy. Ya know, right now the media are all talking about his role as Ennis in Brokeback Mountain but after they see how great he is in The Dark Knight, as The Joker, they're all gonna change their tune. Thank you Dave for sending this. I know all of his fans will really appreciate this, I do.

LEGO BATMAN : THE VIDEOGAME Desktop Background Wallpapers

I'm still kind of in shock about the news of Heath Ledger's death but I thought it would be a good idea to try to get back to normal. So, I decided to try to sort of keep myself busy so I can think about other things. Just before receiving this shocking news I was working on these 4 desktop wallpapers with a "Lego Batman: The Videogame" theme so I'm gonna post them now. Basically they're Lego characters from the video game: The Joker ( close-up), Batman, Robin, & The Joker ( Full Figure ). They also have the cool Lego logo. I don't wanna dwell on the sad news about Heath Ledger & hope these New Batman Wallpapers bring some smiles to people, they are kinda funny, ha ha! I think they would make a great background for a MySpace layout because when the game comes out it will be extremely popular.

HEATH LEDGER TRIBUTE 1979 - 2008 Desktop Background Wallpapers

Ya know, every Wednesday we post some FREE Batman Wallpapers & usually they're kinda wacky or fun but because of events that happened yesterday I thought I should post a few pictures, that can be used as backgrounds, but are also a tribute to Heath Ledger. The 1st one is a photo taken at a dinner during the filming of The Dark Knight. He's shown here with Christian Bale & the funny thing is Christian looks pretty wasted! Good times, good times. The next one is a very simple black & white photo. We hope people enjoy these graphics. RIP Heath, You were both a great actor & a very nice person. You will be missed.

Video: Breaking TV News Report about the Death of Actor Heath Ledger

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York City apartment from an accidental drug overdose. Here's a ground-breaking report from the MSNBC News channel. I'm still in shock about it.

Actor HEATH LEDGER Found Dead in New York Apartment

Tuesday, Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York SoHo apartment. He was only 28 years old & news of his death is quite a shock. Of course we all know him has the actor who will be playing the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight. This became news about 15 minutes ago so I will report more once I know. For right now they are thinking it was a drug overdose. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends & family.

JOKER ILLUSTRATION ART ( Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson ) From The UK!

A friend in England sent this scan of a wonderful graphic used in a recent story in The Guardian UK Newspaper that was all about The Dark Knight movie. ( Thank You Neal, appreciate that! ). As you can see it features famous "Movie Jokers" from the past ( 1989 ) & present ( 2008 ). The art style is quirky & kinda clever, I like it!! One thing though, the 1989 Batman Movie has a rabid cult-following & I bet they are NOT gonna like this pic. Please, have a sense of humor, it's kinda funny! Yes, Jack was a really great Joker & Yes, I seriously love the '89 film, it's Classic! But this is meant to be silly.

FRED HEMBECK's Homage To DETECTIVE COMICS # 27, The First Appearance of Batman!

Here's an amazing piece of art done by none other that the Super-Great FRED HEMBECK! It's sort of an homage to the Classic Golden Age issue of Detective Comics # 27 ( May, 1939 ), which was the very 1st appearance & origin of a strange new comic book character called "The Batman". It's rendered in Hembeck's hilarious "cartoon style" & is instantly recognizable. Be sure to click on the picture for a larger, more detailed, photo. Also, remember to check out his auctions on eBay where he sells these Classic Cover Artworks from time to time.

BATMAN BEYOND The Return of The Joker MOVIE Advertising Promo in Germany!

Our good friend Norbert, who lives in Germany, sent this nice scan of a German Promo Ad from Burger King & Warner Bros ©2000. It was a tie-in to the Batman Beyond VHS movie THE RETURN OF THE JOKER. Which, by the way, is an extremely excellent animated movie! The funny thing is that over there they called the cartoon TV show "Batman of The Future" & the title of this movie was "Der Joker Kommt Zuruck"...WOW, very cool!

BAT-BLOG CONTEST: Win a First Edition Copy of Matthew Reilly's Current Bestselling Hardback Book... THE 6 SACRED STONES!

The Bat-Blog is quickly becoming known for it's great contests & wonderful prizes, ha ha! So, here's the latest example. The grand prize in this contest is a First Edition Hardback Copy ( with Dust Jacket ) of THE 6 SACRED STONES by Matthew Reilly. He is an award-winning author and a New York Times Bestseller. This book follows his previous bestseller "7 DEADLY WONDERS." OK, I know this is not "Batman related item" but it is a really great book & a free contest! I know that many Bat-Blog fans also love to read good books so here's a chance to add this one to your collection. Basically I'm doing this to develop a relationship with a major publishing firm named Simon & Schuster. If this goes well then we might be able to get more books & more prizes for our readers in the near future. So, back to the book. The story brings back the main character known to many Reilly Fans, Jack West Jr. Jack and his loyal team of adventurers now they face an almost impossible challenge. A mysterious ceremony has triggered a catastrophic countdown that will climax with the end of all life on Earth. But there is one last hope. If Jack and his team can find and rebuild a legendary ancient device known only as the "Machine," they might be able to ward off the coming armageddon. The only clues to locating this Machine are held within the fabled Six Sacred Stones. And so the hunt begins for the 6 Sacred Stones and the knowledge they possess, but in the course of this wild adventure they will discover that they are not the only ones seeking the Stones and that there might just be other players out there who don't want to see the world saved at all. From Stonehenge in England to the deserts of Egypt to the spectacular Three Gorges region of China, The 6 Sacred Stones will take you on a nonstop roller-coaster ride through ancient history, modern military hardware, and some of the fastest and most mind-blowing action you will ever read. Whew! OK, Here's the deal. From now until the end of this month ( January ) We will be accepting names to go into a hat & one lucky winner will be chosen at random. Just e-mail us your full name/address with the words "6 SACRED STONES" in the title & you will be entered into the contest. The contest will end on January 31st, 2008 at 11:00pm so be sure to send it before then. One last thing, here's a video of Matthew Reilly, the actual bestselling author, talking about this book. The funny thing is, he's a super toy collector ( you'll see ) & he has a lot of great stuff laying around his office...our kinda guy! Oh yeah, the "e-mail link button" is located at the left-side of this page, near the top....GOOD LUCK. CONTEST RULES: 1. The contest is open to the general public as well as anyone currently reading the BAT-BLOG on a daily basis. Employees of the Bat-Blog and employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this contest. 2. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded. 3. Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available. 4. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which Bat-Blog may deem appropriate. 5. In accepting the prize, the winner, and any reader(s), acknowledges that the Bat-Blog may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize. 6. The person whose name is drawn as being the winner of the specific prize will be required to send us their correct mailing information before the prize is awarded to them. Postage to be paid, free of charge, by the Bat-blog. 7. Detailed contest rules applicable to this contest, including contest entry dates, how to enter, and prize value, number and any restrictions applicable to these prizes are available upon request by reading these Contest Rules, ha ha! 8. The Bat-Blog retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever. 9. This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws. 10. The Bat-Blog reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice. 11. Approximate value of prize varies. 12. Contest open to loyal Bat-Blog Readers only. 13. One entry per person.

Video: RARE BATMAN RETURNS TV Commercial for Quality Inn Hotels

Thanks John! My friend sent me a link to this extremely RARE TV Commerical from the BATMAN RETURNS era. It was for Quality Inn Hotels & doesn't exactly feature the characters from the movie but the secret-spy suitcase is pretty cool!! Thanks again John, please let me know if you find any more obscure bat-videos like this!

Random Photos of Great Vintage Batman Memorabilia!

I'm really tired this morning so I thought I would just do an easy post, nothing complicated, but still fun. Here's some random photos of cool Vintage Batman Memorabilia! The 1st photo is my favorite because I had this Melamine Plate, Bowl, & Cup Set as a small child & I still have the original plate. It hangs in my kitchen & every time I see it I always feel all warm & fuzzy inside, ha ha! In this photo we get to see the Dinner Set all shrink-wrapped in it's original box, which believe me, is way beyond RARE! I would kill for this! The next photo will be recognized by all 1970's Mego Fans for it's rarity & beauty. This is the COMIC ACTION HEROES Play Set with Exploding bridge & Batmobile. This was made for the smaller action figures & NOT the 8" dolls so the scale is way smaller. I have that Batmobile but it's missing the clear roof canopy piece, still pretty cool. The next item I see on eBay all the time. It isn't vintage but still pretty neat & would look great on a hat or jacket. It's a sew-on patch with graphics of George Barris' 1966 TV Show Batmobile, a true work of Art! The last photo was sent in by a reader named Randy who wrote, "Tommy, I was walking through my local outdoor flea market ( Tulsa, Oklahoma ) recently when all of a sudden my eye caught a glimspe of this rare 1966 Batman Bicycle Tag! I ran over to it, grabbed it, then remembered that I needed to not act all excited about it so the dealer wouldn't raise the price, ha ha ha. I asked how much it was & he said $5.00. I could not get my wallet out fast enough!". Wow, Randy! I love the story but wish I would have found it first, ya bastard! Ha Ha, just kiddin'! ( Randy's a good friend & I can tease him like that ). Thanks for sending me the photo Randy, ya know, to torture me. But, I do appreciate it because my readers will love it, thanks. If any other readers have stories/photos to share then please send them in or join our Message Board & tell/show everybody!

More Photos From LEGO BATMAN THE VIDEO GAME!

Just a quick post. Here's some more recent photos of a few characters in the LEGO BATMAN THE VIDEO GAME. There's The Joker, Catwoman, Batman, and Robin! You have to admit they are pretty cool even if you hate video games! These hi-rez sharp graphics were taken from an X-Box. They look so real that you would think somebody took a photo of the actual toys. This game is gonna be very cool!

NEW BATMAN TOY: Fisher-Price DC Super Friends Shake n' Go Batmobile Car!

As one of my birthday presents the other day I got this extremely cool Brand-New Fisher-Price DC Super Friends Batman's Batmobile Car by Mattel ©2007! It's called the SHAKE N' GO BATMOBILE. Who's the cutest little car in all the world? You are, yes you are! This is one of the latest additions to the Fisher-Price line of DC Super Friends toys. Now, this is not to be confused with the "My 1st Batmobile" toy car vehicle that was blue, kinda large, & made for the action figures. This is a smaller kid's hand-size Batmobile & when you shake it the wheels start going & it makes "Zoom Zoom" engine noises like it's being started-up. Then, Batman says, "To The Batcave!" or "Turbo Engaged!". Then there's more engine sounds/phrases...very cool!

BATMAN FOREVER PROMO: McDonald's Super Hero Burger TV Commercial ( 1995 )

How does Batman stay in such good physical & mental shape? Why, he eats McDonald's crap of course! Ha Ha, here's a really great Retro TV Commerical for Batman's favorite late-night snack, the Superhero Burger!

CLIFF CHIANG Original Comic Book Cover Art BATMAN DETECTIVE COMICS # 815

Here's an example of some really great comic book art! This is the original cover art to Batman's DETECTIVE COMICS # 815. It was done by Cliff Chiang. It's kind of interesting to see how it went from the black & white drawing to the colors they used when printing it. The main figure ( the bad guy ) & his victims are all rendered with black line-work while the background is done with a dark blue/gray color giving it a whole other feel, like as if it's "other-worldly" or "ghost-like"...a very nice graphic effect. We know many readers of this blog collect original comic book art just as passionately as the vintage toy & comic book collectors so please share some of your favorite original art. Send your photos today!

Vintage BATMAN TOYS and COLLECTIBLES Reference Material

As a very serious toy collector I can't express the value of good reference material. What I mean by that is good information on the items you collect. Some main sources are websites ( hopefully this one, ha ha ), ads out of vintage magazines, price guide collectibles reference books, & old store catalogs. Look through a 1966 "Christmas Wish List" Sears Catalog & you'll see what I mean, they are like "p0rn for toy collectors". In some cases they can show you what the original box looked like or what it looked like when complete. I've even seen items in those books that I have never ever seen in real-life & I've been a pretty serious vintage toy dealer for 20+ years. The price guide reference books used to have four full-bookshelf sections at your local bookstore but are now regulated to one shelf, if you're lucky. You can thank eBay for killing off that industry. But, they are still great for reference & real collectors still publish/buy them, thank God. Here's a few examples of some great reference photos. Regular readers to this blog know we publish stuff like this all the time. It's practically the whole reason for this site. I think sharing information about your hobby is like a gift that inspires people to be more dedicated & focused to their "hunt", that's cool. If anyone has some pics to share then please send them in. We're always trying to make the site better & always looking for more bat-memorabilia!

Happy Birthday...To Me!

Ha Ha, I really don't mean to "toot my own horn" but today, January 19th, is my 44th birthday! I wanted to do a post to thank everybody who reads the Bat-Blog. I have made a lot of good friends through this site, sharing what I love ( collecting Batman toys ), and it's been a great experience. One thing I never thought about, when starting this blog, was that I would be in constant contact with many different types of people from all over the world. I hope my readers keep enjoying this page. Thanks! Now, have a piece of birthday cake!

Looking For Cheap Prices on Current Batman DVDs?

Please help support the Bat-Blog by making ALL your online Amazon purchases through our Amazon link button. They really are a great place for good service & if you look, some of the best prices online to save money on Batman DVD Movies, Books, Action Figures, Graphic Novels, T-Shirts, & Toys!

Photos: Vintage BATMAN Paperbacks from Bulgaria!

We have a friend named Zdravko from Bulgaria who has a really great Batman Fan Weblog where he shares pictures of his collection & news about our favorite Dark Knight. Recently he posted a few photos of some of his vintage paperback Batman books that are written in Bulgarian. Speaking of Zdrako's site, it's all written in his foreign language so you might not be able to read it but there's plenty of visual eye-candy to enjoy. Here's a link to check out his page:

Vintage 1960's Photo: ANDY WARHOL as ROBIN, The BOY WONDER!

All my friends know that besides really liking the Batman character that I'm also a HUGE Andy Warhol Fan. So, it was really exciting to get e-mailed this very cool photo from a friend of mine! ( Thanks Deb! ) Here's a vintage 60's photograph of Andy Warhol with one of his "Superstars", named Nico, & they are both dressed up in Batman & Robin costumes!! I have NEVER never ever seen this photo before so it must be quite RARE & obscure, ha ha. It must have been done during the hype of the 1966 Batman TV Show. Seeing Warhol as Robin, The Boy Wonder is extremely cool. Thanks again Deb, this photo make my day!

Batman Retro-Style Video Game Mods ( Sprites )

Yesterday I posted a story about the release of the New LEGO BATMAN Video Game & then later I got an e-mail from a friend named Kev who wrote, "Check this out, I never got into MUGEN, basically its modding a PC Capcom style game engine, replacing sprites, and adding your own characters, effects, etc. I wouldn't mind playing this, Azrael and Catwoman look particularly bad ass". Here's a video: Kev continues, "I work in the games industry so I'll see if anyone knows more about Mugen and if its easy to sort out, and then see if I can get a copy. I hear its normally download-able easy enough but a bit of a pain to set up. Still, looks like its worth it". WOW! Thank You Kev! This game looks pretty fun & I really appreciate the links. I know my readers will love this! Even if you're not into retro-video games it's still very cool to see. Just a few of the characters are Azrael, Catwoman, Ra's Al Ghul, Bane...awesome! Thanks again. If anybody is interested here's the dude's website: http://www.scruffydragon.com/

Eartha Kitt, TV's 1966 Batman Villain CATWOMAN, is 81 Today!

Eartha Kitt was born today on January 17th in 1927. Of course we all know & love her as Catwoman on the 1966 Batman TV Series but she is still going strong today...Happy Birthday Eartha Kitt!! In your honor we're gonna play this music video from 1962, I Wanna Be Evil.

NEW Screenshot Photos of LEGO BATMAN The VIDEOGAME

Regular readers of the Bat-Blog know that I am totally goo-goo over the future release of Warner Bros' LEGO BATMAN The VIDEOGAME, ha ha! Well, here are some screen shot photos from the video game & they look aaaaawesome! The Lego figures of Batman, Robin, Scarecrow, & The Goons look great. This game will be coming out in Fall of 2008, probably around the time of The Dark Knight movie. Oh yeah, for people who just started to read this page here's the trailer for the game:

WONDERCON Comic Book Convention February 22 - 24th, 2008

I just thought I would give a shout out to all my readers who live in or near San Francisco, California that on February 22nd to the 24th ( Friday thru Sunday ) will be this year's WONDERCON 2008!! This year the comic book convention is located at Moscone Center South & it will be a comicon show all Bat-Fans will NOT want to miss! First, they will have Darwyn Cooke & Bruce Timm introducing the new Exclusive World Premier Movie Trailer for the JUSTICE LEAGUE: NEW FRONTIER Animated Film Cartoon! As we all know Bruce Timm worked on Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Then, he's worked on many other projects including Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. In 2007, he produced, co-wrote and co-directed Warner Bros. Animation DVD , Superman Doomsday. Other "Batman Stars" include Jim Lee & Tim Sale. Jim Lee is a comics legend & is currently working on the DC comic book "All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder". He also did the HUSH Batman Series. Tim Sale, of course, was the artist on the now-famous Batman graphic novel "The Long Halloween". Other comic book artists attending will be Sergio Aragones, Herb Trimpe, Kurt Busiek, Mike Choi, Becky Cloonan, Terry Dodson, Mark Evanier, David Mack, Terry Moore, & many others. Also, available for autographs will be Noel Neill ( 1950's Superman TV's Lois Lane ), Herbert Jefferson Jr. ( "Boomer" of the 70's Battlestar Galactica ), Peter Mayhew ( Chewbacca from Star Wars ), & way too many others to mention! This show outta be very cool & if anyone goes please send us some pictures!!

BATMAN: THE LAST BANG, An Amazing CG Animation

Here's an extremely well-done 3-D CG animation showing the characters from Batman The Animated Series. You'll notice the art direction right away, looks like it was taken straight from the series but is now 3D instead of 2D. It features Batman, The Joker, & Harley Quinn. I'm guessing that this was a test for an animation art student? Either way they did a great job!

Oh yeah, Here's an "alternative ending" for the film, ha ha!

THE DARK KNIGHT'S BATPOD BATCYCLE Batman Desktop Wallpaper Backgrounds

Is it the Batpod or the Bat-Pod? Ha Ha! Either way this new motorcycle is the latest bat-vehicle for Batman ( Christian Bale ), to be used in the new 2008 Dark Knight Batman movie. I can't wait to see the new Batcycle in action! You get to see it roar through the streets of Gotham City in the recently released movie trailer & it looks really great! Here are 2 Batman wallpapers of the Batpod you can put on your desktop or feel free to use them in a MySpace layout. I thought these hi-res photos looked very nice as a theme, please enjoy.

Funny Humor: BATMAN Comic Strip!

Just a quick note to thank my friend Neal for sending in this funny comic strip he clipped outta the newspaper! It shows Batman at the pharmacy trying to buy an illegal substance, ha ha ha! Thanks Neal, that made my morning :). If any other readers have some good "Batman Humor" photos to share then please send them in today!

More Leaked Photos of THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Action Figure Toys!

Pictures of some of the new Batman toys they're gonna release for the Dark Knight movie have been leaked & you get to see them here 1st! Ok, everybody has them, but they're still pretty cool to see. The 1st photo shows some loose action figures & it looks like Batman will have a removable-mask/cowl so you can see his Bruce Wayne persona. The face doesn't really look like Christian Bale but it's still very well sculpted. The Joker action figure looks like it's "Bank-Robbing Clown Mask" comes off too but no photos of "Heath Ledger's face". Oh yeah, the 1st photo is made to be a Desktop Wallpaper so please feel free to click on it & use it to make your background all pretty! The next 2 photos look like a packaged action figure & maybe a boxed doll....cool huh? I know it seems like we have been on sort of a "TDK movie toy" kick lately but I swear we're only covering it because they have been flooding in. As writers of the Bat-Blog we love to get photos in our e-mail so please keep 'em coming!!
HELP SPREAD THE WORD! Please put the JOKER Banner ( The Dark Knight Movie ) seen below on your MySpace Layout, Blog, or Website!! Just copy the code below & paste to your profile! Thank You! <center><a href="http://tomztoyz.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o175/tomstoyz/props85.jpg" height="144" width="160" /></a></center>

2 New Photos of Batman DARK KNIGHT Toys That Will Be Released

This is a quick post to just mention 2 Brand-New Batman Toys that are coming out during The Dark Knight Batman Movie. The 1st one is a Batman Slot Car Race Set made by Tyco RC. Looks like they're gonna have the Tumbler Batmobile & a Gotham City Police Car ( GCP ) as the vehicles racing through the streets of Gotham City, very cool! The next pic shows a Tumbler Batmobile toy with the Bat-Pod motorcycle coming out of the front. I bet this happens in the movie ( sorry for the spoiler ) & it's kinda funny because a friend of mine the other day said this was gonna happen. Now he has proof!

Batman Artist: BRIAN BOLLAND Comic Book Cover Preliminary Sketch

Here's a very cool photo showing the preliminary sketch done by Brian Bolland for the cover art to Batman # 445. I remember reading this story-arch & it was one of my favorites. The Batman went to Russia. Looking at this cover you can see the amazing detail that Brian Bolland went into. I really like his attention to realism, a great comic book artist for sure!

New THE DARK KNIGHT TUMBLER BATMOBILE & BAT-POD Batman Movie Toys and Action Figures ( Desktop Wallpaper )

OK, I don't normally post Batman desktop wallpapers on Monday, but a friend of the Bat-Blog sent these 2 super-giant-size photos of some brand-new Batman toys & action figures that are gonna be made for The new Dark Knight Movie ( Batman Begins 2, as some people call it ), so I thought I would just make some wallpaper out of them, ha ha! This way you can see the new toys AND have a pretty graphic to decorate your desktop....see how much I care! The 1st pic shows a Tumbler Batmobile toy with Batman & Bat-Pod motorcycle, sweet! The 2nd one features a very large action figure / doll that has wings. This has gotta be a prototype photo because they used common thread to sew the wings onto the armatures. In production I don't think they would allow that. But otherwise the details are pretty nice & I like that the figure looks well-articulated. Thanks John for sending in these cool pics, we appreciate that! If anyone has current news/photos about this film or merchandise then please let us know.

Video: Extremely RARE Batman Scooby-Doo Movie Trailer

Here's an extremely RARE Batman Movie Trailer that shows Batman like you have never seen him before, ha ha!

Scooby Doo - Batman Trailer
Uploaded by Leeowen

FIGHT BATMAN FIGHT!! A Super-Cheesy 1970's Exploitation Movie From The Philippines

Ever since finding the Exploitation "FIGHT BATMAN FIGHT" Movie Poster awhile back I have tried to research this classic Batman bootleg movie. It was filmed in the Philippines in 1973. It starred Victor Wood as Batman. The 1st set of pictures are graphics from the movie posters which have to be super-rare! The next photos are from some newspaper ads. This movie by Pacific Films is such a blatant rip-off of the Warner Brothers character that I'm sure they were sued or forced to not release this to DVD. I bet it didn't even last in the movie theaters that long, ha ha! The only available copies are probably owned by a few collectors. Judging by some of the artwork it looked like it had babes & robots, oh god! This would be so great to watch!!

Italian RAT-MAN Comic Book Does Detective Comics #27 Homage Cover!

In Italy there's a popular comic book by Leo Ortolani called RAT-MAN which is a silly cartoon parody of Batman. For one of the covers he did an homage to the Classic Golden Age Comic Book Cover ( Detective Comics #27 ) which was the very 1st appearance of Batman. Most of the language is Italian so I can't read it but the artwork is really great. I love this parody, it's hilarious!

A Few Cool Pieces of BATMAN MEMORABILIA From The 1970's.

I was a little kid in the 70's, collecting comic books & playing with superhero Mego dolls, so that's a special era for me... nostalgia-wise. Recently, a Bat-Blog Reader named Jim sent us this picture of a Batman Belt Buckle he's had since he was a little kid. It's from ©1975 so that means he has kept it for 33 years, that's cool! ( Thanks for sending us the nice photos Jim ). I was thinking about other 70's Batman items that I enjoyed & one of them was the Comic Reader. Everytime I bought some comics at my local comic book shop the owner was nice enough to throw in a free copy of this fanzine. It covered the recent comic book releases but the main thing was that the cover was always done by a famous comic book artist. This issue had a graphic of Batman done by Mike Grell, one of my favorites artists of the time ( him & Neal Adams plus Jim Aparo ). These are kinda hard to find today. The last Batman item is actually BATGIRL! This is a pair of Mint-In-Package Batgirl Underoos. Ok, anybody who grew-up in the early 70's knew how important these were! Basically the concept was to market kid's underwear using superhero costumes. You could get a pair of these that made you look just like Superman, Spiderman, or Aquaman! I used to live in mine ( they were Batman & not Wonder Woman, ha ha! ). This was a great marketing idea & a very cool product... Some company ought to bring these back!

Advertising: FAT BATMAN For POWER HOUSE HEATH CLUB Magazine Print Ad

If you read some of the main stream magazines you might have seen this advertising already. There's a new series of print ads for the POWER HOUSE HEATH CLUB using parody illustrations of fat obese overweight superheroes. Here's one of FAT BATMAN & they have also done Superman & Spiderman too. The concept was created by the EURO RSCG Advertising Agency from New Delhi, India. The Creative Director: Satbir Singh, Art Director / Copywriter: Gurdev Singh Sidhu, & Illustrator: Gurdev Baljeet. OK, These ads have got a lot of flak because a few crybabies are upset about comic book heroes being fat...DUH! That's the point, ya morons! The idea is to get you to think about being out of shape & joining a health club! Personally I kinda like these ads & think they're both effective & kinda funny. I bet the people in message boards that are crying about these ads are over-weight losers who live in their grandparents basement. Whattya think about that? Whew! Sorry to vent but while researching this story I came across a ton of these whiners who did nothing but nick-pick about all the tiny micro-details of what is wrong with these ads & not praising them for their "advertising quality". They need to get lives. I bet most of them have NEVER kissed a girl, ha ha!

THE DARK KNIGHT Spanish MOVIE TRAILER / El Caballero Oscuro en Espanol

Here is THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Trailer in Spanish. I think it's very cool to hear another language other than English. It's even kinda funny. OK, I have to admit that I do not speak any Spanish but it is a very beautiful language.

El Caballero Oscuro - Tr�iler
Uploaded by abaldovi

2 FREE Batman Desktop Wallpapers Every Wednesday!

OK, regular "Bat-Bloggers" know the deal...we post 2 FREE Batman Desktop Wallpapers every Wednesday! Here are 2 that I really like & hope you do too. The 1st one is a Vintage Batman Logo that is perfect for a MySpace Layout background. The 2nd one is kinda funny as it shows our 2 favorite superheroes Batman ( Adam West ) & Robin ( Burt Ward ) running down the street of Gotham City! The 1966 Batman TV Show is super-classic stuff so this should be pretty popular! We hope you like them & remember, we have many other Batman Wallpapers you might like so be sure to check the Bat-Blog Archives today!

New Photo: THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Action Figure Toys

According to a recent story at TOY NEWS INTERNATIONAL a company called Movie Masters will release a special line of Batman Action Figures for The Dark Knight Batman movie. Here's a prototype-photo showing the figure & it's packaging. They both look great! The new bat-suit is extremely detailed & it looks like they did it right! I thought Mattel had exclusive rights to ALL the Batman Toys?? Anyway, it's an extremely cool action figure and if it does get released I'll buy one! Here's a link to check out the TNI website.

We're Looking For Photos of Animation Cels From Batman: The Animated Series

Our friend Mike wrote us & said, "Since it seems that many of us on The Bat-Blog Message Board are big fans of The Animated Series, I thought I would send in a picture of one of my favorite BTAS Collectibles. I purchased this piece a few years back just before The Warner Bros. Store closed in my area for good. I was sad the day the store closed, so I had to own a piece from their animation gallery to mark the occasion. I purchased this production cel of one of my favorite characters (besides Batman) - and my favorite design of the character - Catwoman! This cel is from the Episode "The Cat & The Claw: Part 2." If you own volume 1 of TBAS DVD, you will find the episode there. To me this version of Catwoman was, hands down, the best! The photo really doesn't do the cel justice as there is a bit of light reflection in the glass, but it's a beautiful cel with the painted background, and is set off with a nice triple matte, and black frame. Anyway, I wanted to share this with other "Bat-Bloggers," and put out the call for everyone to show us your cels, if you have collected any!" Cool! Thanks for the great story & cool photos Mike. I really love that show & seeing the animation cels are always a treat. The art direction on that show was the best & the cels are always beautiful pieces of art. We used to have a Warner Brother Store here where I live ( Oklahoma City ) & it closed down too, a very sad day. Anyway, I want to invite all other "Bat-Bloggers" who have a photo to share of their Batman Animation Cel to send it in.

PLEASE VOTE For The Bat-Blog Today!

The BAT-BLOG BATMAN Blog been nominated for the Bloggers Choice Awards 2008, in 4 categories! We're very honoured! It would be great if you could spend a few minutes voting for us! I must say, for a website about blogs, the Bloggers Choice Awards website is a bit confusing, but if you follow these simple steps it will be quick & easy! ( 1 ) Go to http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com ( 2 ) Create an account - you do have to fill in everything, except the "choose a picture", and you do have to give a real e-mail address. A message will appear telling you to check your e-mail for a confirmation message. Mine arrived in less than thirty seconds, and you click on the link in the message. ( 3 ) Staying "logged-in" at the Awards Page come to the Bat-Blog & click on each button down below. ( 4 ) Click on each button & click on the "Yellow VOTE Button" next to the white character's head. ( 5 ) Please vote for us in all the catagories but ONLY ONCE per catagory. In other words, you can vote in all the catagories but only one time each. THANKS SO MUCH...
PLEASE VOTE TODAY!

Photos of the New Upcoming 1:50 Scale Hot Wheels Batmobiles by Mattel ©2008

Here's some advance pictures of the NEW 1:50 Scale Batman Hot Wheels Batmobile Cars to released by Mattel. No exact date yet but we'll keep you informed. These photos are really torturing me because I'm gonna have to have them all! They're doing the 1966 George Barris Batman TV Show Batmobile ( Oh My God! ), the Batmobile from Batman: The Animated Series ( This is actually one of my favorite versions, I seriously love that cartoon series ), the Tumbler from both of the Batman Begins & The Dark Knight movies ( very detailed & sweet! ), & a generic Batmobile with a groovy retro look! The 1/50th Scale is approx. 4" long so they will be a tiny bit larger than the Batmobiles released by Corgi recently which were 1:43 scale. The pictures are from the Official Hot Wheels Collectors site by Mattel. Here's a link button to join that club.

Photo: I'm BATMAN!! a Cute Kid in Costume Mask

I saw this very funny humor photo of a little kid on Flickr the other day, cracks me up!! He looks so cute & actually he doesn't look too happy about wearing this Batman costume mask. His expression sorta says, "OK, Hurry up & take the picture already!", ha ha! Anyway, it's a great piece of art ( yes, Photography is ART ) & I knew my readers would love it as much as me.

Custom Mego Doll: BATMAN DEAD END From The Fan-Film Movie

Batman: Dead End is a fan film made by Sandy Collora that premiered July 19, 2003 at the San Diego Comic Con, and on the internet shortly thereafter. It's become a HUGE deal with a major cult following. I've posted it at the Bat-Blog before, a long time ago, & it was a very popular post. Well, Sandy Collora, the director & executive producer, had some "Custom Mego Action Figure Dolls" made of the Batman character that he gave away as gifts to the film crew. The cool thing is the face looks exactly like Clark Bartram, the actor who played Batman. Lately some of these dolls have been appearing on eBay. Here's a photo, it's extremely cool! Oh yeah, for the small amount of people who have never seen this amazing fan-made film, here it is...enjoy! Oh yeah, one last thing, the actor who played the Joker did a really great job.

Vintage 1940's Batman Serial Movie Trailer ( 1943 )

This is the trailer for the 1943 Batman Serial Movie. But it's not the original one shown in the 1940's. It was from the re-release, back in 1966. It was re-released when the TV show was going good on ABC-TV, and movie theaters across the country showed the serial again to cash in on Batman's popularity. It was a very fun serial, and if you ever get the chance to see it you should because it;s a Classic! In fact, here's a link for more information.

2 Comic Book Legends: Bob Kane and Stan Lee

The other day I found this amazing vintage black & white photograph. It shows Bob Kane & Stan Lee together, a very historical moment. The creators of Batman ( DC Comics ) & Spiderman ( Marvel ), very cool!

ANNOUNCEMENT: The WINNER of The Bat-Blog "1966 Batman Mug" Contest is...

Late last night we picked one lucky super-winner for the latest Bat-Blog Contest. The prize was for an original Vintage 1966 Batman Coffee Mug. This is like our 2nd contest & we were shocked by the huge numbers of people who entered & we wanna thank them all for joining in...good job! All the names were put inside a hat, shook up, & we picked Joel Sterns from Brooklyn, NY!! Sorry to everybody else who didn't win but please remember you are all winners in our eyes. OK, you're not all winners but we'll have other contests that you guys can win so stay tuned!

All The Batman Movies...in 5 Seconds!

Today is The Last Day For The BAT-BLOG CONTEST To Win a 1966 Batman Mug!

Today, January 5th, is the very last day to respond to the BAT-BLOG CONTEST where you can win a FREE 1966 BATMAN MUG! For more information just click on the "Batman Mug" photo. The contest ends tonight at 11:00 pm, central time. Just read the easy-to-follow rules & enter today! The winner will be announced tomorrow, GOOD LUCK!

Funny Batman Humor Photos HA HA!

Here's a nice collection of random humorous Batman-related pics found from all over the internet! The 1st one is a homemade Batmobile Custom Car that was spotted in Arkansas, Yeee Haaaw! I actually love when people do this. Even if they're not totally accurate they're still very cool, ha ha. The 2nd photo is a nice example of women's clothing with a Batman-Theme...MEOW! It has Bat-Symbol logos all over it! The last pic is one of the best. It's a parody of the classic 1950's movie with Paul Newman (as Batman) & Elizabeth Taylor. It's called "BAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"...awesome! I wanna thank Jim for sending the funny movie parody photo, that's great! If any other members have some funny photos to share then please send them in today.

Vintage 70's MEGO Toys: The JOKER MOBILE and Batman's MOBILE BAT-LAB

I was born in 1964 so most of the toys I played with was the cool stuff from the 1970's: G.I.Joe Adventure Team Dolls, Star Wars Action Figures, Evel Knievel Motorcycle Play Sets, & of course, MEGO! Mego Superhero Dolls were really amazing because they made a ton of different superhero characters & made a lot of vehicles & playsets. Shown up above are just a few of the vehicles. The 1st one is The JOKER MOBILE. It was a VW Hippy Van that really seemed appropriate for the Joker, ha ha! It was lime green ( his signature color ) & has "HA HA" stickers all over it. It even had a trap door on the back that shot out a huge boxing glove. At the same time Mego also made a MOBILE BAT-LAB for Batman & Robin. I always thought this was kinda weird because they already had a Batmobile Car made for them. I guess they thought since they already had the mold made they would try to get 2 vehicles out of it. Both of these vehicles today are highly sought after by vintage toy collectors & are quite rare, especially in the original boxes. If you wanna learn more about Mego Dolls & Action Figures then I suggest getting the new MEGO COLLECTOR'S BOOK hat just came out. It's a very high quality book with incredible photos.

More Art By Sonic1200, An Artist Inspired By The DARK KNIGHT

In a recent post we featured some artwork by a guy named SONIC1200 that was totally inspired by The DARK KNIGHT Batman movie. Anyway, he's done some more art of Batman & The Joker ( Christian Bale & Heath Ledger ). The 1st one is WALLPAPER-SIZE and you might wanna try it in a MySpace Layout or as a desktop background. The artist's name is Josh but he goes by the nickname "Sonic1002"...well done Josh! Here's a link if ya wanna check out more of his drawings & photo manipulations. http://sonic1002.deviantart.com/gallery

Vintage Photo: BATMAN AND ROBIN HOME-MADE COSTUMES Circa 1972

Another cool Bat-Blog Reader sent in this very awesome vintage family photo yesterday. His name is Brian & he wrote, "I love your blog. You do a great job of covering fun, quirky stuff and all the different eras of Batman. I've been an avid Batman collector for just over 20 years and have been a fan of the character as far back as I can remember. As an adult, I had the opportunity to add a very small thumbprint on the Batman mythos as the illustrator of Batman: Absolution. Absolution was a graphic novel that DC published about 5 years ago or so. At any rate, I've loved seeing the vintage photos of people dressed in Batman costumes. So, I thought I'd send one of my own. Enclosed is a photo of myself as Robin and my buddy Paul as Batman from 1972 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. We look pretty pathetic in our costumes we made ourselves but we sure thought we were "dead ringers" for the Caped Crusaders. :) Keep up the great work on the blog. It's always a nice "pick-me-up" to check each day and see what's new." Ha Ha! Thanks for the kind words Brian & I seriously love this photo! It's kinda funny that you say you guys look pathetic, that's NOT true! Even though they are home-made & not "Hollywood quality" doesn't mean they're not great, they are great!! It looks like a lot of love went into making them & they are pretty accurate too. Looking at you as Robin I gotta crack-up about the "towel around the neck"...we ALL did that as kids, funny! I really love this picture & appreciate you sending it. Thank You. Ha Ha, I know the readers are gonna love it...it's great! By the way, I might have to check out that Batman: Absolution graphic novel you mentioned, sounds cool.

Vintage 1960's BATMAN AND ROBIN Magazine Advertising Print Ad

Here's an old piece of advertising from a vintage 60's magazine print ad for the Hohner Music Company. This is sort of like "Where's Waldo?"...Can you spot Batman & Robin? Ha Ha!

Giant-Sized BATMAN INFLATABLE MOONWALK Party Time!

All the kids in the neighborhood love to play at my house! Just kidding. This is a photo I saw awhile back on eBay where a company was selling one of those giant-sized INFLATABLE MOON WALK RIDES that you can rent for kid's birthday parties. It had a Batman Theme & I thought it was hilarious so I saved it as a "Humor Photo". Actually, I would love to have one of these in my backyard, ha ha!

How To Decorate a Child's Bedroom or a Big Kid's Office with Batman Wall Stickers.

Surfing the internet the other day I came across a company called FATHEAD who makes an extremely cool product for decorating a kid's play room or man's office. The item they make is a very large GIANT-SIZE super-high-quality wall sticker that you can easily put on the wall of any game room, den, bedroom, or living room. Most of their stickers are sports-related heroes from Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Nascar, etc...but recently they started to make superhero stickers & some of the characters they have are Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, & even our favorite hero, The Batman!! I'm thinking about getting the HUGE Batman Symbol Logo for my 2 nephews who share a bedroom. They're big Batman Fans & I know thy would freak-out over one of these, ha ha! If you're interested in seeing more information about these "Wall Sticker Decorations" then click the FATHEAD logo down below.

THE DARK KNIGHT BACKGROUND WALLPAPERS: Heath Ledger as The Joker!

Here's some high resolution Batman Wallpapers featuring Heath Ledger as The Joker in the new Dark Knight movie. This new Batman movie is still many months away but I can't wait, it's gonna be awesome! I admit to being kinda skeptical when I 1st heard about Heath Ledger being the Joker but the new movie trailer totally puts my mind at ease ...Heath IS The Joker! Please feel free to use these in a Joker MySpace Layout or just to decorate your desktop.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD! Please put the JOKER Banner ( The Dark Knight Movie ) seen below on your MySpace Layout, Blog, or Website!! Just copy the code below & paste to your profile! Thank You! <center><a href="http://tomztoyz.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o175/tomstoyz/props85.jpg" height="144" width="160" /></a></center>

BATMAN BACKGROUNDS: Wacky Wallpapers Wednesday!!

Here's 2 fresh brand-new Batman Desktop Wallpapers for you to enjoy! The 1st one is a Lego Toy Batmobile ready for action! OK, speaking of "action", the next wallpaper shows Burt Ward & Adam West running down the streets of Gotham City. Please feel free to use these in a MySpace Layout or just to brighten your desktop!

The Dark Knight X 1989 Batman Movie = Funny Fan-Made Trailer

Here's a really funny fan-made movie trailer for The Dark Knight using the audio from TDK & visuals from the classic 1989 Batman Movie by Tim Burton. The scenes match up pretty good & it's very clever, enjoy!

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Fine Art: BATMAN AND ROBIN Pop Art Painting By Ron English!

In 2 previous posts ( Check the Bat-Blog Archives, on lower left-side of page ) I showed a few examples of art paintings done by one of my favorite modern-day pop artists, Ron English. Well, here's another example: It's Batman & Robin as little kids, ha ha! A famous thing that Ron English does is uses his own children to model for him. He dresses them up like Batman, Robin, clowns, cowboys, & even the rock band KISS. He takes some photos & then uses them for reference in his paintings, great stuff!! Please indulge me sometime & check out his website. There's some really great artwork to enjoy, you'll be glad you did! CLICK HERE - RON ENGLISH POPAGANDA ART!

HAPPY NEW YEAR From The Bat-Blog!!

When I woke up this morning it was 2008! All of us here at the Bat-Blog want to wish everybody a Happy New Year!! I know personally I have a few goals. One is to make some major improvements to this fan page. Look for them later. In the mean time, here's some Batman Cake to enjoy!!