BATMAN HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN The Dark Knight Joker Movie Poster

We all remember the now classic "Teaser Promo" Movie Poster from The Dark Knight that was a brick wall with graffiti of 2 dark circles for Joker's eyes & a red Bat-Symbol for the mouth. It made a crazy "Joker Face" that let us all know The Joker was coming soon & it also gave a hint that something terrible was gonna happen to Batman ( the "red mouth" looked kinda bloody because the spray paint was running a little bit ). Well, a friend named Paul, who's an avid reader of the Bat-Blog, decided that this was the image he was gonna use for a Jack O'Lantern Halloween Pumpkin this year. So, here's what he made! He drew the design on with some sharpies & then carved a beautiful piece of ART! The finished pumpkin looks great. Thanks Paul for sharing these photos...and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

TO ALL THE BAT-BLOG READERS & BATMAN FANS ALL OVER THE WORLD...

Wallpaper : BATMAN HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN Jack O'Lantern Design

A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Jessica, sent us this wonderful photo of a BATMAN HALLOWEEN PUMPKIN she had made! She carved "I Love Batman" on the side & the great thing is she used the vintage 1970's style logo...I love it! Jessica, you did a great job on this & thanks for sending the cool pic! The photo of this super-excellent Jack O'Lantern design was so BIG I decided to make it a Desktop Wallpaper you can use as a background in a MySpace layout or just to decorate your computer's desktop for the holidays...BATTY HALLOWEEN!! ( Please click on it for the larger version, it looks way cooler that way! ).

ADAM WEST BATMAN Drawing By Chris Haley

Our friend Chris Haley sent us this amazing portrait of Batman ( Adam West style ) he did recently & I love it. The expression on his face is pretty funny! Chris is a Graphic Designer working in Memphis, TN. If you're a fan of ART like I am then you might check out his blog sometime...good stuff! Here's a link:

BATMAN BIRTHDAY PARTY CAKE Circa 1980

Over at MySpace I have a friend named RUSS who was kind enough to allow me to use this vintage family photo he had. It shows him on his birthday with a very cool Batman Birthday Cake that I guess his Mom had made. This cake pattern is actually a very popular one made with a famous "Wilton Cake Pan" from that period. ( You could also use the same pan to make a Superman Cake, but who cares, ha ha ). I also noticed he's sporting a Bat-Symbol Logo T-Shirt too! The original photograph was time-dated Dec 80 so I'm guessing this is around 1980. Thank you Russ for letting me post this! I appreciate that because the main focus of the Bat-Blog is to share the love of the Batman character. Plus, you look so happy in the pic!

Book Review - BAT-MANGA THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN By CHIP KIDD

OK, anyone who's been reading the Bat-Blog for the last year or so knows how excited I have been about the gossip of a brand-new Batman book titled BAT-MANGA: THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN. It was being done by Chip Kidd who, a few years ago, came out with another great Batman book titled BATMAN COLLECTED. That book was amazing, so I knew this one was gonna be great too! Well, it has finally come out & it's even better than I dreamed about! It was released on October 28th, 2008. All I can say about BAT-MANGA is that it is extremely well-designed & a total delight to read! But, I can't just say that because that would be a totally lazy book review, ha ha! So, here's why the book is so awesome. First, for people totally unfamiliar with this title, in the 1960's there was a magazine in Japan for kids called Shonen King . During the crazy hype of the 1966 Batman TV Show ( Adam West & Burt Ward ) this company reserved the rights to do Batman stories. They did them for about a year & then they were gone. For years these wonderfully written & beautifully drawn stories were lost...until now! To do this book Chip Kidd teamed up with the photographer Geoff Spear & Super-Collector Saul Ferris ( Japanese translation by Anne Ishii ). Both Chip & Saul had a few issues of this super-rare magazine & while doing research found out that the artwork was done by Jiro Kuwata, the artist responsible for creating "8 MAN", a very popular Japanese character. Anyway, Kidd hired a Japanese translator & actually found the guy! To his regret he found out that all the original artwork had been lost to time. But, a neat thing about getting in touch with him was that they got to do an exclusive interview about his "Batman experience". So, working with Geoff & Saul, they photographed every issue they had their hands on. This actually turned out to be a "wonderful accident" because looking at the original magazines is pretty cool. Geoff did an amazing job photographing all the pages. The neat thing is that the photography is so extremely sharp that you can actually see the texture of the newsprint & it sort of gives you the experience of reading the actual magazine that children got to view in the 1960's. One other thing that's kinda neat too is that, back then, Jiro Kuwata was given total license to write anything he wanted. So, the stories are very unique & have a nice Japanese sensibility to them. Now, please keep in mind that this is manga so ya gotta "read it backwards". But, don't worry about that because after about 5 minutes you totally get used to it & the stories are really enjoyable. Jiro Kuwata was given permission to do anything he wanted so many of the villains ( except Clayface ) were created by him. They are really well thought out & have great names like Lord Death Man, Go-Go The Magician, Dr. Faceless, Professor Gorilla, & The Man Who Quit Being Human! Now, another great thing about the book is that it features some very sharp color photography of many Vintage 1960's Batman Toys...a total bonus! This is kinda where Saul Ferris came in. He has an amazing collection of super-rare Japanese Batman Toys. The photos are sort of sprinkled every few pages so while you're reading the stories you get a small break. Plus, You get to enjoy these lost pieces of Bat-History. It gives the book a nice rhythm & each time they popped up it was a very pleasant surprise! The book is created in 2 formats, hardback & paperback. The hardback has about 32 extra pages. It mainly has a few more toy photos & a section in the back that covers some stories written in Chinese! But, don't worry because everything has been translated into English so you can enjoy the whole experience. The retail price for the hardback is $60.00 while the paperback is $29.95. Right now Amazon is offering them as new releases at a cheaper price & I seriously recommend the hardback, just for the extras. Well, I hope this has been a decent review & it's a book I can highly recommend for ANY Batman Fan!

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Promo Desktop Wallpapers

For "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" I thought I would post these 3 promotional Batman Desktop Wallpapers that were created by the Danix Company to hype The Dark Knight movie! Danix make cookies in Brazil & they recently did a promo with Warner Bros. The artwork is pretty awesome, so enjoy!

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Cartoon Action Figures & Play Costume!

The Cartoon Network will start the new animated series BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD on November 14th ( Friday, 7:30pm ) & there are major plans for a ton of new Batman merchandise tied into the TV Show. Which, is extremely awesome because it gives us wacky toy collectors a lot of new collectibles to drool over, ha ha! Here are just a few examples of what to expect. Shown up above are a few action figures & a bat-vehicle made by Mattel. From what I have heard they are gonna go totally crazy making toys with this property & have plans to release a ton of new figures. The next photo is actually one of my favorites. It's a Batman Play-Set Costume that looks really great! I love how the cowl design sort of looks like the one worn by Adam West in the 1966 TV Show...very cool! The 1st wave of figures is expected around January 2009 but if they come out any earlier be sure to stay tuned with the Bat-Blog because we will report it here!

EXCLUSIVE 1966 BATMOBILE Hot Wheels Car Avaliable Through Mattel's RED LINE CLUB

Mattel has an Official Hot Wheels Fan Club website online called RED LINE CLUB. If you become a member you can buy a special 1966 Batmobile Car 1:64 Scale ( small, regular-size Hot Wheel car ). It's the George Barris design from the 60's TV Show. This one is an improved version where the black paint is a little more glossy, the tires are different, & the windshield is clear plastic. It's made sort of like how they should have made it in the 1st place, ha ha. I forget the exact details on pricing but to buy the car you have to be a member of the club. The membership is $24.99 & I think the car is around $15.00. Now, here's a link down below if you want to join but you'll only be a member for a few months because it starts over on January so I would wait until then & maybe hunt the car on eBay.

BATMAN ARCHIVES TRADING CARD SET #1 Our First Bat-Blog Contest Winner!

Last night I picked the first name out of the hat for the current Bat-Blog Contest. Of course I'm talking about where we are giving away 4 sets of the new BATMAN ARCHIVES Trading Cards. There will be 4 winners, one picked every few days. The 1st set goes to ZACH F. of North Olmstead, OH!! Congrats Zach, please send us an e-mail to confirm your address & I will be mailing you this awesome set of cards. Now, for everybody else who has entered, and people who have not heard of this contest yet, there are still a few more chances to win so stay tuned. Oh yeah, if you have not entered yet then click on the button down below for details. Thanks.

THE DARK KNIGHT Movie Masters THE BAT-POD VEHICLE

Target Stores have an "Exclusive" Movie Master Batman Action Figure Vehicle! It's the BAT-POD Motorcycle from THE DARK KNIGHT movie. The detailing looks pretty sharp & at only $19.99 they are going quick so hurry!

BATMAN COLORING BOOK Reference Guide!

There's a good friend to the Bat-Blog named Charles who has a special focus within his Batman Memorabilia collecting & that is to hunt down ALL of the Batman Coloring Books that have ever existed! So far he doing a really great job & he was kind enough to send us some photos of his recent collection. Shown up above is a good sample of which Batman Coloring Books are out there. Of course my favorites are the 1966 ones but I also love the Batman: The Animated Series ones too. He also has a lot of the ones made during the many different Batman movies & those are great also. OK, ALL of these books are awesome! To be honest there are even a few I have NEVER seen so that's great! I wanna thank Charles for taking the time to photograph these ( good job ) & sharing them with the readers here. Thanks Charles. The main focus of the Bat-Blog, really, is to share the love of collecting Batman stuff so this set of photos proves that. If you have a special collection of Vintage Batman items ( or even new stuff ) then please send us some pics, we love that!

BATMAN: THE STONE KING Audio Book By GraphicAudio

Along time ago, while hitting garage sales, I came across a paperback book titled "Justice League of America : BATMAN The Stone King". It was a trade paperback book written by Alan Grant. The cover had a painting by Alex Ross. It looked pretty cool so I bought it to add to my crazy collection. I mean, it was only 50 cents so I HAD to get it, ha ha! But, the deal is, I never got around to reading it...too busy with the Bat-Blog, I guess. Well, the other night I thought I would get on the web & track down a book review on this story to see what people thought about it. Like, if it was worth reading or not. All the reviews I was able to find said it was pretty good so, in the near future, I plan on reading it. Now to get to the Batman Audio Book shown here. While surfing the net I came across this company called GRAPHIC AUDIO that has this same book but in the audio book format. Basically you can listen to a group of actors playing out the story of this book with sound effects & everything. Sort of like "hearing a movie or play". The part that I think is kinda crazy is that it is SIX HOURS long!! Yeah, 6 full hours of Batman-entertainment...WOW! Now, I have not been able to buy this yet but at their website they have an audio clip sample to hear & it sounds like a pretty cool concept. The set comes with 6 CDs & priced at only about $19.99 it's not a bad deal. You can also download it as a MP3 for $12.99. Personally, I'd rather own the CD set because it's something I could add to my collection...we'll see. Here's a link button for their page. Be sure to check it out sometime but please remember too BOOKMARK the Bat-Blog before ya go!

Video: Batman Can Dance!

Here's a really fun music video of a cute little kid wearing a Batman Halloween costume dancing to Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal!

NEW BAT-BLOG CONTEST! Win a Set of BATMAN ARCHIVES Trading Cards!

YES! The Bat-Blog is having another wacky contest! Through the extreme generosity of a special Bat-Blog Reader, know as THE BATFAN, we now have FOUR ( 4 ) Sets of BATMAN ARCHIVES TRADING CARDS to give away! Each set contains 63 cards. Basically each trading card set reprints a classic Batman Comic Book Cover from the entire history of our favorite Caped Crusader, from the very first issue ( Batman #1 ) all the way up to modern day. Now of course they could not do every single cover ever made but they did do a great job picking out the most loved ones! Plus, the quality of these cards are really really nice. OK, here's the deal, to enter all you have to do is two things: Send us an e-mail with your full name & address. Plus, you need to put "THANK YOU BATFAN" in the title. I know it's kinda corny but this is my way of making sure everyone knows that these were donated by one of our readers who happens to be a great guy ( Secretly his real name is LEE, ha ha ). We will pick a lucky winner every few days & winners will be reported here at the Bat-Blog. Oh yeah, one last thing, please remember that you can only enter once but if you don't win the 1st ( or 2nd, 3rd ) time then your name stays "in the hat" untill they are all given away. So, if you don't win the 1st time your odds might be better on the next!

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.

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Picture Disc LP Record Album

Yes, you read the title correctly, a... LP RECORD ALBUM! WOW, this is extremely weird! Hot Topic has published a "Picture Disc" LP Record Album for THE DARK KNIGHT movie. It's not the full soundtrack but just 2 songs & it looks pretty cool! One side features a photo from the movie where Batman ( Christian Bale ) is standing in some rubble. The other side has the now-classic Joker Portrait of Heath Ledger's face. I think this is a pretty unique collectible to find because since when was the last time you ever saw a "new" LP record? Ha Ha! If you don't believe me just click on the link button down below & search "Batman".

Mattel Has Plans For Brand New 1:64 Scale 1966 Batmobile Hot Wheels Car!

Here's a photo from a recent Mattel Toy Company meeting where they present the prototype blueprints for a New 1966 Batman TV Show Batmobile ( George Barris style ) Hot Wheels Car to be released in 2009 as a part of a Collector Series. This will be the small 1/64th scale size ( like a regular Hot Wheel car ). The only difference I can see, from this pic anyway, is that the rims for the tires will be more modern. But, we'll have to wait & see.

THE HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: SERIES 1: BATMAN Action Figure

Here's a nice assortment of action figures to look for...next year! DC Direct plans on starting a new line of figures called "THE HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE" based on the book & classic artwork of George Perez. Included in Series 1 will be Batman, Green Arrow, Manhunter, & Blue Devil. They will be released on June 10th, 2009.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Brand-New Sneak Peek Video

The CARTOON NETWORK has finally put a "Sneak Peek" Video online to view that is not the teaser trailer. This video gives you more of an idea of what the show is gonna be like. The art direction, audio sounds, & overall animation quality are very excellent, whew! I can't wait until November 14th ( Friday 7:30pm ) when this new Batman TV Show premieres! To see the video just click on the button down below.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Free Desktop Background Wallpapers

The CARTOON NETWORK has just released some beautiful BATMAN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD Desktop Wallpapers you can use as a background in a MySpace layout or to decorate your PC or Mac Desktop...enjoy!

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Free Online Video Game

The CARTOON NETWORK has just released a FREE Online Video Game called DYNAMIC DOUBLE TEAM where you can be both Batman & Blue Beetle. The game play is kinda fun & the graphics are awesome! ( Thanks Brian for sending the link ). To check it out just click on the button down below.

The Return of... JASPER, THE BAT-HOUND!

A little over a month ago we told the story of how I found a stray dog we sort of adopted. He was a tiny puppy & pretty sick. Right away we fell in love with the little guy & decided to keep him, nurse him back to health. When I wrote about it here it was a short post about something personal that happened to me, no big deal. Well, readers went crazy! Our mailbox became packed with e-mails from everybody all asking how he was doing. It was crazy! Everybody was very concerned for him & it was really sweet. We really appreciated all the letters & comments we received, that was very cool. So, the 2nd update told about how we had been treating him & told about how he was slowly recovering. That was awhile back & even now, every now & then, we get a quick message about "How's Jasper doing?". So, here's a very current photo of him, shot yesterday! A recent visit to the Vet said he was totally cleared of all worms & he is even up to 9 pounds. In fact, he's growing like crazy! You can almost see it daily, it's kinda surreal, ha ha! Jasper is doing great.
Another reason for me to do this post is to tell all you dog-owners out there that PetSmart has a special "Batman Pet ID Tag" you can get engraved right in the store. These are always a good idea in case your pet gets lost. Anyway, I had told my sister we were gonna be getting him one in the next few days. I told her how, about 2 months before we ever even got a dog ( he was not planned, ha ha ), that I had seen a Batman ID Tag at a local Wal-Mart. They had a vending machine in the foyer as you came in the store. I noticed the Batman Symbol & thought it was kinda neat, that it would be something to add to my crazy collection, but I wasn't gonna pay $8.00 for a little piece of metal ( remember, I didn't have any dog or any plans to have a dog at that time ). Later, after getting Jasper I went by there & NO machine! I shared this story with my sister. Well, a few days later she called me all excited & said, "Go to the PetSmart Store on Rockwell...they have them!!". Ha Ha, I raced in my truck to the location & got one. It's the one you see in the photo. Now JASPER is an Official Bat-Hound"!! ( Thanks Deb ). OK, I apologize for boring everybody with my "personal story" but any of you who have pets know they can really take you over. We are NOT some of those "crazy dog parents" who are totally freaked out over their pets, those people get on my nerves, ha ha! But we really love the guy & we do appreciate all the gifts & warm friendly letters we have received from you...Thank You!

BATMAN DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday"

Yeah, it's my favorite time of the week...Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday! But this time I am proud to say that both "Batman Wallpapers" presented here were donated by two Bat-Blog Readers named Bacon & Andrew. The first one, made by Bacon, uses an image from the recent "52" comic book series where Batman temporarily becomes a Green Lantern. This "character" became so popular that DC even made an action figure of him. Yeah, like they don't make a figure of every "Batman" that's ever existed anyway, ha ha! ( Thanks Bacon for another awesome background. This "theme" was really unexpected & very cool ). The next one was done by our friend Andrew. Actually he used an original black & white artwork drawn by Norm Breyfogle & then he colored it. Like most Batman Fans Andrew really loves the comic book artist Breyfogle & did this sort of as an homage. The main focus of this art is Catwoman. It's a great image because she looks like a classic pin-up girlie...MEOW! ( Great job on the coloring Andrew & Thank You ).

Vintage Family Photo: BATMAN COSTUME Michael Keaton Era!

"I'm BATMAN!!" Ha Ha, a friend at MySpace, named Aaron, noticed that we have been posting vintage photos of kids in Batman-Theme Halloween Costumes recently & was kind enough to send this really nice one of himself. He said that this photo was taken during the "Michael Keaton Era", ha ha! So I'm guessing early 1990's. Maybe around the time of the 1989 Batman movie ( Jack Nicholson as The Joker ) or the 2nd film, Batman Returns, 1992. Either way the costume & photo are great! Thank you Aaron for sending it. I want to invite all the Bat-Blog Readers to share cool stuff like this, that's nice.

New BATMAN Graphic Novel: JOKER By Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo

There's a brand new Batman Hardback Graphic Novel by DC Comics coming out on November 4th, 2008 that's simply titled "JOKER" and the amazing thing is that it is already getting a ton of hype & the reviews are all excellent. In fact, many people are calling this book the current generation's "The KILLING JOKE". Now, to be honest, I have not seen it yet except for a few pages. But from what I have seen so far it looks pretty cool! The JOKER book is written by Brian Azzarello with artwork by Lee Bermejo and Mick Gray. The cover art, by Bermejo, is shown up above. I also managed to get 9 preview pages so you can view the art & read the dialog...it looks pretty awesome if ya ask me. I can't wait to read it!!

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Animated Cartoon To Become a Comic Book!

Of course we all knew this was gonna happen but DC Comics has just released the following information: The first #1 issue of the BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD animated comic series will hit shelves on January 28th, 2009 with a cover price of $2.50. It features the story "The Panic of the Composite Creature," written by Matt Wayne with art by Andy Suriano & Dan Davis. James Tucker provides the cover art for Batman: The Brave and The Bold #1. The first issue, and each subsequent issue thereafter, also features Batman's secret files on the best heroes and worst villains. This sounds pretty cool. The art direction on the animated series by CARTOON NETWORK looks awesome so let's hope they do an equally as good job on the comic book ( I know they will, thank you Brian for sending the pictures ).

Photo: AWESOME BATMAN TATTOO ART!

A Bat-Blog Reader named Nick sent us this amazing photo showing off a special Batman Tattoo he just recently had done. The comic book-style artwork is awesome, very original, good shading, & has nice sharp lines...very cool! ( Be sure to click on the above graphic for a larger version ). Thank you Nick for e-mailing us this masterpiece of ART, I appreciate that a lot! If any other readers get some tat-work done then please shoot us some photos! Sharing the love & respect of the Batman character is what this site is all about!!

Vintage Photo: Kid's Batman Halloween Costume

OK, I think that the very very best Batman Children Costumes are the ones made by Mothers & Grandmothers because the main ingredient is LOVE. Ha Ha, seriously! The attention to detail is always wonderful & this photo is a perfect example. This is a vintage family photo sent to me from a friend at MySpace. Just look at this awesome kid's costume! This little guy is ready for Halloween, play-time, or just everyday crime fighting! If you have a vintage pic like this then please send it in to share, thanks.

Video: THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Trailer Recut - Pixar's Toy Story 2

OK, I know. These parodies of The Dark Knight movie trailer are kinda old but I thought this one was pretty clever & it is very funny! Actually, it's extremely well-done! They mix-up video footage from the Toy Story 2 Pixar Disney movie with the TDK audio...enjoy!

FUNNY BATMAN HUMOR Comic Strip OFF THE MARK

There's a very humorous comic strip website called OFF THE MARK & if you've ever read it you know that the cartoonist has got to be a big Batman Fan! I mean, every once in awhile, he does some Batman-related comic strip. Here's an example. Now, just look at the love that went into drawing the details of the Classic 1966 George Barris Batmobile...nice! The artist's name is Mark Parisi.

HEATH LEDGER as THE JOKER Halloween Jack O'Lantern Pumpkin

OK, everyone remembers the recent post we did of the "Batman Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin" we posted here at the Bat-Blog recently that was done by a reader named Brian. Well, it looks like he has made another one & it's just as amazing!! Brian was pretty happy with how the Batman one came out so he knew he had to create a Joker one to go with it. He choose the "Heath Ledger Joker" from The Dark Knight Batman movie. I think it looks incredible, a very good job indeed!! So, here's the photo! ( Thank you Brian for sharing this, it looks GREAT!! ). I wanna wish a HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all the Batman Fans around the world!

BATMAN The Brave and The Bold ANIMATED CARTOON Release Date

Anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows how totally goo-goo I am over the news of The CARTOON NETWORK coming out with a new Batman animated cartoon TV series titled BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. Well, they have announced that the official release date will be Friday, November 14th, 2008! The pilot episode is gonna be called "Rise of the Blue Beetle! " and it will have Batman and the Blue Beetle team up to save an alien race from Kanjar Ro...sounds pretty cool! For those who missed it I have embedded the "Sneak-Peek Trailer Video" down below & a "Brave & The Bold" Desktop Wallpaper up at top...enjoy!

BATMAN & ROBIN Artwork Commissioned By Bat-Blog Reader

A good friend to the Bat-Blog, named Francine, recently commissioned a commercial artist to draw a "Batman & Robin" story she had written. Now, of course, she can explain it a lot better than I can so here's what she wrote: "I love this site, and I even sent in a picture of my Robin figures a while back. I had recently commissioned an amazing artist to draw out a short comic story I've wanted drawn for a while now. The artist's name is Chris Kohler, and he and I worked together on this piece. I gave him a script of dialogue and some badly drawn stick figures to show panel placement. He took my ideas, and created an amazing and professional work of art. I thought the readers here would find this comic page enjoyable, especially the Robin fans of the group. (Some might notice the references I put into the story from Detective Comics #38, and an old Star Spangled Comics featuring Robin and a hypnotist named Professor Nichols) . I'm a huge Robin fan, and the Golden Age of Batman and Robin was my favorite era. I wanted this comic story to showcase that era, along with Robin's other accomplishments throughout the Silver Age, Bronze Age, and modern times. Thanks to Chris Kohler, my story was drawn out so beautifully, that it's actually the pinnacle of my original comic art collection even without it being published in a comic book. I hope that I may become a comic writer when I grow older, and commissioning others is a really fun way to practice! Hope you enjoy my story!" Wow! Francine, please tell Chris he did an amazing job on this, seriously! The love the clean lines & the 1st 2 panels with the Golden Age Batmobile are my favorite areas. Actually it ALL looks great! Thank you for sharing your story & sending us this wonderful artwork. Working with another artist is a great idea. You guys created something really cool.
( Readers, Please click on the above graphic for a larger, more readable, version ).

Tiffany Goes Batty Over Batman Shoes & Slippers!

A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Tiffany, sent us these fun photos of a few of her favorite Batman items. She explains them better than I do so here's what she said,

"I love Batman and I recently started reading your blog. I see that you post pictures that people have sent in to you. I thought I'd send in a couple of photos of interesting Batman products I have, too. I know they're not "vintage" items which I believe is the point of your blog, but I thought, if you haven't seen these already, that they'd be of interest to you and/or your Batman fans, anyway. One of the photos is some Batman slippers I bought off Ebay. They're actually meant for kids, but they fit me just right. They were only $10 (including the shipping). =] It was meant to be. My friends make fun of me 'cause it looks like Batman is eating my foot, but I still think they're awesome. =] Haha. The other photos are slip ons from Japan. My boyfriend had a friend who was studying/working abroad in Japan and he bought us a couple pairs. I've worn them in since these pictures were taken. It actually makes me really sad because they're only sold in Japan. I wish I had more because these are all beat up now."

Thanks Tiffany. Great story & cool photos, that's sweet. Thanks for sharing. Yes, we try to cover the "Vintage Memorabilia" but as a crazy Batman toy collector I also love the new stuff. The shoes from Japan are awesome ( nice graphics ) & the way the Batman Slippers are "eating your feet" are pretty funny!

Awesome BATMAN MEMORABILIA Collection Photo

A friend of ours over at MySpace, named Andrew, sent me this cool photo of his Batman Memorabilia Collection. I spent some time checking it out & there's some really neat stuff here. He's got that "Reese's Candy Header Card for The Dark Knight Store Display", The "Batman Fleece Throw Blanket", some Action Figures, the Batman Pez, & much much more. Oh yeah, is that a plush toy of "Ace, The Bathound"? I think so!! Thanks Andrew for sharing this photo. I love to see other people's collections, that's awesome!

BAT-BLOG CONTEST: List of "German Gotham Times" Winners!

OK, for people following this blog they know that every month we have at least 1 or 2 Bat-Blog Contests where you can win wonderful prizes! Yesterday was the final entry time to enter our latest contest & last night, at midnight, we randomly picked 5 lucky people who will now receive a free copy of THE GOTHAM TIMES ( German Edition ) NEWSPAPER. This was a promotional premium at German movie theaters during The Dark Knight Batman movie & is actually very hard to come by here in the USA. To me, that made these prizes extremely cool! Also, these awesome set of prizes were donated by a very generous Bat-Blog Reader named Guenter, who lives in Germany. So, first & foremost I wanna thank him for making this fun contest possible...THANK YOU GUENTER! I also wanna thank everybody who joined in on the contest. OK, here's the deal. I have five of these newspapers to give away & the list of winners are as follows:

• Jonathan T. of
Bensalem, PA.
• Andrew E. of Parker, CO.
• Matt M. of Omaha, NE.
• Ryan D. of
Albertville, AL.
• Richard P. of San Antonio, TX.

We want to congratulate all of the latest Bat-Blog Contest Winners & tell them now to look for our confirmation e-mails very soon. Also, we wanna thank Guenter again for making this awesome event possible! For readers new to this blog please be sure to stay tuned because we promise to bring more contests in the near future & YOU could be on our new list of winners!!

BATMAN DESKTOP BACKGROUND Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!

Whoops! I just got an e-mail asking me, "Hey, where's the Batman Wallpapers? It's Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!!" Ha Ha, sorry. It totally slipped my mind that today was Wed so I'm gonna post THREE wallpapers to make up for it...thanks. The 1st one is a great scene of Heath Ledger's JOKER from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie. The 2nd one is an image of THE JOKER from the new MORTAL KOMBAT VS DC UNIVERSE video game. OK, I saved the best one for last. The graphic is a drawing of the Batman Family by Fred Hembeck. He's one of the funniest cartoonist out there doing parodies of superheroes.

The Classic BATMAN COSTUME HOODIE Is Back!! ( Hooded Sweatshirt )

This video shows the awesome detail of the Batman Hoodie ( Hooded Sweatshirt ) that also doubles as a costume! This bat-item is an EXCLUSIVE of the 80sTees Company. Here's a link to buy one today:

1966 Batman TV Theme Song Composer NEAL HEFTI Dies at Age 85

Here's some sad news. According the the LOS ANGELES TIMES obituary page Neal Hefti, the musician & composer famous for writing the 1966 Batman TV Show Theme Song, has died at age 85. It's not exactly known yet how he passed away in his home but the family believes it is from natural causes. Through out the 1960's & 70's he wrote many songs that we all know. One example, other than the famous BATMAN THEME, is THE ODD COUPLE TV Theme Song. In an interview he once said that the batman Theme was the hardest piece of music he ever wrote. May he rest in peace. For more information about this great man please visit the LA Times website, here's a link: Here's the 1966 BATMAN TV THEME SONG By NEAL HEFTI:

Vintage 1960's BATMAN TOYS and MEMORABILIA To Drool Over!

I have been covering a lot of news lately about a lot of the brand-new Batman Toys that are out there to collect & thought I'd do a post about some wonderful old vintage toys. The 1st photo is an amazing piece of Bat-History & also quite rare. It's the 1966 BATMAN BAT-WATCH by Amsco. This item is really beautiful. I mean the watch, with moving bat-hands, is very cool but the vintage graphics on the card are really great! I like the bright simple primary colors...nice! The next piece has a lot of graphic style also. It's an original bread wrapper for BATMAN BREAD! It too is from the mid-1960's. This pic was sent in by a Bat-Blog Reader named Wes who wanted to share this rare piece in his personal collection ( Thank You Wes ). The last photo is an item that is probably the most rare of all. It's a Justice League of America Rubber-Figure Set, Mint on Original Card. It was made by Multiple Toymakers ©1967. The figures include: Aquaman, Superman, Batman, & Wonder Woman. One thing about it that totally cracks me up is the original retail price back then was 19 cents!! Do you have any Vintage Batman Toys or Memorabilia in your toy collection that you would like to share? If so, then please e-mail us a photo today! The Bat-Blog is all about sharing the love of collecting, thanks.

Video: BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES Kenner Action Figure TV Commercial TWO-FACE

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!

TWO-FACE / HARVEY DENT : The Dark Knight 1/6th Scale Collectible 12" Figure By HOT TOYS

Oh My God!! HOT TOYS has done it again!! Here's the latest promo photos of the new TWO-FACE / HARVEY DENT ( Aaron Eckhart ) Figure from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie! The attention to details is amazing & the head-sculpt of Harvey Dent looks EXACTLY like the actor, Aaron Eckhart!! ( Isn't the face amazing?! ) The figure stands approximately 12 inches tall ( 1/6th Scale ) and features more than 32 points of articulation. It also includes:

• Accurate Business suit with pants, shoes, shirt w/ tie, & 2 Jackets ( 1 clean, other "burned"
• 2 Interchangeable Heads: 1 Harvey Dent, other Damaged Two-Face
• One Set of Interchangeable Hands
• Pistol Gun Weapon
• A Signature Coin
• Figure Doll Stand with Harvey Dent / Two-Face Nameplate

This figure is finally out & here's a link for more information:

Another Super-Funny BATMAN COMIC STRIP From Bizarro's Dan Piraro

OK, Ya gotta admit, this one with Robin's new costume choice is pretty funny!! Batman looks kind of confused, Ha Ha!

BATMAN Halloween JACK O' LANTERN By Brian!

A Bat-Blog Reader named Brian (who lives in Grand Rapids, MI) sent us this magnificent photo of his recently-created BATMAN Halloween Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin he just carved! Brian, you did a great job on this, seriously. The silhouette of Batman's face looks really good & the Dark Knight Bat-Logo is a nice choice. It's great to see that you're in the holiday spirit & also a true Batman Fan! Thanks for sending the pic! I love when readers get creative so if anybody else makes a Jack O' Lantern Pumpkin or Costume ( Child or Adult ) this Halloween then please send us some photos.

Vintage 1980's Photo: BATMAN COSTUME From Brazil

I was pleasantly surprised to find this very wonderful vintage family photo in my e-mail last night. It's from a reader in Brazil named Alexandre. He wrote, "I'm a reader of the Bat Blog and I noticed that you post pictures of your readers dressed as Batman. I was looking at some old pictures and I found this one in which I am dressed as Batboy. That has a history. I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and we have an annual festival called "Carnival" (in Portuguese, "Carnaval"), held 4 days before Ash Wednesday, in which people use costumes just like Halloween in USA. For that year Carnival (in 1982. I was just about to be 5 years old) I asked my grandmother to make me a Batboy costume, so that I could fight crime along with Batman and Robin. So she came up with this fantastic costume, inspired in the Bat suit, but with more childish features. I think it's funny that she make a mask so similar to Nightwing's 2 years before George Pérez invented it. I hope I could contribute to your Blog." Yes, thank you Alexandre. This is an awesome contribution!! I seriously love old photos like this. Your Grandmother did a wonderful job on this costume. Ones made at home are always better then store-bought ones because of all the love that goes into it. She made what could easily be an art masterpiece. Thank you very much for sharing this personal photo & story, I appreciate that. I want to invite ALL Bat-Blog Readers to do the same!!

BATMAN BACKGROUND WALLPAPER The Animated Series

Our new friend Priambadha, who lives in Indonesia, just sent us this very cool Batman Desktop Wallpaper. He made this just for the Bat-Blog & it's awesome! The photo on the left is a Plush Batman Toy he found recently. Thank you Priambadha for sending this background art, good job!!

Vintage 1950's BATMAN Comic Book Cover # 115

Here's a really cool vintage comic book cover to Batman #115. This issue was released in 1958, Batman's wacky 50's period. It appears he has been transported to a land of giants, ha ha! I love the old advertisement on the back. Be sure to click on the small graphic up above for a larger, more readable, version.

Video Lessons: How to Play the 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW Theme Song on the Guitar

Here are a few videos I found that teach you how to play the "1966 BATMAN TV SHOW" theme song on the guitar. So, grab your guitar, watch these, & learn!

BATMAN and CATWOMAN Tommy & Kelly Barbie Doll Set

The other day I hit a retail store to see if I could find the new BATMAN & CATWOMAN Barbie Doll Set. Mattel just released it & I have been curious to see what it really looked like. So far I had only seen images on the internet & in the new Barbie Dolls Catalog. Oh my god! This set of "Tommy & Kelly" Dolls are amazing! They are a part of their "PINK LABEL - BARBIE COLLECTOR" series. The costumes are very well made & the packaging design is awesome! In fact, it's so cool that I had to get one for my personal Batman Toy collection. The price isn't too bad either, around $16.00. They also had the one of Barbie as BATGIRL but I didn't have the extra cash with me at the time. I do plan on getting that one later, it's pretty nice also. OK, yes, I am a guy...but I'm secure enough with my masculinity ( I am straight & I have a wonderful relationship with a beautiful woman ) that I can actually say I am proud to own a few Barbies, Ha Ha Ha!

BATMAN LEGO TOYS Playset BACKGROUND WALLPAPERS

While visiting the official Lego Toy Company website the other day I noticed they published a few new FREE Desktop Background Wallpapers for their new line of Batman Lego Toys. They are for the latest play sets: #7884 Batman's Buggy - The Escape of Mr. Freeze, 7885 Robin's Scuba Jet - Attack of The Penguin, 7886 The Batcycle - Harley Quinn's Hammer Truck, & 7888 The Tumbler Batmobile - Joker's Ice Cream Surprise!

NEW BATMAN PEZ Special Boxed Set!

Tonight I dropped by the evil Wal-Mart to pick up a few household supplies & found this brand-new BATMAN PEZ BOXED SET by accident! It looks like they have boxed the set of 4 Batman Pez in a special box! It includes Two-Face, Riddler, Batman, & The Joker! OK, most of us have already bought these, either bagged or carded, but this display box with the awesome Batman graphics is kinda cool! Plus, the PEZ of Batman is special & different because they put a "yellow oval" bat-logo on the Pez Body near his chest area... Whoopie! But, I guess another reason I bought it was because it was only around $8.00 & that's not a bad price for something this cool.

Mike, a Painter & Artist Totally Inspired by Batman!!

A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Mike, sent us these photos recently of some really cool acrylic paintings he just made. His art style is very interesting & the 2 with horror movie villains came just in time for Halloween! Of course they are Batman as Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees! Thanks Mike for sending these, they're awesome & keep up the good work. If any other Bat-Blog Readers out there are creative too then please share your art with us!

The Dark Knight Batman Movie Reese's Candy Store Display

Oh man... a friend of mine, named Dave, sent me this photo the other day I think just to torture me, ha ha! He knows how I totally love the Batman "store display" items because of their rarity & beauty! This one is a HUGE Batman Candy Bar Store Display for the recent THE DARK KNIGHT movie promotion with the Hershey's Chocolate company. They made special Kit Kat & Reese's Candy Bars that were a tie-in promo. I seriously love the large header card with the photo of Batman about to punch you out...awesome! Thanks Dave, I hope you got me this thing as a gift!! I'm not sure why the picture is so small here but if you click on it you can see this baby in all it's glory, check it out!!

FREE BATMAN DESKTOP BACKGROUNDS Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!

This week we present 2 brand-new BATMAN DESKTOP WALLPAPER BACKGROUNDS. The first one was sent in by a Bat-Blog Reader named Andrew. He, like most of us, is a huge fan of the 1980's comic book artwork of Norm Breyfogle. So, he took some of Breyfogle's black & white inked art then colorized it. I think he did an incredible job coloring it. It features 3 Bat-Villains: Catwoman, The Penguin, & Joker! ( Thank you Andrew for sending this in ). The next one has a "Golden Age Batman" theme. It's vintage 1940's artwork by Bob Kane. OK, We all know this was probably drawn by Bill Finger or somebody else, ha ha. But, the art is still awesome!

Vintage Batman Memorabilia From Around The Globe!

I've been doing the Bat-Blog for over two years now & one of the things that still amazes me is Batman's popularity all over the world. I get messages from Bat-Fans who live in the most obscure places, that's awesome! So I thought I would use that as the theme for this post. Here's a few photos of some super-rare Batman Toys mailed in by our readers. The 1st one is from a friend in Germany. This is a very funny "Bootleg" Batman Hand-Puppet from the 1960's. The mask that the figure is wearing does look a lot like the cowl worn by Adam West in the 1966 TV Show. Plus, ya gotta love those wacky eyebrows, ha ha! Also, It looks like they stole the image from the "1960's Batman" Life Magazine cover for the header card...nice. The next set of photos feature the BATLANCHA ( Bat-Boat ) made by Gulliver Toys. This beautiful masterpiece is from Argentina. The 1st Bat-Boat comes with it's own original box. I love the vintage graphics. The 2nd Bat-Boat, the one by itself, is a later re-issue in a slightly different color. Both of them are awesome! The last photo is one of my favorites. It's a group of Vintage Batman Manga Magazines from Japan with wonderful artwork. I really really love the Japanese Bat-Logo. It looks really great! I hope all my readers enjoy seeing these as much as I do & I hope it inspires a few people from around the world to send in photos of their "foreign treasures". Remember, our "e-mail button" is always on the top right-hand side of this page.

Video: Six Flags Great America - Batman Stunt Show ( 1993 )

"It's happening at Six Flags, The Batman Stunt Show!"

Heath Ledger JOKER Fan Art From Bogotá, Colombia

Awhile back we got an e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader who lives in Bogotá, Colombia. He had written to show us this cool piece of fan art he made. It's a manipulated photo of the cover to the "Batman - The Killing Joke" graphic novel. But, instead of having the regular "comic book Joker" using the camera he replaced it with Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight Batman movie...very very cool! The 1st photo is the picture he submitted & the 2nd one is a Desktop Wallpaper I made out of it. Be sure to click on both of them to see the larger versions & remember you can use the 2nd one to brighten your desktop background. I also wanna thank the person who sent this in...good job!

New Bat-Blog Contest: THE GOTHAM TIMES Newspaper GERMAN EDITION!!

OK, We just ran a Bat-Blog Contest that was pretty successful & I really enjoy doing them so much that I decided to have another one already! Actually, just the other day I hit my post office box & was really surprised to find a few copies of THE GOTHAM TIMES Newspaper there. The thing that made them very unique was that they are the GERMAN LANGUAGE EDITION! The headline reads, "BATMAN, RETTER ODER BEDROHUNG?". Which, if I did the translation right, means "Batman, Rescuer or Threat?". Yes, these are the ones distributed at movie theaters in Germany & are totally in German! Now, I can't read them at all ( ha ha ) but they are very beautiful to look at & very hard to find in the USA...a nice collectible. Another thing that's really neat about them is that the inside is a full-color movie poster of The Dark Knight! For people who have never seen these ( even the US copies ) they are printed on real newspaper paper stock, in the actual size, & look just like real newspapers! These GERMAN EDITIONS were mailed to us from a good friend who lives there. His name is Guenter & I really appreciate him sending these. It was an extremely generous thing to do & as soon as I saw them I knew it had to be the very next Bat-Blog Contest! So, we're gonna take entries until October 15th. To enter just e-mail us your FULL NAME / ADDRESS with the phrase "Thank You Guenter" in the title. You can ONLY enter once & all entries must be received by Oct 15th, 2008, 11:00 PM Central Time. We will pick a winner on that night, at midnight, & he/she will be announced on Oct 16th. Oh, one last thing, we have more than 1 copy so MULTIPLE WINNERS will be picked!! That just means you will have a better chance of winning!! So, please be sure to enter today. Also, remember that we never sell or distribute this information & we respect your privacy.

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.

Awesome Batman SCARECROW Halloween Costume!

Awhile back a friend to the Bat-Blog sent us a photo of a Scarecrow Halloween Mask he was working on. He said he was also doing a costume & when completed would send us a photo. Well, here it is!! Overall this is very very excellent! The details are really nice, even the choice of colors have a surprising effect...Excellent! I think it looks a lot more like the "comic book version" tan the one presented in Batman Begins & The Dark Knight movie but that's awesome! Please be sure to click on the above pic for a larger, more detailed, look. After seeing this it made me wonder what other Bat-Blog Readers might have created costumes for this holiday season. So, if you have crafted a Batman-themed costume, either this year or in the past, then please send us some photos.

The Artwork of Marcelo Braga - Robin The Boy Wonder at Age 72

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!

The Bat-Blog is Looking for Vintage Issues of The BATMANIA Batman Fanzine by Biljo White

Recently, here at the Bat-Blog, we were contacted by a family member of the "Biljo White Estate". For readers unfamiliar with his work Biljo White was a commercial artist in the 1960's who was such a HUGE Batman Fan that he created a fanzine ( magazine ) called "BATMANIA". It covered all the recent news of the character. Just think of it as the "Bat-Blog done in paper & delivered in the mail", ha ha! White created all the artwork for the covers & inside content. It was a labor of love & he was also an extremely talented draftsman. The artwork is some very beautiful stuff! These vintage copies today are highly sought after by Batman Fans & are actually pretty hard-to-find. In the photo up above I show a few copies to give you an idea so please be sure to click on that graphic for a larger, more detailed, photo. Well, OK, now to the part where the family contacted us. They wanted me to do a post where I ask Bat-Blog Readers if you have ANY of Biljo White's artwork, especially these magazine issues. They want to put together a small book honoring his life & art. Personally, I really love this guy's artwork so it's an honor for me to do this. So, if ANY readers have any of these original issues then please contact us today. Thank You!

Video: TV News Interview with the Joker from The Dark Knight

Here's a hilarious parody of The Dark Knight movie. It's an interview with Heath Ledger's Joker. Be sure to read the "scrolling news" bar at the bottom too, some funny stuff there!

Batman Food Products Past and Present

One aspect of collecting Batman Memorabilia that I really enjoy are the wacky food products that companies come out with. I almost always love the design of the packaging to these items & a perfect example is the BATMAN GUMMY-BAT that is in stores now. Basically it's a HUGE gummy bear candy that is in the shape of a real-life flying bat ( yeah, very weird ). Now, the only place I have seen this so far is Toys-R-Us but it really cracks me up! The next example is a vintage ad from 1996. Back then if you bought Eskimo Pie Ice Cream or Welch's Fruit Juice Bars then you could have got 2 Batman & Robin: Animated Series Trading Cards, there were 12 to collect. ( Thanks to Mike for sending this cool photo ). So, I'm wondering... What other "Batman Food Products" are out there? If you have something like this in your collection then please send a photo today!

Two 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW Promo Commercials From TV Land

Here's a nice set of 2 vintage TV commercial promos for the 1966 Batman TV Show when it was on TV Land.

The New Bat-Blog Contest Winner is...

Here at the Bat-Blog we recently ran a contest where a lucky reader could win ( for free! ) a Mint-In-The-Package DC Direct 10th Anniversary BATMAN Action Figure, a 2008 SDCC Exclusive! OK, Before I mention the name of the new Bat-Blog Contest Winner I want to first thank the Bat-Blog Reader known as "LEE" for donating this amazing prize!! This was an extremely generous gesture & one that I truly appreciate!! Thank you very very much Lee!! This contest was one of our most successful & we received a ton of responses. Last night, at Midnight, we pulled a number out of a hat & choose the winning number. After checking the list we now have a winner! Her name is...KAORI FROM JAPAN!! So, congrats to her!! Kaori, please look for my confirmation e-mail to you noting that you're the winner & I also need to make sure your mailing address is totally complete. Lee, thanks again for donating this awesome prize, you're a great guy! To everyone who didn't win, I'm sorry, but we run contests all the time here so look for that one soon & Good Luck on that one.

BATMAN POP ART PIN-UPS "Wacky WALLPAPER Wednesday"

We post totally brand-new & unique Batman-Themed Desktop Wallpapers here at the Bat-Blog every single Wednesday. We call it "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday™", ha ha! OK, I know the name is dumb but it's kinda catchy & people remember it easily! This week I thought I would go with a "Pop Art Pin-Up" theme. The 1st one is a re-colored wallpaper of an original painting I did a few years ago. It's an image of Batman kissing a girl. Recently I was goofing around on the internet & saw a device on a blog that showed their recent visitors ( shown below ). It featured people's avatars & their logistic locations. There was a guy from Australia who had used my artwork has his avatar. It was a total shock for me to see this! There's a theory that says "once an image is on the web that it exists forever" because people take it & put it someplace else, then somebody else gets it, & so on...WOW! This was pretty funny for me to see my own artwork, ha ha! OK, sorry to go off, back to the wallpapers. The 2nd & 3rd backgrounds are a black & white publicity photograph of Yvonne Craig as a super-cute "Pin-Up Girlie" model. Of course we all know her as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl from the 1966 Batman TV Show. People have different desktop set-ups so I thought I would make 2 of her, please choose whichever is better for you.

A Batman & Catwoman Wedding!!

I received a wonderful e-mail the other night from a loyal Bat-Blog Reader, it goes something like this, "Just wanted to compliment you on your website and comment how enjoyable it is to read your updated stories and cool pictures on a daily basis. I too am a huge Batman fan. My wife and I will be having a Super-hero wedding - everyone in attendance will be required to be in costume; both heroes and villains. I've attached a sneak peek of our wedding attire and thought you and your readers would appreciate our plan. Cheers, and keep up the good work." Wow, yes! I know my readers will love this - a special Batman and Catwoman superhero-themed Wedding!! How cool is that! Your costumes are both really great & very well-made! I seriously love the idea of this as a wedding theme & you have gotta send us wedding photos, you have to, ha ha!! Thanks for sharing some of your plans & I personally want to wish you guys the very best. Your fiance is really cool for going along with this, in fact, she ROCKS!! You are one lucky man, ha ha. Remember, send us some pics later!!