BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS - 2012 Comic-Con-Exclusive Hallmark Keepsake Ornament

HALLMARK today announced its return to Comic-Con International and its line-up of 2012 Comic-Con-Exclusive Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. Now, they're gonna have some characters from the "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" movie and a Cylon Centurion from TV's "Battlestar Galactica", but the really great news here is for Batman Fans! Yes! They're gonna have a brand-new BATMAN Ornament called "A Human Hero", inspired by the 1986 Batman Comic Book & Graphic Novel,  "The Dark Knight Returns"!!

BATMAN - PUPPET MASTER - New Fan Film in the Works

Hey, Check out this cool video presenting an idea for a future Batman Fan-Film titled, BATMAN: PUPPET MASTER. This is a Group Project by a bunch of very talented Film Makers in Los Angeles who are trying to garner support for their movie. They include: Bryan Nest (Director), Chris Wiltz (Writer), Christin Mizelle (Producer) and Ethan Cushing (Producer). 

As you can see from the video the production quality is really excellent. Plus, I love the fact that they're using some very obscure characters like The Ventriloquist/Scarface and Mr. Zsasz. But wait, the main Bat-Villain here is The Riddler! One general idea with this film is that it fills-in the story arch between "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises". I remember when nobody knew who the Villain(s) in the next movie was going to be and everyone speculated "The Riddler". So, this movie might be pretty fun. 

Please check out the video and then be sure to visit their Kickstarter page. At the time of this writing they only have about 13 days to raise the rest of their budget and this looks like a worthy idea.

FREE BATMAN WALLPAPERS - The 1966 TV Show Batmobile Car!

I'm posting this week's "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" on Thursday. Yeah, I'm an Idiot, ha! But wait a minute, these are both really pretty and you're gonna love 'em! These FREE BATMAN WALLPAPERS focus on the 1966 Batmobile, the most beautiful Car in the entire world, period. The other cool thing is that both pics were contributed by Bat-Blog Fans. The 1st one is from our Friend Bat-Dave who shot this at a recent NJ Comic-Con. The Car is owned by a guy named John & he had just built that "Batttering-Ram" device you see on the front grill. Next, is a photo sent to us by a friend in Dallas, Texas named Frank. This car was at some Shopping Mall and is pretty awesome! Frank probably drooled over this thing all day. So, I guess one is "outside" and the other is "inside". Either way this car is the greatest vehicle... ever!

BATMAN Movie THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - DALE EARNHARDT JR. UNVEILS WINNING MOUNTAIN DEW RACE CAR PAINT DESIGN

You might have read at the BAT-BLOG.COM recently that Mountain Dew held a Contest where Batman Fans got to vote on a paint scheme for the new DALE EARNHARDT JR / MOUNTAIN DEW Race Car design. The Car is themed for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie! 

Well, the winning design has the "BAT-LOGO" for the hood and each side of the car has an individual graphic of Batman and then Bane! I'm sorry, the photos I got only show the "Batman side" of the car but if you watch the video down below you'll see the entire car, it's nice!

Press Release:

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s popular No. 88 Chevrolet went “dark” today thanks to fans of The Dark Knight Rises and Mountain Dew® (DEW). Following a week and a half of voting at DEWCrew.com, Earnhardt revealed which “Dark Knight”-inspired paint scheme will be featured on the hood of his No. 88 Chevrolet in Michigan next month. In addition to the Bat Shield on the hood, the redesign features Batman and Bane, Gotham City’s newest villain, on either side of the car. The unveiling continues to drive anticipation for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises, before the film’s opening day, July 20.

“DEW and ‘Dark Knight’ fans have spoken, and it’s pretty cool that the paint scheme they picked is the one I helped create,” remarked Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. “Now that the winning design has been selected, I can’t wait to see how fans will react to the car on the track in Michigan.”

Members of the DEW Crew were given the option of four different paint schemes to vote on, with each capturing a different element featured in the third and final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The winning design was revealed by Earnhardt and select DEW Crew members at the Hendrick Motorsports Fan Fest in Concord, N.C., and will race for the first time in Michigan on June 15.

“We aren’t totally shocked that the DEW Crew chose the scheme with the two lead characters as the winning Mountain Dew ‘Dark Knight’-inspired design for Dale’s car,” said Brett O’Brien, Vice President of Marketing for Mountain Dew. “I think we speak for fans everywhere when we say, aside from the Tumbler, we can’t think of a cooler set of wheels.”

Mountain Dew will be bringing fans more unique Dark Knight-inspired experiences next month with a new limited-time-only flavor, Mtn Dew Dark Berry, inspired by the film, and special 16-oz cans of DEW that feature a bat symbol that transforms to the distinctive green color of DEW when chilled. The limited-time offerings will hit shelves in mid-June.

For more information on Mountain Dew and its The Dark Knight Rises promotion, visit facebook.com/mountaindew or follow @mtn_dew on Twitter.

ABBEY is a Super-Cool BATMAN FAN!!

OK, Now, how cute and adorable is this Little Batman Fan? LOTS!! This is Abbey and she is showing us her new BATMAN T-Shirt that I bet she totally loves! This is the Daughter of a friend to this site, Andy. He was kind enough to share this wonderful family photo with us. The funny thing, for me, is she totally reminds me of my own Sister when she was a little girl. They look a lot like. Anyways, thanks Andy for sharing and please show this post to Abbey because now she's famous!!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - BATMAN VS BANE Mattel Movie Masters Action Figure 2-Pack Set TOYS-R-US EXCLUSIVE

A special thanks goes out to our good friend Zdravko for giving us the heads-up about a brand-new DARK KNIGHT RISES piece of merchandise that might be kinda hard to find. Now, Please excuse the crappy photo I got, it's the only one I could find, but it does give you an idea on how cool this piece will be. 

This is a TOYS-R-US EXCLUSIVE Movie Masters Action Figure 2-Pack made by Mattel. It features BATMAN VS BANE in battle, inside a beautiful "Window Box". I'm assuming since this thing has already hit evil eBay that it's in stores now, keep an eye out!! Also, if YOU see any new Bat-Merch, then please let us know.

New BATMAN DEATH BY DESIGN DELUXE EDITION Graphic Novel by Chip Kidd & Dave Taylor on Sale Tomorrow!

Oh man, Everyone here at the BAT-BLOG is so excited about tomorrow, May 30th, because it's the release date for the brand-new BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN Deluxe Edition Graphic Novel!! Now of course we're talking about the new book written by Chip Kidd & illustrated by Dave Taylor. Just check out some of the artwork up above, it looks totally amazing! Please be sure to click on them for larger versions. Also, the book is available RIGHT HERE or at your local Bookstore/Comic Book Shop.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Enter The "Design a Movie Poster" Contest - CANADA ONLY!

OK, Our Canadian Friends are gonna be excited about this post! I recently got an email from Tribute Entertainment in Canada. They’re currently running a contest where you can win free passes to the Canadian Premiere of Christopher Nolan’s new movie “The Dark Knight Rises.”  All you have to do is design a new movie poster and submit it online to be entered. There are also secondary prizes available. The contest is open to all legal residents of Canada (including Quebec). For more information and details CLICK HERE! Oh yeah, the contest closes on July 9th, 2012 so you better get busy!

New BATMAN MERCHANDISE Seen at Spencer's

Here are some nice photos of some new BATMAN Merchandise our Friend Melissa grabbed the other day at the Mall. Actually, it's from a store called "SPENCER'S". 

She got a Batman Shot Glass Set ( awesome retro-style graphics! ), a Batman Face Air Freshener for her Car, a JOKER Mez-Itz Figure Key Chain, and a Batman Bat-Logo Wallet...SWEET! 

Thanks for sharing your cool pics Melissa. Also, if anyone else out there ( this includes YOU, the Reader ) sees any new Bat-Products while cruising the stores then please let us know!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - New CATWOMAN Batman Movie Poster

Warner Bros has been teasing everybody recently with a few brand-new Batman Movie Poster photos for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Here's one that I really like featuring CATWOMAN ( Anne Hathaway ). Well, actually it's just her character's boot heel crushing the bat-logo symbol, MEOW!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - HOT TOYS Announces They Will Be Making THE BAT Vehicle from the New Movie!

OH MY GOD!! Last night HOT TOYS just announced that they will be making the largest toy they have ever produced - THE BAT VEHICLE (Flying Batwing ) from The DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Movie! Here's a  super-early "Teaser Prototype Pic". But once they release more info & pictures and we see them, then so will you! Oh yeah, I should mention that the 1st photo is of the real-life actual BAT VEHICLE from the film, ha!

New BATGIRL and DC COMICS FEMALE SUPERHERO Woman's T-Shirts at Wal-Mart

Check out these amazing pictures! Our Dear Friend Melissa was kind enough to send us these wonderful photos from her recent wacky-crazy shopping spree at Wal-Mart. While there, she got these super-rad BATGIRL and DC COMICS FEMALE SUPERHERO T-Shirts for only $7.50 each! The one with Batgirl on her Bat-Cycle is my favorite. ( Thanks Melissa, YOU ROCK! )

New HOT WHEELS 1:50 Scale BATMOBILE CAR 3-Pack SETS by Mattel

OK, Remember the 1:50 Scale-Sized Diecast Batman BATMOBILE Cars created by Mattel? Of course you do, they were/are totally amazing! Well, our Good Friend & Ace Bat-Reporter Batmobilly spotted these extremely cool 3-Pack Sets at his local Toys-R-Us last night! 

In no particular order, the 1st Set includes: Batman Returns Batboat, 1989 Batwing, and 1989 Batmobile! The 2nd Set includes: Super Friends Batmobile, 1966 Batmobile with Trailer Hitch, and Comic Book Batmobile! The 3rd Set includes: Batman Begins Batmobile, The Dark Knight Bat-Pod, and The Dark Knight Batmobile! 

These 3-PACK SETS all retail for about $25 each & are in stores now ( Sorry, I forgot to ask if they are TRU EXCLUSIVES but I'm assuming they'll be sold everywhere. If we find out otherwise, we'll let ya know ). Thanks Batmobilly!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - EMPIRE Magazine Covers BATMAN / CATWOMAN

While browsing your favorite Bookstore remember to be on the look out for TWO different covers for the next issue of EMPIRE Magazine. To celebrate the release of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie they are going to feature one cover with BATMAN ( Christian Bale ) and the other with CATWOMAN ( My Girlfriend, Anne Hathaway ) MEOW!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Anne Hathaway CATWOMAN WALLPAPERS

Warner Bros released some new promo material for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Movie so I thought I would make a few BATMAN Desktop Wallpapers to celebrate. Actually, these feature Anne Hathaway as CATWOMAN, Meow! She's riding the BAT-POD & I love how both of the bike's guns are blazing and bullet cartridges are flying... AWESOME!

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS - Peter Weller Announced as Voice of Bruce Wayne / Batman in the New Animated Movie!

DC Entertainment just announced recently that Actor Peter Weller will play the voice of "Bruce Wayne/Batman" in the next DC Animated Film, THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. ( Please be sure to check out the post we did yesterday that featured more news & awesome sneak-peek photos ). OK, some of you might be thinking, "Hey, I know that name". Yes you do, this is the guy who played "Robocop" many years ago, a cult-movie favorite! 

It's also kinda weird that Frank Miller wrote the original ROBOCOP script AND this animation is based on his classic Batman Graphic Novel. Anyways, I like this Actor a lot and he has a great voice. I think he'll do a pretty good job, we'll have to wait and see.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES + Mountain Dew = Cool Batman Movie Promo!

Warner Bros and DC Entertainment are teaming-up with the makers of Mountain Dew to promote THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Movie! They are going to feature cool artwork on 2 products: Regular Mountain Dew and a new flavor, Dark Berry. ( I read somewhere that "Dark Berry" will have about 100 less calories ). Now, if I have my info correct, there will be both Plastic Soda Bottles AND Aluminum Cans with these graphics. You can also see a "12-Pack Box" with some beautiful artwork in another photo. I've also heard rumors of some totally crazy "Store Display" items so that will be something to keep an eye out for! Hey, If anyone sees something like that then please let us know.

Whoops, almost forgot to mention! Mountain Dew has created a website for this event, which is up right now, but nothing there really happens until June 18th. Here's a LINK!  Also, Stay tuned to the BAT-BLOG.COM and we'll keep ya posted.

Pat's BATMAN TATTOO ART PHOTO 1970's Comic Book Logo

OK, Here's the deal. Lately I've been dealing with one crisis after another and my focus is complete crap. I've been stressed out more than any other time in my life, so keeping up with the BAT-BLOG has been difficult. Now, I'm not whining or complaining. I'm just sayin', ha! Anyways, a Facebook Friend of this site, named Pat, submitted an incredible BATMAN TATTOO Photo awhile back and it just got lost in the mix. I was kind of unorganized at that moment and it never got logged-in to post. So, here it is a week or two later and I'm finally posting it, ha! Sorry Pat, Hey, "Better Late Than Never", my Grandmother used to always say. 

But Hey, People, check this out! Pat's Bat-Tat is a 1970's version of the comic book logo and it's really great! In fact, this logo is one of my favorites because it reminds me of my old "comic book collecting days" as a little kid in the 70's and that was a good time in my life. In other words, that BAT-LOGO brings back fond memories. Thanks Pat for sharing your pic & sorry it took so long to get it posted.

BATMAN - THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS - New Promo Photos from the Future Animated Movie

You might remember from last year "BATMAN: YEAR ONE" was made into a full-length animated feature  by Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment. Well, now another classic story by Frank Miller is going to get the "DC Universe Animated Film" treatment! This movie will take on the iconic 1986 Graphic Novel, BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS!

This story doesn't even need an introduction. Basically, it's set in the near future when Bruce Wayne is an aging old man, retired. But because of some new events he is brought out of retirement. This Graphic Novel is so important to Bat-History that I'm sort of shocked they're even trying to to do this in animated form. But, it's got Bruce Timm behind it, as well as an amazing cast, so I know it should be pretty cool!

Here are some recent promo photos that have been leaked. My two favorites are the iconic "Lightning Bolt Flash" picture up above and then getting to see Carrie Kelley again, the 13 year old "Girl Robin". 

Batman Fan Meets The Comic Book Legend - NEAL ADAMS!

OK, If you're a BATMAN Fan and you don't know who Neal Adams is, then just please STOP reading my blog! I'm being serious, this guy is a Legend in the Comic Book industry, especially when it involves the Dark Knight. Come on, Neal Adams is an ICON! 

So, we were both very happy and seriously jealous ( JEALOUS! ) to see this wonderful photo of a friend of ours who sent us this photo the other day. This is Frank and he recently got to meet Mr. Adams at a Comic Con. Actually, Frank had commissioned him to do a Batman Sketch, you can see it in the pic and it looks really great! He also said that Mr. Adams was extremely friendly and very gracious. We have heard that before many times so that's cool. 

Hey Frank, thanks for sharing your fun pic and I want that artwork for ME! I mean, it would look so much prettier on MY wall!

YVONNE CRAIG BATGIRL PIN-UP Wallpaper by Christopher Franchi ( 1966 BATMAN TV Show )

Check out this totally amazing piece of art created by our Friend and Graphic Designer, Christopher Franchi. This is a recent portrait he did of Yvonne Craig as BATGIRL from the 1960's BATMAN TV Show. Now, it's important to note that the original art features a full-body figure of her but when he made this Exclusive BAT-BLOG Wallpaper he cropped the image for this new format. 

Yes, you read that right, this is a WALLPAPER you can use to brighten your desktop!! We hope you enjoy it. Oh yeah, before I forget, a very special THANK YOU goes out to Christopher for sharing/creating this kick-ass artwork, Thanks Chris!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - New Batman Movie Merchandise

This is just a quick post I do to share some news about BATMAN Toys or Memorabilia that is either in stores now, or will be coming out soon. This stuff is all related to the new movie, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

First up we got this photo sent to us by a Friend ( Thanks Yuji! ) who spotted this BANE Movie Masters Action Figure by Mattel. The figure looks great & I like the packaging. Next is an example of what will be a TDKR Bed Sheet Set. The graphic on these are pretty nice. Also, these companies ALWAYS make a Comforter to go with it and once I have a picture of that I'll be sure to share it.

The last photo ( last, but not least ) is a prototype photo of  a Kid's "Anne Hathaway CATWOMAN" Halloween Costume. Now, are YOU seeing any brand-new items on your retail store visits? If so, then please let us know. Our email button is always on the top right-hand side of this page, Thanks!

Frank's Awesome BATMAN TOY and MEMORABILIA COLLECTION Photos

Check out these really great photos we got recently from a Bat-Blog Fan who lives in Dallas, Texas. His name is Frank and this guy loves Batman. The cool thing is that he is really into collecting Vintage Toys, Newer Collectibles, Statues, Action Figures, Diecast Cars, Books, etc... and here is the photographic proof! I really like how everything is displayed here and I asked him about those shelves. I think he said something about Ikea. I like that company, they make cool stuff. These Bookcases are great. I wanna thank Frank for sharing these wonderful photos. It's always very cool to see other people's collections.