Oh yeah! It's that time again, time to share some BATMAN WALLPAPERS you can use to decorate your computer's desktop. That is, if you're cool enough, ha! Now, the 1st one is pretty simple, it's just a really nice sharp color photo of the most beautiful car in the entire world, George Barris' 1966 BATMAN TV Show Batmobile! Make this your personal wallpaper & I guarantee you will drool for days. Then, next-up, is this unusual image of Batman and Robin fighting Two-Face. I just thought it was a cool graphic because it's from the Golden Age of Comic Books, nice! Remember, please be sure to share these backgrounds with all your friends. In fact, please tell every Batman Fan you know about the BAT-BLOG.COM, thanks!
I'm sad to report that Gene Colan has passed away. He was 84 years old. Most Comic Book Collectors & Fans will for sure know who this incredible Artist is because he worked in the business for many years. He co-created Blade ( The Marvel Comics character that became a Wesley Snipes movie ). His work on Howard The Duck & Daredevil is classic pop culture. I fondly remember his artwork from my childhood. He drew Batman comics & covers with great skill & I have always been a huge fan of his work. He will be missed. Thank you for your wonderful contributions Mr. Colan, RIP.
It's with a heavy heart that we, here at the Bat-Blog, have to report the passing of a Comic Book Legend & a Pioneer of the Batman character. We're talking about the Artist Lew Sayre Schwartz. He was a major contributor during the early development of the Dark Knight. He was 85 years old & will be deeply missed. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to both his Friends & Family. For more information please be sure to read the news story posted at THE BEAT!RIP Lew Sayre Schwartz (1926-2011)
Over at the "Golden Age Comic Book Stories" Website a Blogger scanned a few 1940's BATMAN SUNDAYS from the New York Sunday Mirror Tab Sections. They're all from 1946. The Artwork is by Jack Burnley, among others. They are all a total joy to read & the vintage graphics are completely beautiful. I've attached one as an example ( Click on it for a larger, more readable, version ), but to see them ALL just click HERE!
Check out this really really great BATMAN TATTOO ART that features the Golden Age BATMAN Comic Book Logo! I have always loved this old vintage graphic so seeing it as a tattoo is a lot of fun. Plus, the Artist, Bill at the Tattoo Lounge in Los Angeles ( CA. ), did an amazing job on it. A Bat-Blog Fan named Drew sent us this photo, thanks Drew!
The BAT-BLOG is extremely proud to announce that the Legendary Comic Book Artist Jerry Robinson has just launched a brand-new personal website! There's a Biography, a Store, & many different galleries that each focus on his Original Comic Book Art, Drawings, Photography, Fine Art, Comic Strip Work, etc... it's extremely well done. Now of course all Super-Serious BATMAN Fans know about Mr. Robinson's major contributions to the Batman Universe. He created the greatest Villain ever, The Joker! He co-created Robin, The Boy Wonder! He was right there in the beginning and he drew a lot of the famous BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS Golden Age Covers ( see up above )! Seriously, this guy is an ICON! In fact, Jerry is known in the comic book world as "The Ambassador of Comics". Here's the link where you can visit his website, just click HERE!
There's a HUGE BUZZ in Auction News right now with the Artist Jerry Robinson putting up an extremely famous piece of Original Comic Book Art on the market. We're talking about the cover art for a Golden Age classic, Detective Comics #69 ( Nov 1942 ). This "Joker Double Guns" cover is beautiful, showing Batman, Joker, and Robin, the Boy Wonder! It's important to note that Jerry Robinson created "The Joker" character so it makes this piece even more wonderful. Be sure to click on the image up above for a nice large sharp picture...it's beautiful! The art is being auctioned by a company called Comic Connect and, at the same time, they will also be offering another classic cover, Superman #14 with artwork by Fred Ray. To bid, or for more information, be sure to click HERE!
If you've been reading the Bat-Blog for any length of time it probably didn't take you very long, maybe a few seconds, to find out that I'm totally obsessed with Batman! ( ha ha ) So, when I heard the news that Abrams was going to publish a definitive biography about Jerry Robinson's life, I was pretty excited! I mean, Jerry Robinson was right there with Bob Kane & Bill Finger during the early creation of Batman. He drew most of the iconic Golden Age Batman artwork we now enjoy, especially the comic book covers. He is the person who created the greatest villain in pop culture history, The Joker! He also co-created Robin, the Boy Wonder! What I'm getting at is this, his contribution to the character is extremely important. So, as both a serious Batman fan & comic book history nut, I couldn't wait till this came out. The book I'm talking about is titled JERRY ROBINSON: AMBASSADOR OF COMICS.
It is the very 1st illustrated biography of the comics legend & it was written by N. C. Christopher Couch ( who had direct access to Jerry the whole time ). The book is loaded with beautiful artwork & photos from his entire career. Which, by the way, is still going on. It starts out like any other biography, telling his parent's history & sharing his childhood story. Which, is very interesting, but the great thing is that it gets to the "Batman part" pretty quick, ha ha! Now, when you're reading this book it's done in a style where you feel like you are "right there in the moment". So, hearing the origin of the Batman character & how it all came about is pretty cool. We find out how Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson actually met for the 1st time. There's a ton of "behind the scene" details on who did what & how. There's a lot of things I never knew about the actual characters that I was very pleased with learning. For example, Alfred the Butler was not introduced in the comic book. He made his 1st appearance in the 1940's Batman Movie Serials, & then later, was added as a comic book character ( Weird I never knew that ). The book goes into great details about the whole "Batman events" thing, which is just really great stuff! Now, to be honest, I thought I might be bored once they got out of the "Batman era", but I wasn't ( no offense to Jerry! ). Mr. Robinson had a very full career outside of comic books doing Illustration Work, Syndicated Comic Strips, & Political Comics. A lot of this stuff I was not familiar with because it ran in popular newspapers I never saw. Plus, he did draw, write, create, many other comic books & hearing those stories are just as wonderful.
Now, back to the actual book. The quality of the printing was the very 1st thing I was really impressed with. I'm a serious reader ( and even collect books ) & I love a well-designed book. The cover is beautiful, the inside photos & illustrations are BEAUTIFUL! I spent a lot of time enjoying the full-page photos of the original art for many of the comic book covers, especially the Batman ones. They almost always present the original art right next to the actual comic book. Both pictures are so extremely sharp that it's almost like you're looking at the real thing, it's a very neat experience. They also have a photo of the very 1st Joker drawing, the prototype, that's really neat to see. I guess I need to add some technical information, like: It's a hardcover with dust-jacket, it measures about 8" X 11", & has 224 pages. It also has 220 full-color illustrations & it's retail price is about $35.00. So, overall, I gotta say that this book is very well written, very high-quality, & if you're a serious Batman Fan, it will make you drool for days! Oh yeah, TFAW has it on sale, just click the button down below:
Comic Book Fans might be noticing all the variant covers for recent DC Comics titles. It's apart of their "75th Anniversary" event. Well, be sure to look out for Detective Comics # 866 because it's variant cover will be drawn by Artist Walt Simonson & it's an homage to the Golden Age Batman. The inspiration is the iconic cover of Detective Comics # 69, which was originally drawn by the legendary Jerry Robinson. It features a sinister-looking Joker looming over the Dynamic Duo ( Click on it for a larger version, it's so very pretty! ).
Batman, The Caped Crusader, kicks off a new series of statues capturing the original depictions of some of DC Comics' most beloved characters. This statue is a modern sculptural interpretation of the early "Golden Age" comic book appearances of Batman. This new DC Chronicles statue line will have a consistent base, and the retro-style lettering / logo on the base further gives the piece a sense of the period from which it originated. This limited-edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue measures approximately 6 3/4' high x 5' 1/2 wide x 4' deep. It goes on sale April 21, 2010 at a retail price of $99.99, or you pre-order the item before it hits retail & save 20% off by clicking the button down below.
I recently discovered a website called BATMAN RADIO and, for right now, they only have 1 audio clip ( MP3 Format ) posted but maybe later they'll have more. We'll have to see. But for right now it is a very neat Golden Age-Style story to listen to. Basically, it's an old time radio show of "The Adventures of Batman & Robin". Down below is a link & when ya get there just click on the old radio dial like you see in the graphic up above. The link is HERE!
Well, it looks like the DETECTIVE COMICS #27 recently auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, TX is now totally famous as being the world's most expensive auction price for a Golden Age Comic Book! Of course all Batman Fans know this issue to be the very 1st appearance of the Dark Knight in 1939. It sold for $1,075,000. Yes, you read that right, One Million Seventy Five Thousand Dollars!! Just 3 days prior to the Batman comic book selling so well a company called Comic Connect auctioned off a vintage issue of Superman ( Action Comics # 1 ) for 1 million. Then, Batman beat that record price by 75 thousand!!
This is pretty cool! In a small Government Building in the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah there is a small plaque hanging on the wall that is a Tribute To Dick Sprang. Of course he was one of the original comic book artists of the Golden Age of comics!! Here at the Bat-Blog we totally love his artwork, he's really great! This weird piece of Bat-History was discovered by our friend Wayne Smith, who stumbled upon it while on vacation! Take a look at his photo & read what the message says, it's pretty interesting! ( Thanks for the pic Wayne )
OK, This Custom Mego Doll has "WIN" written all over it!! Our friend Ken, who we know from the Mego Museum Forum, sent us these wonderful pics of an action figure he recently completed. His idea was "What if the Mego Toy Company were making their World's Greatest Superhero Figures at the time when Batman 1st came out in 1939, what would the toy look like?"...well, here it is! I don't think I need to post any vintage graphics from the Golden Age Comic Books to show how accurate this thing is. It's so cool! It not only represents "1939 BATMAN", but it also follows the general "design rules" of Mego. I totally love this thing! Thanks Ken for sending the pics & you did a great customization here, keep up the good work! If there are any other Bat-Blog readers out there who like to get creative every now & then please send us some pics. It can be Drawings, Paintings, Custom Toys, anything Artistic!
