If you live near Madison, New Jersey then here's your chance to meet a Comic Book Legend, Joe Kubert! He's mostly known for working on the Sgt. Rock comics but he has also done a ton of work with Batman ( Just a few covers shown here ). In fact, they made one of the "Batman: Black and White" Statues in his honor. Next week he will be at a comic book store called "Dewey's Comic City" on June 4th, 2011 between 1:00 to 3:00pm. If you go then please be sure to tell him that, "The Bat-Blog said Howdy!". For more info, click HERE!
I mean "crazy" in a good way, ha! Here is the extremely surrealistic cover art by Chris Burnham for BATMAN AND ROBIN # 26, due in August. The main story involves the Dynamic Duo going to France because lunatics have escaped from Le Jardin Noir, the French equivalent to Gotham City's Arkham Asylum. The story was written by David Hine and illustrated by Greg Tocchini. But check out this wacky-cool cover!! ( Click on it for a larger, more detailed, version ) It looks like something by Rene Magritte or Salvadore Dali!!
OK, Batman Comic Book Fans from the late 80's & early 90's will totally remember the artwork of Norm Breyfogle. He drew the character from 1987 to 1993. Well, DC Comics is bringing him back for a one-shot called "DC RETROACTIVE: BATMAN, The 90's". Now, don't look for it real soon, it doesn't hit the shops until August 17th, ha! But it should be pretty cool & well worth the wait because they're also bringing back the same Writer from that period, Alan Grant! Both Norm & Alan will revisit a pair of villains closely associated with their original run on The Caped Crusader: The Ventriloquist and Scarface! Released on a technicality one year after being arrested, this bizarre duo is determined to reclaim their status in the upper echelon of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. This “lost tale” of the era spins directly out of DETECTIVE COMICS #613, reprinted in this issue!
Anyone who has been reading the BAT-BLOG for any length of time knows that I am totally goo-goo for Batman "Foreign Comic Books", ha! But here are two ( images, not actual books ) that I recently found & I have no idea where they're from. So, this post was made to ask everyone out there, "Do you know what country these came from or maybe the publisher?" Both of them look like reprints. The 1st one with the Joker on the cover has the artwork from the original cover to Joker #2. The next comic is a reprint of a 1960's story with classic art by Carmine Infantino. I forget the number of the actual BATMAN issue but it's a very iconic image.
Just a quick post to let everybody know about a brand-new Batman Toy to keep an eye out for in the future. DC Comics & PEZ CANDY Inc. have teamed-up to create the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA PEZ. This special PEZ Candy Dispenser Set will feature a bust of each character. So far they have announced Batman, Superman, & Green Lantern. But I'm guessing they will also be making other Superheroes as well ( Let's hope ). I mean, Hey! Where's Wonder Woman? Up above is a prototype photo. Stay tuned to the Bat-Blog & as soon as there is anymore news we'll let ya know.
Warner Bros & Pentax have teamed-up to release a special DC SUPER HEROES Digital Camera around the time of the release of the Green Lantern Movie. Pentax is gonna sell a "DC COMICS Collector Pack" for their Optio RS1500 Digital Camera. Basically, it comes with seven different skins you can change on the front ( 3 of them are "Batman-related" ). The characters will include: Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Batman, Joker, and Catwoman! I really like the fact that they're using older comic book art...nice!
As a little kid back in the 1970's I became an obsessed comic book collector & one of my very most favorite things in the entire world were "Treasury Comics". They were put out by both DC Comics & Marvel ( I was more of a "DC Guy" ). If you have never seen or experienced these beautiful books then your life is completely sad, ha! Treasury Comics were basically reprints of classic stories but sold in a giant-size format. I mean, these babies were HUGE! It was almost like reading a newspaper, ha! I totally loved them & still have about 15 or 20 of them stored away in the very very back of my closet, in protective plastic bags of course.
Which, gets me to the reason for this post. The other day, while trolling on eBay, I came across a guy selling the Original Comic Book Art for the Cover to the 1975 BATMAN Treasury Comics Limited-Collectors-Edition #C37. The Artist back then was Jim Aparo!! I have always been a HUGE Aparo Fan & totally love his artwork. Now, as you can imagine, this baby is out of my price range, but I would kill to have it, ha! To own an actual piece of your childhood history like that, is what gives Collectors a reason to live. Oh well, I guess I can just drool over the photo posted up above ( Please click on it for a larger, more beautiful, picture ). The later photos show the actual product ( front & back ) and also a few advertisements that showed-up in comic books back in the day. By the way, if your a big fan of treasurys, or just wanna learn more, then please let me suggest TREASURYCOMICS.COM, it's a great reference site!
DC Comics will soon be releasing a six-part comic book series titled BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY. It will bridge the gap between the first video game, Arkham Asylum, and the next, Arkham City. It will be written by Paul Dini & illustrated by Carlos D'Anda. Now, GAMESPOT ( a leader in Video Gaming News ) just got an EXCLUSIVE where they share a few pages of the very first issue of BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM # 1. Shown here at the Bat-Blog are the 1st three and if you click HERE you can read the rest. So far, it looks pretty cool!
I was recently surprised by a wonderful email from a Bat-Blog Fan named Marc. He lives in Germany & loves to collect "international Batman Comics". He sent us some photos from his comic book collection & they're a total joy to see. Basically, they're a few issues he has where he shows different variations from different countries. We get to see books in many foreign languages: German, English, French, Spanish, etc... The interesting thing is that sometimes they create whole new artwork for the cover. The "BATMAN: GOTHAM NOIR" Graphic Novel is the perfect example of that. I wanna thank Marc for taking the time to shoot these pics, I appreciate that. If any other Bat-Blog Readers have interesting things about their comic book or toy collections that you would like to share then please do. The main focus of the Bat-Blog is the joys of being a Bat-Fan & Collector.
Just a quick heads-up: If you visit the "DC Kids" website you can read the entire First Issue of BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD # 1 Comic Book... for FREE! The teaser story has Batman teamed-up with AQUAMAN. Outrageous! Then, the next one involves POWER GIRL! Just Click HERE!
We reported at the Bat-Blog awhile back about all the special DC COMICS 75th Anniversary merchandise that the Bloomingdale's Store had. It was some really cool stuff, mostly clothing & T-Shirts. Most of it was totally EXCLUSIVE & you could only get it there. But check out this photo of a display they had around Christmas. It was for "DYNAMIC DUOS NIGHT". They had these custom-made Batman and Robin Manikins to show where the line for Santa Claus starts!
Just the other day I got an email from a Bat-Blog Reader asking me about a Batman Promo Glass he found at a Garage Sale. He sent a photo of it and as soon as I saw it I knew what it was. I mean, I totally remembered these from my childhood in the 70's. It's a glass from the 1976 DC Comics Superhero Pepsi Series. If I remember right, they were a promotion at Burger King, the Fast Food Restaurant ( or was it Arby's? ). But either way here's a photo that shows the complete set of 6 glasses ( Click on the pic for a larger sharper version ). OK Rob, you now need to find Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, and the Flash!
With the Batman BANE character expected to be in the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, we thought that a lot of Bat-Blog Readers might want to learn more about this popular Villain. So, here's this really great "3-Minute Expert" Video titled, "Who is Bane?". Check it out!
Here's a very cool comic art book you might consider on your next trip to the bookstore. It's titled "ICONS, The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of JIM LEE". Basically it's a retrospective of his prolific artistic career. In this volume, Titan Books has completed the almost impossible task of compiling a generous amount of the last twenty years of Jim Lee’s work. Batman fans should totally love it because there is a ton of Bat-Art! There are also a lot of preliminary sketches that have never been seen before. Now, it's important to note that there are 2 different printings of this book. There's the regular edition with 296 pages. It's the one shown with a "Color Cover". Then, there is a "Previews" Special Edition, with the "Pencil Sketch" cover. The previews Edition has 8 additional pages & the variant cover. It's a little harder to find, but you might be able to get one using the link button down below.
Picture Window Books ( a division of Capstone Publishing ) just released a brand-new series of Children Books called DC SUPER-PETS. The Illustrator for these are none other than Art Baltazar. You might recognize his name from the successful TINY TITANS comic books. The basic concept for this new series is that they tell stories about the adventures of SUPER-PETS who are owned by some of your favorite DC Comics Superheroes: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, & Green Lantern. Their names are Ace the Bat-Hound, Krypto the Super-Dog, Streaky the Super-Cat, Beppo the Super-Monkey, and Jumpa the Super-Kangaroo.
Now, to celebrate the launch of this new series, Picture Window Books is sponsoring a writing contest for students in grades 1-3. Children enter the "My Pet is Super" contest by writing an article for an imaginary newspaper, The Daily Planet, about why their own pet is super! Art Baltazar will create an illustration of the winning Super-Pet that will appear in a future book in the DC Super-Pets series. The winning student will receive the original art as well as copies of the book. Authors of the top 50 entries in the contest will also win free books. For complete rules and to enter, visit CapstoneKids.com The contest runs from January 15th, 2011 - February 28th, 2011.
Here's a brand-new Batman product we recently came across that is totally cool! This is a BATMAN AND ROBIN GLASS made to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of DC Comics. This was a special promo glass made by Toon Tumblers for the Baltimore Comic Con. The glass features different artwork on both sides that was taken from a few vintage BATMAN comic book covers. One represents the 1940's Golden Age ( Batman # 9 ) & the other is more Modern-Day ( Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder # 9 ). I guess it's also important to note that the artists are Dick Sprang & Jim Lee. I have shown the original covers here for reference. I have always loved this iconic image of "Batman & Robin in The Spotlight"...it's Classic! For more information about this product just click the button down below ( But please keep in mind that if it doesn't show-up in a search that it is sold-out & will be available later ).
Right now DC Digital Comics is having a sweepstakes where you can win an iPad that the comic book artist Jim Lee has customized. Basically he drew a large sketch of Batman on the back of the tablet. To enter the contest you need to become a member of ComiXology. Which, I think, is free. Now, don't get me started on my issues with the whole "Comic Books Going Digital" thing, ha! But the artwork on this iPad is pretty cool & this would be neat to win. For more details, click HERE!
OK, Since the Bat-Blog is ALL about the Dark Knight I'm just posting photos of the Batman-related statues, Batman and Catwoman. But before I get ahead of myself, here's the deal. For 2011 DC Direct is coming out with a huge set of statues to celebrate the entire DC UNIVERSE ONLINE Video Game world. They measure approx. 7 1/2" tall & are cold-cast porcelain. They're also based on the comic book art of Jim Lee. So far there are 10 statues planned to be released in small waves during 2011 but I think they will add even more once the video game becomes very popular. Who are the characters made so far? You have Batman, Catwoman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Solomon Grundy, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna! If you would like to see them then just click the button down below.
In this short video we get a small idea about the BATMAN LIVE production. It's an interview with Jim Lee, Batman Comic Book Artist & Co-Publisher of DC Comics.
Here are a few Batman Wallpaper Backgrounds I thought I would post at random today. They were made using BATGIRL comic book art graphics from Dustin Nguyen, an amazing comic book artist. I think they're both pretty cool, in their own way. One is a simple graphic on a white background. The other is more complex. Which one do YOU like the best? Please let me know.
