BATMAN: Under The Japanese Influence!
I recently acquired 2 different Batman Graphics that I wanted to share that have a distinct “Japanese Look” about them. The 1st one is a cool pic drawn by a friend to the Bat-Blog named Sean Hartter. He’s a very talented graphic artist who has recently been totally inspired by the whole “Batman 1960’s Japan” era. He did this drawing of a strange-colored bootleg Batman toy & it’s really great! You know the type of toy, they use weird colors to get around the whole copyright issue, funny! The artwork is wonderful ( Sean also sent the “Batman Toy Car” graphic that is in the Bat-Blog’s header this week ). Now, the 2nd graphic is one I came across in a Japanese Message Board where they created a Fantasy-Batman character. It’s sort of a “What If..” scenario. Like, “What If Batman were a Shogun Warrior-type character?”. This is what somebody came up with & it’s extremely cool! It’s also very well drawn. The funny thing is I could not read ANYTHING there but did enjoy some nice artwork. In hindsight I wish I would have bookmarked it…Doh!
CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG: Kenner’s SUPER POWERS 25th Anniversary!
Welcome to CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG!! I know that today a lot of Bat-Blog Readers are gonna kind of freak out a little bit because there are a lot of changes here, & a huge amount of posting going on, so please let me explain. Today, August 25th, 2009 the Bat-Blog has teamed-up with many other toy collector / comic book reader / superhero-type blogs to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Kenner’s SUPER POWERS Action Figure line! Yes, oh man! I can’t believe it’s been 25 years…I now feel kinda old! So, all the posts today are gonna be total SUPER POWERS craziness!! But, to stay inside the Bat-Blog theme, everything here will be totally Batman-related, I promise. Of course we all know & love this special line of toys. They’re Classic! In 1984 Kenner got the license from DC Comics to make a line of superhero action figures & it became an instant success! So much so that they even started to create other products bearing that name. They even did cartoons & had their own line of DC comic books…it was crazy! Just to jog your memory is a photo showing most, if not all, of the figures in the series. Also, down below is a list of all the websites participating in this HUGE event that everybody decided to call “CRISIS ON EARTH-BLOG!!”. Now, all the other websites will each do a set of feature stories, like here, where they will each focus on certain SUPER POWER action figures or characters. So, please be sure to visit the other websites on the list. In the next few posts we’ll take you down memory lane to re-visit some childhood favorites. If you had these as a kid you’ll remember them fondly ( I hope ). If you are way younger, & are totally unfamiluar with them, then you’re about to be educated in coolness! Why? Because Kenner made one of the very BEST toy lines…EVER!!
The Aquaman Shrine – Aquaman!
Bat-Blog – Batman Characters!
Being Carter Hall – Hawkman!
SpeedForce – Flash!
Crimson Lightning – Flash!
Dispatches from the Arrow Cave – Green Arrow!
Love Dat Joker – The Joker!
Justice League Detroit!
Idol-Head of Diabolu – Martian Manhunter!
NURGH!
Doom Patrol Blog – Red Tornado!
Fortress of Baileytude – Superman!
Firestorm Fan Blog – Firestorm!
Once Upon A Geek – Dr. Fate, PLUS!!
LEGO Just Won Christmas With This Heartwarming Father-Son Commercial
Is there anything the mad geniuses at LEGO can’t do? You can build pretty much anything with their tiny bricks; against all odds they’re making a movie starring LEGO minifigs that not only looks like it won’t suck, but looks AWESOME; and now they’ve essentially won the Christmas toy commercial battle just a week after Halloween.
I challenge anyone who has snapped bricks with another living being – parent, guardian, child, grandchild, family pet, casual encounter, or otherwise – to not be moved by this spot. (Just, for the love of God, don’t imagine the adorable narrator son saying “redrum.”)
Via Reddit, where the video inspired this glorious exchange:
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT Animated Movie ACTION FIGURE SET
A Bat-Blog Fan named Chris sent these pics to us recently. He just bought this set of 3 GOTHAM KNIGHT Batman Movie Action Figures from the DC Universe animated film that came out last year. The 3 characters he got were Batman, Scarecrow, & Deadshot. I know a lot of you have probably seen this movie by now, but if not, it’s totally worth a look. It was actually pretty cool! I loved how they portrayed the Scarecrow in this film. He looked completely insane & sort of reminded me of the shape of an insect, very strange. The story with Deadshot was pretty cool too with it ending in a Subway Tunnel. That sequence had a lot of interesting visual effects added to it. Whoops! Sorry, back to the figures. Thanks Chris for sending these pics. I remember covering them when they came out but I posted official production photos from the toy company & these are actually better because they are the real deal! I actually don’t have these… but now I’ll have to get a set, they’re great.
Vintage BATMAN TOY COLLECTION Family Photos: PART TWO
In a previous Bat-Blog posting we showed the 1st part of this story which, if you never read it, you can read it by clicking HERE! In the 1st one we saw a friend named Justin who had some photos of himself when he was a small kid playing with his Toy Biz Batman Toys from around 1992. Well, now here are the new photos showing his young son playing with his own Batman Toys modern day. He’s got the Fisher Price Bat-Cave Play Set with Batmobile Car, Action Figures, & Other Vehicles. It’s neat to see the juxtaposition of the two & it’s also very special that they’re Father & Son. Plus, just to see 2 different generations of Bat-Toys is kinda cool. Here’s to the next generation.
Cool Japanese BATMAN Apple iPod Earphones
In Japan there is a company called SKULL-CANDY who makes these very cool Audio Earphone Sets for your Mp3 Players, mainly the Apple iPod . Here are 2 they made with a Batman & Superman Theme. The neat thing is that I think they come with a set of Vinyl Figures too! Sorry, Not really sure. The Japan-based website I found these on was totally Japanese & I could NOT read a thing, ha ha! But either way these look like a lot of fun. As you can see, the ear-pieces have a set of snap-on “Bat-Logo” covers. But I gotta say that I totally love the vinyl figures way more!
Two NEW BATMAN Magazine Articles To Look Out For
In the current ( March 2010 ) issue of “Antiques & Collecting” our friend Fred Grandinetti has written an article on Batman TV Show Collectibles. I have not seen it yet but plan to check it out this weekend. Has anyone seen it? Also, Fred just wrote an article about “Batgirl in The Media” that will be in Movie Collector’s World # 742, April 2010. OK, now I have read this story & it’s pretty interesting. Basically it just sort of outlines the history of the character & her many different appearances in all kinds of media, like: Comics, TV, Movies, Animation, etc… Look for the Batgirl story later at this LINK!
Video – Batman Batmobile Toy Collection
Here’s a nice video sent in recently by a Bat-Blog Fan who’s main focus is collecting just the Batmobile Toy cars. He just started to collect them & his collection is pretty cool so far. You can see he has a lot of the Action Figure Vehicles, some Corgi Die-Cast Cars, Batman Hot Wheels by Mattel, & a few Misc Toys. REMEMBER: We love to see people’s Batman Collections & how you display them so if you have any pictures or video you would like to share then please send them in today. Our e-mail button is always on the top right-hand side of this page, thanks.
New LEGO BATMAN – DC Universe Super Heroes Set – The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape #6857
I just got some news about another soon to come out LEGO BATMAN Play Set from the DC Universe Super Heroes Series and it’s called “The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape” #6857. It’s a large Lego Toys Playset that comes with five Lego Figures: Batman, Robin, Riddler, Joker, and Harley Quinn!! Check it out, it looks pretty cool!
First Look BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM Video Game Action Figures
Wow! Check out these BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Action Figures! As everyone knows the video game was a smash hit. I mean, it won “Game of the Year” around the world! With it’s popularity Warner Bros has capitalized on a few products. Mainly there have been a few T-Shirts & Statues. Well, now they’re going to make some action figures & they look pretty awesome! The first wave will feature Batman, The Joker, Scarecrow, & Harley Quinn. Oh yeah, the Joker figure will also come with a small Scarface Ventriloquist Doll . About the only information on these new toys right now is that they will be about 6″ tall & heavily articulated. DC Direct has not given an exact release date yet but stay tuned to the Bat-Blog & we will let you know. In the mean time here’s some pictures to totally drool over, ha! ( Thanks to Guenter for the heads-up! )
Retro-Action DC Super Heroes Are GO!
Just a quick post: I’m sort of getting flooded with emails from people saying they are finding the new RETRO-ACTION DC SUPER HEROES figures by Mattel in retail stores right now so be sure to keep an eye out for them! The 1st wave of toys include Batman, Aquaman, Black Manta, & Two-Face. Anyone who grew-up with Mego Dolls are gonna totally love these!
Next McDonalds Happy Meal Toys Might Be BATMAN – THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD!
OK, The Bat-Blog has not been able to totally confirm it yet but there’s a major rumor that the next set of McDonalds Happy Meal Toys in the US could possibly, maybe, be BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD!! We know that they recently made some “Brave and The Bold” toys for their restaurants in foreign locations ( Click HERE for the story on that ) a few months ago. We’ll let ya know what we find out. In the mean time, stay tuned to the Bat-Blog for future bat-news.
VIDEO – Action Figure Review – DC Direct BLACKEST NIGHT Black Lantern Batman – Series 5
Here’s a really nice video done by a Bat-Blog Fan named Joey. It’s an “Action Figure Review” for the new DC Direct BLACKEST NIGHT Black Lantern Batman ( Series 5 ). This toy looks pretty cool & has some great details. Please be sure to check out Joey’s video down below & see what you think. Also, it’s on sale at TFAW, just use that link button below the video!
New BATMAN BATMOBILE TOYS Fron JAPAN – BOSS COFFEE Mini-Magnetic Pullback Premiums by Suntory
First off, I gotta say that I’m really excited about these wonderful new Japanese BATMAN BATMOBILE Toys & I wanna thank our good friend Kuan for letting us know about them. OK, in Japan they have a popular beverage drink called “BOSS Simple Style Coffee” and it’s made by a company called Suntory. The cool thing is that they have 15 different BATMAN BATMOBILE Premium Toys to collect! 10 of them are magnetic mini-cars & 5 of them are the kind of toy cars you pull back & release them to go. Also, the magnetic ones can spin around on your can of BOSS Simple Style Coffee! The vehicles are super cute mini versions of all the different Batmobile cars from all the Batman movies. Well, except unfortunately they didn’t make the 1966 Batmobile, but you get the idea! Here’s the deal: To collect the 10 Mini-Cars you have to buy the individual cans with the premium attached to the top ( see last pic ). To collect the 5 Pull-Back Toys you need to find the 2-packs. Oh yeah! Now the 1st two photos are pics of the actual product. The rest are the sample pics from their official website. These pics show all the different cars & I totally love them! ( Thanks again Kuan! )
BATMAN Product Review – Bobble Head Nodder by NECA
Here at the BAT-BLOG I was recently contacted by one of the companies I help promote Batman merchandise for. They asked me if I would do a product review on one of the items they sell, that they would send me one. So, of course, my answer was, “Heck yeah!” ( ha ha ) But I told them that the danger would be that I would be totally honest about it. They were fine with that & told me that I could pick out anything from their website. Wow! Now that was actually pretty fun! The company I’m talking about is SUPERHERO STUFF. After scanning their pages I found this very cool Batman Bobble Head Nodder made by NECA. Overall it’s a really excellent product. The quality is wonderful & the paint job is well done. I love this piece & I’m proud to display it in my collection. OK, now hold on, my main reason for this posting is to talk about this company. I know that some people might be cynical about a review when I’m sort of “getting paid”. But not really, I mean, just go through the Bat-Blog Archives ( located at the left side of this page, near the middle ) & you’ll see that I’m a very serious Batman Fan & Collector. I’ve been doing the BAT-BLOG for over 4 years now & I think I’m pretty dedicated. Plus, I’m NOT going to sell my integrity for a $20 item, ha ha! Now one of the early reasons I chose SUPERHERO STUFF to sell things is because I have bought many items from them in the past & they have always had really great service & their prices are very decent. They get your items to you fast & pack them very carefully. Plus, they’re one of the few companies that are sort of “progressive”. What I mean by that is that they’re always adding fresh new product & keeping the website up to date. So, in closing: this BATMAN NODDER is extremely cool, I really like it. I also like SUPERHERO STUFF for providing my readers with excellent service. So, if you’re in the market for some Superhero Merchandise ( T-Shirts, Toys, Belt Buckles, Graphic Novels, Action Figures, etc… ) then please hit them up. If you are not familiar with this company then just click the banner down below.
New DC SUPER FRIENDS TRIO – BATCAVE SUPER MEGA SET By Fisher Price
Just in time for Christmas is this totally amazing DC SUPER FRIENDS TRIO Play Set! Our good friend “Batmobilly” spotted this treasure while shopping the other day at Target. It looks like Fisher Price has come out with a BATCAVE SUPER MEGA SET & it’s totally AWESOME! Click on the picture up above for a larger version, it’s beautiful! You get the Batcave, a Batmobile Car, the Joker-Bot, the Batwing Jet, 6 other accessories/mini-vehicles, and a TON of figures!! The characters include: The Joker, Robin, Batman, Superman, Penguin, Riddler, & Mr. Freeze. There are 11 figures in all with a few different variations of Batman, Robin, & the Prince of Crime, The Joker! WOW! This is CRAZY!! I’m gonna go out on a limb here & say that this is the coolest Batman Toy of 2010, yeah! Thanks for spotting this Batmobilly. If any other Bat-Blog Readers come across any new interesting Batman items while Xmas shopping this year then please let us know.
Video – BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Action Figures TV Toy Commercial
Here’s a very cool Batman Toys TV Commercial video featuring BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Cartoon Action Figures by Mattel. Actually, it’s the toy known as “Stretch Attack Battle Pack” that comes with 3 figures: Batman, Plastic Man, & Rubberneck!
BATGIRL BACKGROUNDS – Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!
On Wednesday, every week, the Bat-Blog Website posts 2 Free BATMAN Backgrounds. We call it “Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!” We always try to go with some theme or idea & BATGIRL seemed like a good subject. So, here we go! The 1st image is a close-up shot of a Batgirl Action Figure. It’s from when she was in the Animated Series TV Cartoon. I know the image is kinda strange, but please try it as a desktop background, it’s actually sort of fun! Now, speaking of TV. The next wallpaper is a publicity photo of Batgirl from the 1960’s BATMAN TV Show. Of course this is the Actress Yvonne Craig & she looks totally wonderful in her bat-suit costume, Hubba Hubba! We hope you enjoy these, but if you don’t, then we have hundreds more available in our posts from the past. You can click the “More Wallpapers” Link Button down below:
Neal’s BATMAN TOYS and ACTION FIGURE Collection Photos!
Here are some wonderful photos sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Neal who has some extremelty cool BATMAN items in his Toy Collection. Shown here are just 3 shelves of his stuff & it makes me wonder what other cool stuff he has, ha! But I really like this collection & love how it’s all displayed, looks cool! ( Be sure to click on these small pics for larger, more detailed versions ).
There are some 13″ Dolls, Misc Action Figures, Hot Wheels Batmobiles, & even some Vintage Toys like the 60’s Vinyl Hand Puppet & Ideal Bat-Helmet Mask. Oh yeah, and the last photo should make you drool for days because it mainly features those beautiful MEGO 8″ Dolls from the 1970’s, plus a few more modern-day Custom Figures. ( Thank you for sharing this Neal, great stuff! ) If any other readers want to share their pics then please send us an email. That offer is always OPEN because the Bat-Blog is all about the joys of Bat-Collecting!!
NEW BATMAN TOYS in BRAZIL – McDonalds THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Happy Meal Set ( Mc Lanche Feliz )
Thanks to our good friend Marcio we got some news that, right now in Brazil, they’re starting a 2011 BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Happy Meal Toys Promotion at McDonalds ( In Brazil they call it “Mc Lanche Feliz” ). But the cool thing is that the toys are completely different than the ones we just had here in the USA. For Brazil, it looks like they have gone back to the regular-size toy & there are 4 of them to collect: The PENGUIN in his Penguin-Submarine, a PLASTIC MAN Figure, BATMAN in his BAT-COPTER ( or Bat-Gyro! ), and the JOKER’S Jokermobile Car! Oh man, from the photo up above you can tell that these are completely beautiful. But wait, there’s more! Please be sure to view the official McDonald’s TV Commercial video down below. ( Thanks again Marcio! )
The New BATMAN PEZ CANDY DISPENSER is in Toy Stores Now!
Our friend Christopher sent us this awesome photo of the brand-new BATMAN PEZ CANDY Dispenser he found at Toys R Us! Click on it for a larger, more detailed, photo. This is a part of the PEZ : JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Set which also includes Superman & Green Lantern ( To see those toys just click HERE! ). This pic shows the “Carded PEZ”, which I like better than the poly-bags. Thanks Chris!
LEGO DC SUPER HEROES UNITE!
The LEGO Toy Company and Warner Brothers have recently announced that they will be teaming up to bring LEGO SUPER HEROES to life! With the popularity of the BATMAN toy line they have decided to bring all the other DC Comics characters to the fold. But don’t hit your local toy store tonight, these are set to have a release date of January 2012.
The new LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES collection will feature 13 iconic Super Heroes in LEGO mini-figure form, including: Batman, Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman. Buildable characters will include Batman, The Joker and Green Lantern ( shown up above ). Be sure to check out the promo video down below featuring Batman, it’s pretty cool!
As a side note: LEGO has plans to kick off a promotion that will take place from August to December in 2011 in advance of the launch. Fans are encouraged to use their collectible minifigures and existing LEGO collections to create original LEGO DC Universe SUPER HEROES adventures through video, photography or illustration, then share their submissions on http://www.LEGOSUPERHEROES.com. Entrants have a chance to win monthly prizes or a grand prize trip to California for exclusive tours of Warner Bros. Studios, WB Animation and LEGOLAND California.
Video Game News – LEGO BATMAN 2 Will Also Feature Other DC Comics Super Heroes
New Rumor: Here’s photo evidence of a new LEGO BATMAN 2 DC SUPER HEROES Video Game that will also feature other characters like: Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. This picture was found by the Lego Toys Fan-Site BRICKTUTS. The game is rumored for a 2012 release, which would coincide with the arrival of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. As reported earlier here at the Bat-Blog.Com, LEGO TOYS also has plans to release many more brand-new BATMAN and DC Comics Superhero Play Sets due to roll out next year. Stay tuned for more info.
Brand-New FOUR CARS 4-PACK 2011 HOT WHEELS DC COMICS ORIGINALS NOSTALGIA SERIES By Mattel
OK, Mattel keeps cranking out all these cool Batman products I can’t afford to keep up with, ha! But, here’s something pretty cool that I might have to go without food for!
Here’s a specially Boxed 4-Pack of some brand-new 2011 HOT WHEELS DC COMICS ORIGINALS NOSTALGIA SERIES Diecast Cars. Inside the cool window box are custom rides for Robin, The Penguin, Catwoman, and Batman! The designs are pretty cool, click on the photo above for more detail. Now, I don’t really have any more info on these right now. Like, are they in stores now? But they’re popping-up on evil eBay so I guess so. No idea on price either, but I’m guessing the retail price is probably around the $25 range.
We featured some of the earlier ones here on the BAT-BLOG.COM and if you’d like to see those then just CLICK HERE!
iCosplay Blog 