BATMAN - GOTHAM CITY Happy Birthday Party Cake!!

OK, This post is to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all the Bat-Blog Fans who have an event for the month of February. This Batman Birthday Cake Photo is posted just for YOU!! So, HAPPY BAT-DAY! We hope you have a great party!

1970's: THE SUPERHERO CATALOG OF GAMES, BOOKS, TOYS, & PUZZLES #1

I hope this post brings back a lot of fond memories for many readers. I grew-up in the 1970's & was totally into comic books at that time, a super-collector! I even liked toys & action figures too but was not really a big toy collector like I am now ( In hindsight I WISH I would have bought a bunch of stuff then, ha ha ). I remember one day, in the mid-1970's, I saw an ad in the back of one of my favorite comic books. You could get a catalog for, I think, 50 cents + postage that promised to be filled with all kinds of superhero goodies. Because I was a big fan of this kinda thing I mailed away for one. WOW! Was I ever happy I did! This is the 1st Issue of The SUPERHERO CATALOG OF GAMES, BOOKS, TOYS, & PUZZLES!! This catalog was pretty unique for 3 main reasons. One, It was published in a comic book format. Two, instead of photos for all the products they were hand-drawn like comic book art, and Three, it was jam-packed with tons of very cool superhero items that, at the time, you would NEVER SEE at all the department stores or even the best-stocked comic book shops. Now, I'm mainly sharing the pages that are "Batman-related" but this baby was filled with Comic Books, Specialty Books about Comics, Star Wars Toys, Super Hero T-Shirts, Action Figures, Micronauts, Novelty Clocks, Mego Dolls, Clothing, and many many other pieces of merchandise with all the DC & Marvel Comics Characters you could ever dream about!! And, oh man, I used to totally drool over every single issue. It was just filled with magic & I would fantasize about buying everything in it. I remember that I did buy a few pieces from it. I used to (still do ) totally love those HUGE Treasury Comics that DC made. I collected them & the ones that were harder to find I would get here. I bought a few weird Star Wars items. I fondly remember getting a Star Wars Stormtrooper Costume Helmet. I also remember buying a few Mego Dolls ( in the original boxes! ). One neat thing about the art was that the whole catalog was done by art students from the Joe Kubert School of Comic Art ( still in business today ). Kubert even drew a lot of it & the stuff he didn't was still sort of drawn in his style. I was a big fan of his artwork at the time ( really loved his Sgt. Rock books ) so this was just a bonus! So, does anybody else remember these? If so then please leave a comment & share your stories. I know there's gotta be a lot of people who loved these as much as I did. Also, I guess, if you have never seen one of these RARE catalogs before then there are some really great collectible toys to drool over, ha ha!

BATMAN'S BAT-UTILITY BELT SCHEMATIC - Flash Animation

Here's something that's so extremely cool I knew I had to share it with you guys. Our friend Reis, who is a Graphic Designer & writes the Geek Orthodox blog, is taking a Flash Animation Class at school. For one of his assignments he was told to create some kind of "schematic or blueprint" that was interactive plus it needed to explain the function of an item. So, he chose Batman's Bat-Utility Belt! It shows what all the compartments are & where Batman stores his various crime-fighting tools. You'll see where batman keeps his Grappling Hook Gun, Bat-Cuffs, Smoke Bombs, Bat-a-rangs, etc...He did it with the idea of, "What if the Cartoon Network hired me to do this for their Batman: The Brave and The Bold website?". For my example I'm showing a few pictures here, to give you an idea what it looks like, but if you click the "BATMAN UTILITY BELT" button down below you can experience the actual Flash Animation. Be sure to do so because it's extremely cool!


Also, if you would like, you can also click on the "GEEK ORTHODOX" button to visit his site & learn more about the developments of this project:

BATMAN TECH The History Channel Examines The Dark Knight's Arsenal & Gadgets!

BATMAN TECH on The History Channel!! This Monday & Tuesday, July 21st & 22nd, the History Channel will feature a documentary on the gadgets & weapons of The Dark Knight. This one hour TV show will be a "must-see" for all Batman Fans! At the official History Channel website they write, "Since his debut in DC Comics in 1939, Batman has dazzled readers with an amazing array of bat gadgets. Viewers will go deep inside the Batcave to examine these incredible tools--many of them inspired by amazing real-life military developments. Discover just how close they come to real-life technology." On Monday it will be on at 9:00pm & Tuesday at 1:00am. But be sure to check your local listings for the exact time because it comes on at different times in different time zones.

THE DARK KNIGHT Merchandise & New Batman Toys Gallery!

OK, it's time again to check out some of the brand-new merchandise that's being made for THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie! I have a theory that there will be so much cool memorabilia for this film that you won't be able to go anywhere & not see it! Just wait, in a month or 2, it's gonna be BATMAN and JOKER EVERYWHERE! The 1st example is the Scarecrow Action Figure from the Movie Masters toy line. Their stuff has been very good quality & the detailing on their action figures are pretty nice, very well-sculpted. This one of Professor Jonathan Crane in his Scarecrow costume looks great! The next item looks pretty cool too. It's the "BATTLE ZONES Playset" which is a Tumbler Batmobile Car that transforms into a Gotham City Play Set. It comes with 2 action figures of Batman & The Joker plus the "City" features 4 locations to play in. The 3rd piece of Bat-goodness is an "Ultra-Blaster Belt". It's two-toys-in-one. It's a BAT-BELT to wear & then you take it off & transform it into an "Auto-Fire Blaster". Is it gonna shoot water? Anyway, it also includes a Batman Cape! The last photo I posted for fun but it's gonna be a real set of "Dog Costumes" by the Rubie's Costume Company. You can dress-up your pooch as either The Joker or The Dark Knight, ha ha ha!

BATMAN AUCTION RECORD? Ideal Utility Belt Sells For BIG Bucks!

Just the other night on eBay this "Mint In Box" Official Batman Utility Bat-Belt by Ideal ©1966 sold for $16,662.62. Yes, you read that right, Sixteen Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Two Dollars & some change!! I'm not exactly sure but I think that's gotta be a record auction price. Either way it's still wayyy outta my price range, ha ha! Now, the 1st picture was so beautiful that I made it a desktop wallpaper ( click on it to see the HUGE picture ). The 2nd pic shows the minty contents...sweet!