Here are 2 print advertisements that were printed on the back cover of a few comic books back in the day. They advertised a few food products that tied into the latest Batman movie, of the time, 1997's BATMAN AND ROBIN. I remember when these came out & even though I was NOT a big fan of the film, I still bought these for their boxes. I have always loved wacky food packaging like this. In hindsight I'm glad I did. This stuff is sort of strange now & kinda hard to find. In the future they should be pretty rare. The 1st ad is for the Batman & Robin Movie Kellogg's Pop-Tarts. The weird thing is that it only shows 3 boxes but there were actually 4. I think the one they didn't show was "Batgirl". Next, we see an old ad for MR. FREEZE Freezer Bars. The funny thing is that it was the actual name of the product even before the movie promotion. Seriously, see the Snowman? That's "Mr Freeze", ha! I guess that was the perfect tie-in. The graphics on this large box were actually pretty cool.
Check out these amazing Batman Snow Globes! These pics were sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Kevin ( Please be sure to click on them for more detailed photos ). I'm not sure if he got these as Christmas gifts the other day or he has been collecting them awhile. Either way, they're really great! The 1st two are sort of related to the "Batman: The Animated Series" cartoon. One has Mr. Freeze & the other shows Two-Face getting punched after robbing a bank, ha! I have always loved that TV show so I really like these. Well, the last one is more "Comic Book" related, but it's equally as cool! It shows Batman at his parent's grave site & it's more emotional than the other ones. A special thanks goes out to Kevin for sharing his photos, "You ROCK! Sir!"
OK, everybody should already know about this Coastal "Batman Redemption" Vending Machine Game because we reported on it here at the Bat-Blog before it even came out. But, here's an interesting "sales brochure" video I found the other day. It shows the game in action & it's even cooler in person, check it out! ( I want one of these for my bathroom or kitchen )
Our Super-Excellent Retail Reporter, BATMOBILLY, just discovered something pretty cool over at his favorite Target Store. In their "Easter Holiday isle" they have an EXCLUSIVE Fisher Price Imaginext DC SUPER FRIENDS EASTER BASKET! The packaging is made to sort-of look like a basket & it comes with 3 Action Figures, 1 Accessory, & 1 Vehicle. It looks like BATMAN, MR. FREEZE ( with Freeze Chamber ), & THE JOKER ( With Jokermobile )! It retails for $14.99 and that's not a bad price! Thanks to Billy for reporting this awesome news!! If any other Bat-Blog Readers ( that's YOU! ) sees any other Batman holiday tie-in merchandise then please let us know.
Sony Entertainment just sent the following Press Release for their new DC UNIVERSE ONLINE Video Game ( with DC Comics ) & it's AWESOME news:
Victor Fries devoted his life to the hopeless task of curing his beloved wife, Nora from a fatal disease. He keeps her body frozen in suspended animation hoping that one day his experiments will cure her. One such experiment exposed him to a hail of super-coolants that altered his body chemistry. In order to survive, the brilliant cryogenicist must now be encased in his supercooled suit whenever the outside temperature is above sub-zero.
Although Batman offered to help Victor Fries, now known as Mr. Freeze, he refused because he was convinced that his own failures to save his wife are the fault of Gotham's Dark Knight. Armed with his Freeze Gun, Mr. Freeze partners with other criminals to steal the money he needs for his experiments and diamonds to power his freeze suit.
To celebrate I posted their Official MR. FREEZE DCU Wallpaper plus one that I created this morning ( the 2nd one ). Enjoy!
Well, it looks like our good buddy BATMOBILLY has been pretty busy hitting the retail stores lately. I guess it's a good time to maybe find some cool stuff again! These photos were taken at Target & show a few neat new bat-items. The 1st photo is a BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Batmobile Toy Car that Billy said was a Toys-R-Us Exclusive, but is now being sold at Target in different packaging, that's weird! But I totally love the design of this vehicle! ( Be sure to click on it for a larger version ). The next 2 photos are some more of those "value-priced" Imaginext Action Figures by Fisher Price ( Target Exclusives ). They are Mr. Freeze & The Penguin...cool! The last pic shows a nice new assortment of the B:TB&TB ACTION LEAGUE Mini-Figures ( I think they called them "Minis" ). It looks like they've done Batman ( Blue ), the Joker, Bat-Knight, The Demon Etrigan, Owlman, Blue Bowman, Batman ( Grey ), The Top, Sportsmaster, & Green Arrow. Hey Billy! You photographed the Demon Figure twice! ( Ha Ha! Just Kidding ). I gotta say that out of all of these mini-figs my total favorite has to be the Joker...he's awesome! Thank you Billy for taking the time to take these cool pics, I appreciate that. If any other Bat-Blog Fans come across any brand-new Batman Merchandise while surfing the stores then please let us know. Remember, sharing the joy of collecting is the main focus of this website.
This post is all about continuing the "25th Anniversary Celebration" of Kenner's Super Powers toy line! It came about because our good friend, The BATFAN, sent us some photos of Original DC Comics licensing production art he owns that was used for the Kenner SUPER POWERS figures & vehicles. You might recognize some of it from the toy packaging or promotional material. He says that the picture of The Riddler is the graphic they were gonna use on the Unproduced US-Version Riddler Figure. Now, Like a complete moron, I totally forgot to ask who the comic book artist is ...but I'm making an educated guess that it's either Dick Giordano or Jose Luis Garcia Lopez! Thanks BATFAN, I totally love these great drawings & they do bring back some fond memories.
One aspect of the Bat-Blog that I really enjoy is getting to meet people from all over the world who love the character. It's totally crazy to me how Batman is so popular all over the globe. I think that's neat. Now, one thing I like to do here every now & then is cover Batman-related news from other places but a lot of times I totally can't understand the language. Sadly, I only speak English & if a website or other information is in another language ( like German, Spanish, Japanese, etc...) then I'm screwed! It mainly happens when I talk about brand-new bat-merchandise ( Toys, Comic Books, etc ) I have found outside the USA. Now of course I don't mean for this to be offensive in any way. I'm just an idiot who only speaks one language, ha ha! Well, the other day a friend of mine who lives extremely far away sent me a wonderful list of a few "Batman Words" that are in Spanish. I thought it was pretty interesting so here it is ( Hey, You didn't know you were gonna learn something new today, did you? ):
OK, I know that the Batman & Robin movie was not that great, & the Mr. Freeze character in that film was totally lame, but this is "Batman News" so I thought I would post it, ha ha! You might remember awhile back we reported about the cool bat-memorabilia featured in a recent Profiles In History auction. Well, the Mr. Freeze Costume sold for $70,800 dollars! WOW! That totally blows me away. I always wonder who are these super-rich people who can afford to buy this kinda stuff, it must be nice! ( Yeah, I'm poor & bitter ). But Profiles in History always has some really amazing stuff & their website is worth checking out everyday.
A good friend to the Bat-Blog, named Ralph, has an extremely amazing collection of Batman Toys, Original Props, & Movie/TV Memorabilia. The other day he sent along a few pictures, OK, a TON of photos, ha ha! There were too many to place in one post so I kinda broke them up. ( We love getting a lot of great pics ). This first part covers his "Original 1966 Batman TV Show Props". These items really deserve to be in a museum, seriously! The 1st photo shows an original Pair of Bat-Gloves worn by Adam West on the Classic TV Series. They have been very neatly framed with a letter from Adam West himself. The 2nd photo is the original Mr. Freeze Helmet worn by the actor George Sanders. This was always a favorite villain so seeing this prop is pretty cool! The last 2 items were actual props used in the TV Show. They're from an episode where both Batman & The Penguin run for Mayor of Gotham City. These are the original "Political Posters" seen around "Gotham City". The one of The Penguin is one of those kind of signs someone would wear around town advertising the event. The one of Batman looks like it has been signed by Adam West making it even more valuable. I really love these photos Ralph, thank you so much for sending them. You have an amazing collection that you should be very proud of. Thanks again for sharing them, that's so cool. I promise that l will get around soon to posting the other pics soon. ( Readers - Stay Tuned because Ralph has a totally insane collection of Vintage 1960's Batman Toys that is gonna blow you away. Look for them here at the Bat-Blog very soon! ).
OK, This post is for all you "Millionaire Collectors" & is sort of in 2 sections. In one, Profiles in History is holding an auction on May 1st, 2009, where they are selling off a huge proportion of the Hollywood Wax Museum statues. These are the original wax statues displayed at the famous museum & there are a ton of great ones like James Dean, Lucille Ball, Wizard of OZ, Henry Winkler as The Fonz, John Travolta, Bob Hope, etc...way too many to list here but it's totally crazy how many there are! Included in that sale are life-size figures of 1989 Batman ( Michael Keaton ), '89 Joker ( Jack Nicholson ), & 1992 Catwoman From Batman Returns ( Michelle Pfeiffer ).
Now, the 2nd part of this post is about Profiles in History ALSO selling original movie props from another collection, sort of two-auctions-in-one. The Batman-related items in that sale include: a Screen-Used Cowl from Batman & Robin, Jim Carrey's Riddler Cane from Batman Forever, Val Kilmer's Sonar Bat-Suit Costume, 1966 Catwoman Cat-Suit & Belt ( Lee Meriwether ), Adam West's Tights, Val Kilmer's Panther Cowl, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze Costume & Freeze-Ray Gun ( sold separately ), etc...Both sales are spread out over a 2 day period & will surely have to be visited by many Batman Fans. For more details just search "Profiles in History" & visit their main page.
You might remember this video, I posted it here at the Bat-Blog about a year ago ( it's buried in the Bat-Archives now ). But a friend sent it to me recently & this one is a way better version, very nice quality! The basic story on it was that Blur Animation Studios created this CGI movie for Warner Bros to use in one of those "Virtual Ride" events at one of their Six Flags theme parks. It shows "you", as Batman, flying around Gotham City in a Bat-Jet chasing after many different villains like the Joker, Catwoman, & Mr. Freeze. I love the little Bat-Jet planes because they look a lot like the one from the 1989 movie. The video is extremely well done & is actually very fun to watch, enjoy!
Here's a new Fisher-Price Imaginext DC Superfriends item to keep an eye out for. This Gift Set is a Target Store Exclusive so you can only find it there. It retails for about $30 & that's a pretty good deal for what you get. So, don't pay the idiot scalper prices you see on eBay, ha ha! Once they restock their stores it should be around. I have pictures of almost all the figures & vehicles included but couldn't find a decent picture of the Robin figure & his special Motorcycle Bat-Bike. The other action figures include: The Joker, Mr. Freeze, & 2 different Batman. The vehicles are great too! They include: Bat-Copter, Bat-Wing Jet, & the Joker Car. I'm gonna be looking for one of these because as a multiple set it's really cool!
A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Rick, sent me an e-mail about his cool hobby of making custom dolls & action figures. He calls his company DARKSIDE CUSTOMS & his work is totally amazing! His focus is on the many different characters from the classic 1966 Batman TV Show. The attention to detail is totally insane! Plus, I really enjoy that he made a few of the obscure villains. Now of course he made a Batman & Robin ( Adam West, Burt Ward ) but the rouge's list includes: Catwoman ( Julie Newmar ), The Riddler ( Frank Gorshin ), Bookworm ( Roddy McDowall ), Mr. Freeze ( Otto Preminger ), The Madhatter ( David Wayne ), & Egghead ( Vincent Price ). I'm showing only a few examples here so if you like these be sure to visit Rick's website!
