OK, Long time Bat-Blog Fans know the drill. Every Wednesday we post a few custom-designed BATMAN Wallpaper Backgrounds for you to enjoy....so, enjoy! The 1st one is an homage to 1970's Batman. I think this artwork was originally the comic book art of Neal Adams, a Bat-Fan favorite! Then, the 2nd one is a parody of the 1960's TV Series Logo. It says, "HENCH", referring to "Henchmen". This is all about some characters on the modern day TV Cartoon, The Venture Bros. On that show there's an evil Super-Villain named "The Monarch" & he has a very large team of Henchmen. This graphic design is actually from a T-Shirt & if you would like more info on that then just click HERE!
OK, We're a little jealous! The Bat-Blog has a friend who lives in New Jersey & every time a huge "Geek Event" happens in NYC he's there. His name is BatDave & here are some photos he shared from the recent BIG APPLE COMIC CON last week. First off, he got to meet "Batman", live & in person ( Check out the photographic proof, ha ). Then, he got to meet two total BATMAN Comic Book Legends, Jerry Robinson and Neal Adams. Of course Mr. Robinson was there to promote his new book, "JERRY ROBINSON: AMBASSADOR OF COMICS", a great read ( For The Bat-Blog Book Review, Click HERE! ). Then, BatDave got Mr. Adams to sign a recent copy of his "Batman Odyssey" comic book. Overall it seems like a great adventure! Oh yeah, he saw this beautiful Asian Girl outside & it looks like she's a Batman Fan... Heck Yeah! ( Thanks, as always, to BatDave for sharing his wonderful photos ).
Hey Bat-Fans, Here are some cool Batman-related Magazines to keep an eye out for in the near future! BACK ISSUE! Magazine ( TwoMorrows Publishing ) will be celebrating Batman with 2 special issues:
BACK ISSUE # 50 ( Release Date: July 20th, 2011 ) is a special 50th Anniversary issue spotlighting “Batman in the Bronze Age”, with the entire issue in FULL-COLOR! DENNY O’NEIL, NEAL ADAMS, and PAUL LEVITZ discuss Batman in the 1970's and beyond in a “Pro2Pro” round table. Also, In Praise of JIM APARO, Batman’s Unsung Creators (DAVID V. REED, BOB BROWN, ERNIE CHAN, and JOHN CALNAN), Joker’s Daughter, the Batman Family, Nocturna, Untold Legend of the Batman, Batman collected editions, Batman in the early 1980s, and Dark Knight. With art by and/or commentary from JOHN BYRNE, GENE COLAN, GERRY CONWAY, DOUG MOENCH, FRANK MILLER, DON NEWTON, LEN WEIN, and more. Featuring a beautifully Bronze Batman and Robin cover by Jim Aparo! Edited by MICHAEL EURY. 84 pages, full-color throughout, $8.95. (Note: price increase is for this one, full-color issue only.)
BACK ISSUE # 51 ( August 17th, 2011 ) is an “All-Interview Issue”! Continuing from the pages of Alter Ego #103 is Part 2 of an exclusive interview with writer STEVE ENGLEHART. Also: “Pro2Pro” with WALTER SIMONSON & ERIK LARSEN, DOUG MOENCH & LEN WEIN, and comics letterers TODD KLEIN & JANICE CHIANG; plus JOHN OSTRANDER and the final interview with longtime DC color artist ADRIENNE ROY, who passed away in December 2010. Featuring as our cover one of the last Batman illustrations produced by the late MARSHALL ROGERS, Englehart’s partner on Detective Comics! Edited by MICHAEL EURY. 84 pages with 16-page COLOR section, $7.95.
Oh Yeah, Order Directly from the Publisher & Save 15%, Just Click HERE!
This video comes straight from Neal Adams & shows the Famous Comic Book Artist drawing a wonderful profile sketch of our favorite Caped Crusader, Batman! He's drawing this inside a copy of "The Art of Neal Adams", a new book published by Vanguard Productions. Would you like a signed copy? Just click HERE to visit Adams' Official Website. Once there, click on the "STORE" button.
Here are a few previews of the artwork you'll see in BATMAN ODYSSEY #4. The pencils ( on the left side ) are done by none other than the Master himself, Neal Adams! On the right, you can see the finished inks done by Scott Williams...beautiful stuff!! I think it's pretty interesting to compare the two different images because it gives you insight to how the art looks in two separate stages. The pencils done by Adams are almost so perfect that they could be printed without inking, ha! But, the inks by Williams are great too. Please be sure to click on these images for HUGE versions that are really sharp, it's the best way to enjoy them.
Shown here, for your viewing pleasure, are 2 really great Batman Art Tattoos that are extremely HUGE! In fact, they cover the entire backs of these 2 dedicated Batman Fans ( Please be sure to click on the photos for larger, more detailed/sharper, pictures ). The 1st one is our friend Damon who got a set of colored tattoos with the artwork showing Batman, The Joker, & "The Dark Knight" Movie Bat-Symbol Logo. I think the picture of Batman is based on some Neal Adams art so that's cool. Either way, they're some really great images of the characters & the shading is very well done. The next tattoo is also really wonderful. This photo was sent in by our friend Nate & this is actually his Wife, who has been a Batman Fan and Collector since the 1970’s. It's a retro-style Batman with a great costume, it looks pretty awesome. I also really love the Batmobile as a vintage 1940's custom car. I wanna thank both our readers for sending these pics in. Well done. Also, If YOU have had some bat-tat ink done lately then please remember to share your pic with us.
OK, I gotta admit that I'm a little jealous here over the fact that our friend Mark got to go to the last Dragon Con ( a Comic Book Convention in Atlanta, Georgia ) & here's the photographic proof, ha! While there he saw a beautiful Harley Quinn Cosplayer, a very cool 1966 Batmobile Replica Car, & he almost got his throat cut by The Joker! He also got to meet some amazing Batman Comic book Artists: Kelley Jones, Neal Adams, and Tommy Castillo ( wearing the hat ). Yeah, like I said...JEALOUS!! ( Thanks Mark for sending the cool pix ).
Neal Adams is set to do an interview on the "Where Monsters Dwell" podcast. The word 'legendary' gets thrown around a lot these days but in this case it certainly fits the bill. From his work re-establishing Batman as a dark brooding figure to his work making Green Lantern/Green Arrow 'relevant' and from his work on a few small Marvel properties like X-Men and Avengers, Neal Adams has cemented himself as a legend in the comics industry. He joins WMD this week to chat about creator rights, how the industry has changed since he got in, his new Batman series 'Odyssey' and his new sketchbook coming from Vanguard Publishing 'The Art of Neal Adams'. It's gonna be Episode #113 so be sure to check it out & if you miss the original time you can always listen to it later.
OK, this is sort of the ultimate in comic book nerdage right here but somebody actually took the time to study the differences between many different printings of some classic Neal Adams & Dick Giordano BATMAN art. Mainly, the famous kiss of Bruce Wayne & Talia ( Ra's Al Ghul's Daughter ). The examples show the coloring techniques used each different time period, the separate printing methods, & different formats ( standard comics & modern graphic novels ). If you study them for a little while you can see that the tiny differences create an adverse effect. The four pictures represent:
Batman #244 (1972)
The Saga of Ra's Al Ghul (1987)
Tales of the Demon (1991)
Tales of the Demon (2008)
Personally, I like the example from the 1970's. I mean, why mess with perfection! ( Thanks to Jerry for sending the cool pics ).
Oh yeah! Over at the Superhero Stuff website they just released a few brand-new Batman T-Shirts that I thought were pretty cool. The 1st one shown here is a special "DC Comics 75th Anniversary" shirt with artwork by Walt Simonson. It's the artwork for the recent Detective Comics cover he did that was an homage to an older Golden Age book cover ( also on the shirt ). The next one is a beautiful CATWOMAN image. This pin-up art was done by none other than Adam Hughes, the master! The last example is one of my favorites. It's a scene from a vintage 1970's Batman Comic Book Cover showing the Joker. The original artist back then was Neal Adams so you know the graphics are sweet! Now, they have many more brand-new Batman T-Shirts & other merchandise in right now so if you wanna check them out just click the button down below, thanks.
Just a friendly reminder that the 2nd issue to Neal Adams' BATMAN: ODYSSEY comic book comes out today. Shown up above is the regular cover & the special variant cover on the right ( click on the picture for a larger graphic ). Also, for a free preview of the 1st few pages, be sure to visit the Official DC Comics' blog DC UNIVERSE: THE SOURCE, by clicking HERE!
The Bat-Blog reported awhile back about the fact that Neal Adams was going to be at Midtown Comics in New York City ( Times Square ) & that he would be signing copies of his brand-new BATMAN: ODYSSEY #1. I know a lot of people went because of this report so that's cool. I'm kinda bitter that NYC is so far away form me, ha ha! Anyways, here's some great photos sent in by our friend BatDave. He went with his girlfriend & friend, who are both total bat-fanatics. They all had a great time! The pics show Neal Adams signing BatDave's copy of the book. It looks like he was using a silver-colored Sharpie Pen, which looks great on that cover. Yes, I'm totally jealous, ha ha! But I'm glad BatDave got a signed copy because I know he's a HUGE fan of Adams' work. Plus, I appreciate him sending these wonderful pictures. They're really fun to see. All the other reports I have got from people about the event all say that Neal Adams was extremely gracious & very fun to be around. They all said he was a very nice guy, very talkative. So, that's cool!
Oh Yeah Boy & Girls! Today, July 8th, is the day the very 1st issue of Neal Adams' BATMAN: ODYSSEY from DC Comics comes out!! So, please be sure to remember & hit your friendly neighborhood comic book store! Shown down below are a few examples of the artwork & it looks pretty cool! But I knew it would because the impressive art of Neal Adams is always a Batman Fan favorite! Be sure to click on the examples shown here because they're actually large & very detailed. Also, I predict that this 6-issue series will be a total success, I'm really excited!
YES! Some more brand new comic book art has been leaked-out from the upcoming BATMAN: ODYSSEY project. Of course it's done by legendary Batman artist Neal Adams! The 1st two photos are pictures of what the covers to issues #2 and #3 are going to look like. I'm not sure if these are the actual covers or special variant ones but either way they're pretty cool. The last graphic is a large 2-page spread that I converted into a Wallpaper Background you can use on your desktop ( down below ). The art looks amazing!! This scene shows the Dynamic Duo riding around in the Batmobile & it looks like Robin is reading a piece of paper with a riddle on it ( The Riddler? ) & all of a sudden Robin is reacting like, "Hey, the bridge is out!". Then, the Batmobile turns into a jet-car. Ha Ha, it's funny, it's like Batman never told him the car could do that! The 1st issue is set to go on sale July 7th, 2010 so look for it then. In the mean time, click on these pics to make them larger & enjoy some beautiful artwork!
On Saturday July 10th, 2010 ( from 2:00 to 4:00pm ) legendary comic book artist Neal Adams will be signing copies of BATMAN: ODYSSEY # 1 at the Midtown Comics Store in Times Square ( NYC ). Now, down below I posted the address from their official website but you might want to check with them for any other information. I'm not sure if they will be charging a fee for the autograph or if it's free so please be warned. Either way it would be really great to get this famous issue signed!
Oh yeah, everybody here at the Bat-Blog is totally excited about the soon to be released #1 issue of BATMAN: ODYSSEY that is going to be written & drawn by the legendary Neal Adams. Of course this comic book series is going to be a 12-part story with the first issue coming out in July ( Stay tuned to the Bat-Blog for reminders & more news, as it appears ). In the mean time, here's what the variant cover art is going to look like!! Be sure to click on the above graphic for a larger version, it's pretty sweet!
Some brand new comic book art has been leaked from the upcoming BATMAN: ODYSSEY project. Of course it's done by legendary Batman artist and comics pioneer Neal Adams. Now, we have seen one of these pages before ( the train scene ) but not in color...WOW! The next one features Aquaman & a Giant Whale ( Also, if you look closely, you can see MAN-BAT ). They look amazing!! The 1st issue is set to go on sale July 7th, 2010 so look for it then. In the mean time, click on these pics to make them larger & enjoy some beautiful artwork!
While surfing through the Heritage Auction Galleries website last night I saw the most amazing piece of Batman Comic Book Art that I have seen in a long time. This is an original penciled & inked drawing for the cover to Detective Comics # 415. This was drawn by Neal Adams ( pencils ) with inks by Dick Giordano. It's going to be auctioned off on May 21st, 2010. With this being an incredible piece of Batman art from the Classic Silver Age period, plus - with the recent passing of Dick Giordano, it's going to be interesting to see what this item goes for.
OK, this is really great! We received a ton of great vintage "Batman-related" photos from our friend David the other day. I thought I would post them every now & then. You know, to spread them out a little bit. I know you're going to love every single one of them! This first one is David from around 1977. He's shown here wearing a Vintage 1970's Batman T-Shirt that has actual bat-graphics done by the Legendary Comic Book Artist Neal Adams!! Plus, as a bonus, I have placed under that a Batman Wallpaper Background of that classic artwork, it's totally iconic art! Please feel free to use this as a background on your PC or MySpace page. Also, thanks to David for all the great pics, I appreciate that very very much.
Lately I have been sort of obsessed with "Foreign Batman" comic books. They're really hard to find in the US. I like the ones that have a total foreign language on the cover. I can't read them at all, but they're cool to look at, ha ha! Here are a few examples of a title called BATMAN KLASSIK. They're published in Germany by the Hethke Publishing Company. This series reprinted all the classic "Neal Adams Batman" stories from the 1970's, mostly the ones featuring the characters that Neal Adams created, R'as Al Ghul & Man-Bat. I always loved those stories from my childhood so they're kinda great to see in another format. If there are any Bat-Blog Readers from other countries who could send some information or photos that would be great, thanks!
