Foreign Reprints - Vintage 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW Paperback Books

I guess this post is sort of a "photo reference". These are some pics I collected awhile back where it's the Vintage 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW and MOVIE Paperback Books, but these are all "foreign-issued" copies. The 1st five are from England & were reprinted by Four Square Illustrated. These special UK editions have slightly different covers than the US versions. My favorite one is THE JOKER with all the weird "Pop Art" colors. I'm not sure about THE CATWOMAN Book & I'm wondering if it's from the UK too. It looks like it was reprinted by some other publisher. Now, the very last photo, is THE PENGUIN Book that was made in Argentina. It appears to be wayyyy more thin than an actual paperback. What's up on that? OK, I'm wondering if anybody has any other versions of these. If so, then please let us know. I think it would be cool if there were German, Spanish, or French editions, ha!

Vintage Foreign BATMAN Movie Poster & Books

As a totally obsessed ( yes, crazy ) Batman Toy Collector one of my favorite areas in the genre are "foreign items". They're pretty hard to find here in the US & they're always interesting. Here's a few examples: This 1st item is a Vintage Movie Poster for the 1960's BATMAN film. But what make it unique is that it's from Italy & the language is completely Italian...awesome! I love the graphics on this thing. Now, the next 2 pictures show some cool Batman books from around the globe. The 1st book was published in France ( Yes, it's all in French, ha ha ) & it reprinted some Golden Age stories from 1943-44. It was released as a hardback around 1989, during the Tim Burton movie craze. The next book is a paperback & one of the things that make it extremely interesting is the size of the book is very very weird. It has a standard width, but it was made to be extremely tall ( or very long ). The next great thing about it is that it's from Uruguay! It was published around 1968 & is extremely RARE! So, I guess I'm gonna ask all Bat-Blog Fans who live outside the USA if they have any "foreign bat-books or toys" in their collections to please send us some photos. Thanks!

IT'S FUN TO BE A BATMAN!

Here's a really great vintage 60's Batman item that I know a lot of people may have never seen before. In my collection I have almost every single Batman paperback from this era, except this one, it's very hard to find! In fact, I've always been familiar with what the cover looks like but I didn't know what the content was. So, here we go! This is a vintage paperback book titled IT'S FUN TO BE A BATMAN! ( Written by Leonard Goldstein ). It was made around the time of the 1966 TV Show & it featured a lot of altered B&W photos where they took some person in the picture & made them into Batman or Robin. Plus, they gave them funny captions. It's a really weird book. I wanna thank our buddy Chris who shared these pics. I told him I never knew about the strange photos inside. I hope to find myself a copy of this book someday...it will be MINE, ha ha!

Justin's BATMAN TRADE PAPERBACK BOOK Collection!

We just received an email from a Bat-Blog Fan named Justin & it was loaded with a bunch of cool pics! Justin said that he has been a Fan of the Dark Knight since age 5 & he is now 19. The thing he really enjoys is collecting the Batman Trade Paperback Books ( Graphic Novels ), Hardback Books, & Comic Books. Here are some photos he sent of his collection. Because of space limitations I couldn't publish them all but these do give you a really good idea of what an awesome library he has. On a side-note, I like how he has a Post-It Note attached to the shelf, near the Batman books, that reads, "DO NOT TOUCH!", that's funny! Thanks Justin for sending in these photos & sharing your collection with us. You have some great stuff! As always, I want to invite all Bat-Blog Readers to share your pics of anything Batman-related. It can be a Vintage Toy Collection, a photo of you meeting Adam West, your recent Bat-Birthday Party, whatever!

Released Today - BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Trade Paperback

Today is the date that all fans of the BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Animated Cartoon have been waiting for! It's the release of the Trade Paperback Book of all the collected comic book stories. Inspired by the hit Cartoon Network TV series, The Caped Crusader teams up with heroes including Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and others. In these tales from the first six issues of the monthly series, Batman and his allies tangle with The Time Lord, save the world's children from the Queen of Fables, and more! Get it at TFAW & save 20%.

COOL BATMAN MERCHANDISE From The Netherlands, Germany, & Argentina!

For this post I thought I would share some photos of some very obscure pieces of Batman Memorabilia from around the globe. The 1st bat-item is a Set of Batman ( Comic Book Version ) Story / Music Cassettes. These were made in the Netherlands in the early 1980's. There's actually a lot more of these in the original set but finding even these 3 are pretty difficult. I really really like the cover art. The next item might look just like it's American-counterpart but it's totally in German! Yes, it's the 1989 BATMAN MOVIE Novelization Paperback Book, but from Germany. I wonder if these are as common there as the US versions are here, ha ha! But still, it's really cool that it is "foreign language". On to the next photo we see a toy made during the BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES cartoon craze in Argentina! This is one of those Batman: Drawing Play Sets where there's a machine you load plastic tiles into that have "drawings" embossed on them ( raised design ). You snap them into a template, load a piece of paper, & then scratch a pencil across to get the artwork on your paper. It creates an image that is black-outlined & you can then color it. Sort of like having a manual "coloring book sheet maker" in your home, whew! Anyways, it's so great that it's from South America and it's got the BTAS thing goin' on. Plus, seeing the Joker on the box is kinda cool too. OK, right now I want to extend an offer for all Bat-Blog Readers living all over the world to send in any "Foreign Collectibles" photos & stories you might have.

Book Review: WAS SUPERMAN A SPY? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed ( Paperback )

There's a new Paperback Book out right now on the history of comic books titled "WAS SUPERMAN A SPY? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed". It is written by Brian Cronin & published by Plume. Bouncing around the Internet I have seen a mention of it here, a review there, so I was curious & decided to check it out. Basically the book is sort of a myth busters-type book where the author explores all the "urban legends" surrounding the long 70+ year history of comic book creators & characters. There have been all kinds of interesting myths & with this book he does extensive research to find out which ones are true & which are false. The book is broken down into 3 parts: DC Comics, Marvel, & Other Publishers. But all the chapters have a lot of extremely interesting stories so even if, for example, you don't like "Marvel Comics", it's still a great read. Now the only reason I felt this book would be possible as a review here at the Bat-Blog is that it does cover a few of the events involving BATMAN. Mainly all the controversy around who really created the character & how much did Bob Kane actually draw the comic book. There's some other interesting information about the Caped Crusader in there too like who created certain characters. For example, "Did Jerry Robinson really create the Joker or was it Bob Kane?" Also, the book covers a lot of other territory in it's 256 pages. Some of the other questions it answers is, "Was the trademark hairstyle of Elvis Presley really based on a comic book character &, if so, which one? Was Wolverine of the X-Men originally meant to be an actual wolverine/animal? Did the creator of the Lie-Detector Test also create Wonder Woman's "Lasso of Truth"? and on & on! It seems that Brian did TONS of research & covers a HUGE amount of material. Overall, I found the book to be pretty entertaining. Brian's writing style is very precise ( he gets right down to business ). It's written to be sort of "conversational" & easy to understand. But he does a good job with relaying a lot of facts like exact names, dates, etc...so that's cool. Now, about the overall design of the book ( which I think is important ). The cover is absolutely amazing! In fact, I'm linking this review to an interview with the Graphic Designer who created the cover, it's that nice. The material used for the cover feels really good in your hands, it's very durable & has a great texture. Plus, graphically it just looks very cool with sort of a retro-style. Now the inside of the book. The font size is wonderful to read, which is something a lot of people don't think about but reading many books lately I've noticed publishers use extremely small font sizes to make books with less pages. They're total hell to read, but not this book, that's nice. My only complaint about the whole thing...some of the inside photos & illustrations. Now, most of the photos are pretty decent ( & there's a lot of them ) but just a few are kinda murky & hard to see. It seems like the editor was a little weak about that ( Sorry Brian & Plume, I gotta be honest ). But really it doesn't distract that much from the book & I seriously enjoyed reading it. I mean, when I started, the experience was so good that I ended up reading about half the book before I put it down. If I had not been tired ( it was bedtime ) I would have read the whole thing all the way through! If you love comic books then I think you'll find it very entertaining & you just might find yourself laughing out loud a little bit every now & then, ha ha! Plus, you'll learn a lot of very interesting facts about the Comic Book business & it's properties. If you would like to know more about the graphic design of the book cover then please check out this LINK for more information. I've also included a link to Amazon, so if you buy stuff from there please use one of our links because it helps to support this page a little bit ( a VERY little bit, ha ha ).

NEW BAT-BLOG CONTEST: An Autographed Signed-Copy of BATMANGA, THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN

OK, I know we have been kinda crazy with the contests lately but it's because we have received a lot of material from generous readers & there's some that I already had planned so they just all clashed together, ha ha! But, this contest is special & sort of connects to the release of a current book so I had to get it in now. Plus, I'm super-excited about it & couldn't wait any longer so HERE WE GO! The latest Bat-Blog Contest is for an Autographed Signed-Copy of Chip Kidd's new book titled BAT-MANGA, THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN ( Paperback Edition ). You might have read my book review on this a few days ago. To summarize, the book is incredibly AMAZING! Famous book designer & author Chip Kidd teamed up with Super-Collector Saul Ferris & Photographer Geoff Spear to create this wonderful "Batman Japanese History" book. Basically, it reprints a ton of totally lost material done by the Manga ( comic book ) Artist Jiro Kuwata during the 1966 Batman TV Show craze in Japan and, as a bonus, features a lot of beautiful Vintage 1960's Batman Toys made in Japan. The book is really great & we were lucky enough to get a few signed copies to give away as a contest! You read that right! There's more than one autographed book so your chances of winning are way better than those other crappy "Batman Fan" wannabe-websites, ha ha! The rules are pretty simple: Just e-mail us your FULL NAME / ADDRESS with the phrase "CHIP KIDD'S BAT-MANGA BOOK" in the title. Once we get enough entries we'll start pulling names out of a hat every few days. Like I said there's more than one copy so you'll have more chances to win but you can ONLY enter one time. All the names stay in the hat until all the books are gone & we will announce winners right here at this blog so stay tuned. Remember, your chances are better if you enter early so get busy & shoot us an e-mail... Good Luck!

CONTEST RULES:

1. The contest is open to the general public as well as anyone currently reading the BAT-BLOG on a daily basis. Employees of the Bat-Blog and employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this contest.
   
   
2. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded.
   
   
3. Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available.
   
   
4. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which Bat-Blog may deem appropriate.
   
   
5. In accepting the prize, the winner, and any reader(s), acknowledges that the Bat-Blog may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize.
   
   
6. The person whose name is drawn as being the winner of the specific prize will be required to send us their correct mailing information before the prize is awarded to them. Postage to be paid, free of charge, by the Bat-blog.
   
   
7. Detailed contest rules applicable to this contest, including contest entry dates, how to enter, and prize value, number and any restrictions applicable to these prizes are available upon request by reading these Contest Rules, ha ha!
   
   
8. The Bat-Blog retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever.
   
   
9. This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws.
   
   
10. The Bat-Blog reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.
    
    
11. Approximate value of prize varies.
    
    
12. Contest open to loyal Bat-Blog Readers only.
    
    
13. One entry per person.

Book Review - BAT-MANGA THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN By CHIP KIDD

OK, anyone who's been reading the Bat-Blog for the last year or so knows how excited I have been about the gossip of a brand-new Batman book titled BAT-MANGA: THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN. It was being done by Chip Kidd who, a few years ago, came out with another great Batman book titled BATMAN COLLECTED. That book was amazing, so I knew this one was gonna be great too! Well, it has finally come out & it's even better than I dreamed about! It was released on October 28th, 2008. All I can say about BAT-MANGA is that it is extremely well-designed & a total delight to read! But, I can't just say that because that would be a totally lazy book review, ha ha! So, here's why the book is so awesome. First, for people totally unfamiliar with this title, in the 1960's there was a magazine in Japan for kids called Shonen King . During the crazy hype of the 1966 Batman TV Show ( Adam West & Burt Ward ) this company reserved the rights to do Batman stories. They did them for about a year & then they were gone. For years these wonderfully written & beautifully drawn stories were lost...until now! To do this book Chip Kidd teamed up with the photographer Geoff Spear & Super-Collector Saul Ferris ( Japanese translation by Anne Ishii ). Both Chip & Saul had a few issues of this super-rare magazine & while doing research found out that the artwork was done by Jiro Kuwata, the artist responsible for creating "8 MAN", a very popular Japanese character. Anyway, Kidd hired a Japanese translator & actually found the guy! To his regret he found out that all the original artwork had been lost to time. But, a neat thing about getting in touch with him was that they got to do an exclusive interview about his "Batman experience". So, working with Geoff & Saul, they photographed every issue they had their hands on. This actually turned out to be a "wonderful accident" because looking at the original magazines is pretty cool. Geoff did an amazing job photographing all the pages. The neat thing is that the photography is so extremely sharp that you can actually see the texture of the newsprint & it sort of gives you the experience of reading the actual magazine that children got to view in the 1960's. One other thing that's kinda neat too is that, back then, Jiro Kuwata was given total license to write anything he wanted. So, the stories are very unique & have a nice Japanese sensibility to them. Now, please keep in mind that this is manga so ya gotta "read it backwards". But, don't worry about that because after about 5 minutes you totally get used to it & the stories are really enjoyable. Jiro Kuwata was given permission to do anything he wanted so many of the villains ( except Clayface ) were created by him. They are really well thought out & have great names like Lord Death Man, Go-Go The Magician, Dr. Faceless, Professor Gorilla, & The Man Who Quit Being Human! Now, another great thing about the book is that it features some very sharp color photography of many Vintage 1960's Batman Toys...a total bonus! This is kinda where Saul Ferris came in. He has an amazing collection of super-rare Japanese Batman Toys. The photos are sort of sprinkled every few pages so while you're reading the stories you get a small break. Plus, You get to enjoy these lost pieces of Bat-History. It gives the book a nice rhythm & each time they popped up it was a very pleasant surprise! The book is created in 2 formats, hardback & paperback. The hardback has about 32 extra pages. It mainly has a few more toy photos & a section in the back that covers some stories written in Chinese! But, don't worry because everything has been translated into English so you can enjoy the whole experience. The retail price for the hardback is $60.00 while the paperback is $29.95. Right now Amazon is offering them as new releases at a cheaper price & I seriously recommend the hardback, just for the extras. Well, I hope this has been a decent review & it's a book I can highly recommend for ANY Batman Fan!

Photos: Vintage BATMAN Paperbacks from Bulgaria!

We have a friend named Zdravko from Bulgaria who has a really great Batman Fan Weblog where he shares pictures of his collection & news about our favorite Dark Knight. Recently he posted a few photos of some of his vintage paperback Batman books that are written in Bulgarian. Speaking of Zdrako's site, it's all written in his foreign language so you might not be able to read it but there's plenty of visual eye-candy to enjoy. Here's a link to check out his page: