R.I.P. Michael Gough 1917 - 2011 ( Alfred, Batman Movies )

I have some very sad news to share. The Actor Michael Gough has passed away at the age of 94. Of course as Batman Fans we all know & love him as Alfred Pennyworth, the Butler to both Bruce Wayne & Batman. He appeared in 4 Batman films: 1989 Batman, 1992 Batman Returns, 1995 Batman Forever, and 1997's Batman & Robin. He played the character with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. He is best known for this role but he also had a very long career, appearing in over 150 films. On a personal level, I have always had a lot of respect for this Actor. He played the "Alfred" role perfectly. He was very dignified, proper, and had a great sense of humor. I always enjoyed how he played the character in a "loving, caring" way.

As sort of a tribute to Michael Gough I have posted a few videos. One is a short documentary that covered his Alfred character in the "Batman Returns" movie. The 2nd clip is an appearance he made in one of his many Batman/OnStar TV Commercials. He was a great Actor & will be missed.

Heath Ledger Exhibition Planned in Perth, Australia

An exhibition about "The Life of Heath Ledger", with displays including the diary he kept while developing his character The Joker in the movie The Dark Knight, is being planned by the WA Museum. The Oscar he won after he died, The Joker's costume and a painting of Heath Ledger by Melbourne artist Vincent Fantauzzo ( shown above ) will feature in the exhibition. This is due to open in 2012. Please stay tuned to the Bat-Blog and as soon as we have more information we'll let you know.

Batman Wallpaper - THE JOKER - Heath Ledger Tribute ( Costume )

I got an email tonight from a Bat-Blog Fan named Damon. He sent us some photos of a few Batman-themed costumes he has had in the past where he dressed-up like the JOKER from The Dark Knight movie ( Heath Ledger version ). The costume looks great & the make-up effects are out of this world! This would be the perfect Halloween Costume, it's very well done. He also sent us some pics of his 1989 Batman film costume & some of his tattoos too. I plan to feature those later, but for right now I thought I would share this one picture that I used to make this desktop background. I mean, ya gotta admit that this image makes a great Joker Wallpaper! ( Thanks Damon, Please look for the other pics later )

1966 BATMAN TV Show Tribute Artwork by Steve Willaredt

A friend turned me on to this website the other day Called BATTLE ROYALE WITH CHEEZE & I have to admit that I'm very impressed with it so far. Basically, it's the online artwork portfolio of a Graphic Artist named Steve Willaredt and it looks like he has been doing a tribute to the old 1960's BATMAN TV Series. He's doing some very funny caricatures of the characters from the show & they really look like the actual actors. In fact, the art is pretty cool! As an example I'm showing just a few here but please be sure to visit his site to see the rest, click HERE!

Art - Chris Mason's ADAM WEST TRIBUTE Painting

Our good buddy Chris Mason recently did an amazing painting of Adam West as Batman, sort of like a "tribute". I mean, Adam West is a total ICON! Don't believe me? Well, Check out the 2nd photo showing Adam West's STAR at the "Walk of Stars" in Palm Springs...that's proof right there! If you read it, it says, ICON, ha! ( Thanks to Chris for allowing me to post this wonderful artwork ).

R.I.P. Dick Giordano, 1932-2010

Yesterday was a very sad day for many comic book fans. A legend, an icon actually, passed away. Of course I'm talking about Dick Giordano. Mr. Giordano worked in the comic book industry most of his life. He was an incredible artist & was quite prolific. As a very young comic book fan & collector I was always drawn to his artwork. He drew many of the comic book characters that I really loved. I ALWAYS recognized his art, almost right away. He had a very unique style. It was very realistic, especially his background scenes, & always interesting. His line work was sort of fast & fluid, but he always attached a great amount of detail in a way that seemed effortless. He also created a lot of stock art that was used on paperback books, calendars, products, & other bits of marketing. So, even if you didn't read the comics he drew his art seemed to be everywhere! It saddens me to say that I never got to meet him. I know a lot of people who did & every single person has told me that he was totally great to be around, that he was very down to earth, kind to a fault, & very funny. I'll always be a fan of his work and, with his passing, I even sort of feel like I have lost a part of my childhood. So, I want to thank him personally for all of his great work & for his friends & family I hope they find some peace very soon. He will be missed by many many people. R.I.P Dick Giordano, 1932 - 2010. As sort a side note I would like to tell people that the picture down below is a "Tribute Wallpaper" I made last night. Please feel free to use it to remember this great man, thanks.

DICK SPRANG TRIBUTE - Golden Age Batman Comic Book Artist

This is pretty cool! In a small Government Building in the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah there is a small plaque hanging on the wall that is a Tribute To Dick Sprang. Of course he was one of the original comic book artists of the Golden Age of comics!! Here at the Bat-Blog we totally love his artwork, he's really great! This weird piece of Bat-History was discovered by our friend Wayne Smith, who stumbled upon it while on vacation! Take a look at his photo & read what the message says, it's pretty interesting! ( Thanks for the pic Wayne )

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! - Funny Parody Comic Book Cover

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! Yes, you read the title correctly. Here's a totally hilarious parody comic book cover done by our new friend ( & great Graphic Artist ) Jim Mohan. It makes fun of the old 1980's BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #1 Comic Book Cover by replacing a few superheroes with characters from Gary Larson's famous comic strip, THE FAR SIDE. It's also sort of a tribute to the original artist & creator Jim Aparo. The artwork is awesome & it is really really funny! ( Thanks Jim )

Video: JOKER'S REACTION - A HEATH LEDGER TRIBUTE ( Batman: The Animated Series )

A new friend of mine on Facebook, named Michael Valentine, had this video to share that he actually made. Well, he used footage from the Batman: The Animated Series & added his own audio of himself doing the Joker's voice ( he sounds exactly like Mark Hamill! ).The main focus of this piece is that it's a tribute to Heath Ledger ( Joker from The Dark Knight movie ) who had just died. It shows the Joker cartoon character all upset hearing about Heath's death...it's pretty well done. Thanks for letting me post it Michael, ya did a great job on it! Readers, if you would like to see more of his videos then check out this LINK.

Tribute Video: BATMAN, THE DARK KNIGHT Movie ( Music: Gary Numan 'Pure' )

Here's an extremely well-done music video tribute to the BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT Movie. The editing is very cool & the song is pretty great too...very clever! ( Thank you to Satish, the Bat-Blog Reader who sent it ).

HEATH LEDGER BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE ( Wallpaper )

Today, April 4th, would have been Heath Ledger's birthday. So, to act as sort of a tribute to him I created this Desktop Wallpaper you can use to remember him. He is missed very much by all of his fans & it's still a shock to me really that he tragically died so young. I was so happy he won the Oscar for his performance of the Joker in The Dark Knight, he really deserved it, but at the same time I was sad he didn't get to go on stage to receive it. Besides being a great actor, and more importantly, he was also a really great person. Happy Birthday Heath.

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie JOKER HEATH LEDGER TRIBUTE Art with Bead Sprites

It's pretty well known that I'm a big fan of art in all shapes & forms, especially if it's Batman related, so I was really excited to receive an e-mail from a Bat-Blog Reader named Jose who had this to share. It's a large-sized artwork of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight Batman movie. Now the thing is that it's made out of many many tiny little plastic beads ( Click on the small pic up above for a more detailed version ). The artist's name is Serena Azureth & she lives in Illinois. She's a member of the PIXELGASM Forum where she shows a lot of her other Bead Sprites artwork. There seems to an entire subculture of fans & artists who totally worship pixel art. And I can completely see why because if you search in that world just a few minutes you can see some really cool stuff! Basically they all love the old school video games where, if you remember, were rendered in total 8-bit graphics & were always kinda crude & simple. But even back then graphic artists took a lot of care to squeeze all the form & color they could in that simple artform. There's been a lot of recent artwork in this area of art that's really great but I knew everyone here would at least appreciate this one of Heath's Joker, she did an awesome job! I wanna thank Jose for sending this, Thanks Dude! Oh yeah, if ya wanna investigate more art like this check out this link:

Batman Fan Calling For All Tattoo Artists & Creative People

It was kinda late tonight when I decided to check my e-mail before going to bed. I was kind of surprised by this message I received from a Bat-Blog Reader named Wes. He had sad news about his Mother passing away almost a year ago & has decided to get a Batman Tattoo to honor her memory. He has asked me to ask my readers, many of whom are very creative, to maybe come up with a design he could use as a tattoo. I think his own words convey the message a lot better then I can so I'm just gonna pass it along on here & ask everyone to read it with care. Wes wrote, "My name is Wes Greer. We've been in contact a few times but this time is the most important time I think we will ever talk. Almost a year ago my mother passed away. It was on the eve of Jan 7th, 2008, and I want to do something big. She was the inspiration for my love of the Dark Knight. My mom was one of the coolest moms in the world and she was also a super nerd. She loved everything there was to do with Batman, from comics to collectibles, movies, and waiting to come home from daycare and watch Adam West and Burt Ward slide down the bat-poles and be magically dressed in the costumes we all love. She started with me on the 1989 Batman movie, which came out the year I was born, and she said that due to the fact I was born that same year I would be a bat-o-holic til the day I die, just as she was. What I need your help with is to have all the awesome Bat-Artists that visit the blog get together and help me with their art to create a tattoo that will immortalize my mother and her love for the Dark Knight. I've searched and come out empty handed for something that was perfect, so I turn now to the rest of my bat admirers just as she would. She was also a Bat-Blog addict and actually showed me the site so it would be a great honor to have the people we have communicated with forever give a little more just as they always do and come up with their own sketches that would be a memorial to my mother using Batman. I will take the image I think best represents what I'm aiming for and will be getting that image tattooed on my body. I would also like to contact the artist who's work I choose and give personal gratification. My mother went before her time, which makes this hard, but with support from the bat bloggers I can feel help and courage. My mother's name was Karen Jane Greer and her date of birth was June 17th, 1963 and her date of passing was January 7th, 2008 and I would like that incorporated in the art. Thanks so much, Wes." Oh man, Wes, first off I want to send my heart-felt condolences to both you & your family. It seems she did pass too early & that's a very sad thing. It's been almost a year & I know things never get easier but I hope they have a little. Getting a tattoo to celebrate her life & her love of the character seems like such a great thing to do. I think she would really love that. So, Bat-Blog Readers, I am asking everyone of you who are tattoo artists, graphic designers, commercial artists, or just creative people to please send in your tattoo ideas. I have enclosed my idea. It's not much but I hope it might be close to what you're looking for Wes. Readers, our "Send e-Mail" Button is always at the top right-hand side of this page. Please send us some ideas or artwork. Thank you. And Wes, I hope this doesn't sound too corny or anything because I don't mean it like that but I am very touched that you would ask me to do this. Seriously, I am actually very honored to do it & I hope I can help. Thank you.

EARTHA KITT ( Catwoman 1966 Batman TV Show ) Passed Away Today at Age 81

I have some very sad news to report. Today, on December 25th, Eartha Kitt, the Award-winning film, theater, music, and TV star passed away at the age of 81 ( Born January 17th, 1927 ). Early reports say colon cancer was the cause of death. Of course all of us Batman Fans know & love her as "The Catwoman" on the 1966 Batman TV Series. As a tribute I would like to ask our readers to watch the following video. It's a RARE 1962 TV appearance where she sang one of her hit songs, "I Want To Be Evil". In it, you will see what a truely original & amazing voice she had. She continued to entertain people, all over the world, all the way up to her passing. She was a very special lady. Also, at the very top of this post ( the 1st large image ), you will find an "Eartha Kitt Tribute Wallpaper" that you can use on your desktop to remember her. She will be missed. Eartha Kitt 1927 - 2008, R.I.P.

"The Dark Knight" Fan-Made Music Video : A Tribute To The Caped Crusader!

Ladies & Gentlemen: For your viewing pleasure! Please join us in celebrating the caped crusader's return to the silver screen with the latest movie tribute music video from HOLY LIGHT OF DEMONS! (( SIDE NOTE: Has anyone else been having problems the last 2-3 days viewing YouTube videos here on the Bat-Blog? I know I have & I'm wondering if it's my computer or is YouTube having problems? Mainly, I'm concerned if my readers can enjoy them. Please let me know, thanks. ))

Batman Tattoos: JOKER / HEATH LEDGER TRIBUTE

Two friends of the Bat-Blog, named Danny & Brad, each sent me an e-mail of their new JOKER / HEATH LEDGER TRIBUTE Tattoos... on the same day! What are the odds of that! The 1st one belongs to Danny. He lives in Forney, Texas. He chose his favorite character & the artist did an amazing job on it! The 2nd one is Brads & he wrote that he is a HUGE Batman Fan, mainly the villains. It was done by Tim Bowling at Sacred Ink in Indianapolis, IN. Thanks guys, both of these Joker Tattoos are really great! I appreciate both of you sending them in. I'm still kinda shocked about receiving these at the same time & both of you guys live in totally different states, that's awesome! If any other readers have got some ink recently please shoot us an e-mail.

5 New HEATH LEDGER As The JOKER Desktop Wallpapers from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie Trailer!

OK, I gotta admit I went kinda crazy with the creation of a few NEW JOKER Background Wallpapers this morning, ha ha ha ha! But these are kinda special. They all feature Heath Ledger as The Joker from the new DARK KNIGHT Batman #2 Movie Trailer. I guess they are sort of an homage to Heath Ledger. So far, everything I have seen of Mr. Ledger's performance looks like it's gonna be really great. So, this is for you Heath, RIP.

Remembering HEATH LEDGER Who Was Born Today on April 4th, 1979

Today, April 4th, would have been Heath Ledger's 29th birthday. He was born in Perth, Australia in 1979. This is his 1st birthday since his death & I thought it would be nice to do a small tribute. He was a great actor but was also a person who was loved by many. All the reports I have ever read said he was a really nice guy, that's cool. He will be missed. My warmest & most sincere thoughts go out to his friends & family members who must be having a really hard time today. Happy Birthday Heath!

BATMAN WALLPAPER The Dark Knight JOKER BACKGROUNDS Heath Ledger

I received a request from 2 different Bat-Blog Readers to please please please make another JOKER/HEATH LEDGER desktop wallpaper so here's one for each of you, ha ha. I hope you like them Mike & Lisa! Ya' know, you can always check our Archives for more wallpaper backgrounds because we have like over 100 of them here. Please let me know if you use these. I wanna see them at your MySpace pages & I think it's great that you're using them for a tribute page, that's cool.

Heath Ledger Tributes by Warner Brothers & Various People

My e-mail box has been flooding with letters about people expressing their grief over Heath Ledger's death. They have been very touching. Here are just a few of the pictures some people have attached. Jim wrote us that the Official Warner Brothers website released this image today.



Here's a photo sent in by a reader who lives near SoHo in New York City & this is what the front of Heath Ledger's apartment looks like today. I really like the Australian flag, that's a nice sentiment.



This last picture was one I came across while surfing through MySpace. I thought it was pretty interesting.