Homemade Batmobile: 1973 Opel GT Batman Car!

Over at the BOINGBOING GADGETS website they recently featured this Homemade Batmobile that totally cracks me up! A friend to the Bat-Blog sent this link & I almost died laughing ( Thanks Patron, I needed that! ). It looks like some Bat-Fan took a 1973 Opel GT & customized it to be a very cool Batman car! It's actually pretty nice & if ya wanna read the complete details then be sure to check out their page, here's a link button:

ARGENTINA: 1978 DC SUPER HEROES Pepsi-Cola Soda Pop Bottle Caps Promotion

In Argentina, in 1978 & '79, DC Comics teamed up with Pepsi-Cola for a very cool DC SUPER HERO Promotion! They had special Super Hero Bottle Caps placed on their Pepsi Soda Pop Bottles with very cool graphics of a comic book hero or villain. Quite a few of them were Batman-related so that's what you see in the 1st photo, click on it for a larger version. They made ones for Batman, Robin, Commissioner Gordon ( Comisionado Gordon ), Batgirl ( Batichica ), Bruce Wayne ( Bruno Diaz ), The Joker, The Riddler ( El Acertijo ), The Penguin ( Pinguino ), Catwoman ( Gatubela ), Ra's Al Ghul ( Ragul ), & The Scarecrow ( El Espantapajaros ). The next two photos show a special in-store Paper Place Mat that contained a "Collector Board" on one side ( in color ) & a "Checker Game" on the other. These photos also show the other Bottle Caps of Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Flash, etc...so be sure to click on one of those to see them! I gotta say that I am totally loving the vintage graphics on all of this stuff, great stock art! The last photo is a super close-up of the BATICHICA Bottle Cap. I really love the sound of that word, Batichica! Speaking of her, these photos were all sent in by our good friend Milotik who lives in Argentina ( Thank You! ). These DC Comics Bottle Caps are a part of his amazing Batgirl Toy Collection. You see, Milotik's main collecting focus is on her & that's very cool. He has some very neat stuff, some of it extremely RARE! He even has a great website where he shares his collectable adventures called EL BLOG DE BATGIRL which you can visit by clicking HERE!

Sears Toy Catalog: Vintage 1970's Batmobile Batman Pedal Car

Oh man! I gotta say that Old Toy Catalogs are some of the very best reference material out there you can get. Here's a really great example. This is a page from the 1977 Sears Catalog showing the Batmobile Pedal Car. This thing is a beautiful piece of ART that deserves to be displayed in a museum! It's kinda funny how they show that one little kid hanging all over that lame Ferrari Race Car when we all know every little boy wants the Batman car! The other funny thing is the Batmobile only costs $39.99. Just click on the above photo to see the larger version of this picture, it's pretty sweet!

BATMAN & PLASTIC MAN "The Night the Mob Stole X-Mas"

From BRAVE AND THE BOLD #148 ( March 1979 ) we get the heartwarming Christmas story titled "The Night the Mob Stole X-Mas". Written by Bob Haney with artwork by Joe Staton and Jim Aparo. You can read the entire comic book at the Diversions of The Groovy Kind website, just click HERE!

BATMAN MEMORABILIA From Around the Globe!

I don't know what my fascination is with "Foreign Batman items" but that sort of stuff is really cool! Plus it's very hard to find. Here's some great examples: The 1st photo shows a JAPANESE POTATO CHIP BAG with a 1989 BATMAN movie promotion. Now, how wacky is that! Speaking of "Japanese", right now my heart goes out to all the people of Japan. The recent events there are such a tragedy. Let's hope things get better soon. The next pic features a 1980's German-Language BATMAN Comic Book... from Germany ( Duh!, ha! ). The the last group of photos are vintage Batman items from Australia. These Australian comics are from the 1970's. So, what do you think? Is this stuff kinda cool!? Hey, I got a question, Do YOU have any foreign bat-items you would like to share? If so, then please send us some pics today. Remember, the Bat-Blog is all about sharing information about the joys of collecting.

Video: Japanese Antique Vintage 1970's ALPS Batman and Robin BATMOBILE TIN TOY CAR Battery Operated

Here's a pretty cool video that was featured on an eBay posting ( I always think that's a really great idea to do that ). It's a Japanese ( Vintage 1970's ) ALPS Batman and Robin BATMOBILE TIN TOY that is one of those fun Battery Operated Cars! Now, this is a bootleg toy ( not licensed ) but still, it's a lot of fun & very very RARE! Plus, it's really neat to see it in action, ha!

BATMAN TATTOO ART PHOTOS: Comic Book Logo & Bat-Dog!

I think in response to a recent post here at the Bat-Blog, about Batman Tattoos, I got these in the mail from 2 different Bat-Fans. The 1st one is our new friend Jake. He got a Vintage 1970's Batman Comic Book Logo on his arm, it looks great! This has always been a favorite logo of mine, good choice Jake & it looks really well done! The next pic is from a cool guy named Andy who said he saw a Dude with a Batman Tattoo & had to get a photo for the Bat-Blog. WOW! Thanks for thinking about us, that's awesome! Here's a cool Bat-Tat that is kinda weird but not really once ya know the story. The guy said he got this to remember his dog who recently died. His Dog's name was "Batman". I think that's really nice. Andy also said that the guy told him that the cityscape in the background isn't Gotham City but it's Chicago, IL. Thank you very much Jake & Andy for sending these 2 photos to us, I appreciate that a lot. I also wanna invite any other Bat-Blog Readers to feel that they can send pics anytime, anything Batman-related! Thanks Guys!

PLOP! Vintage 1970's Humor Comic Book - Funny Batman Strip

When I was a little kid I used to totally love a special DC Comic Book titled, "PLOP! The Magazine of Weird Humor!" It had silly goofy horror humor & always featured really great artwork. Speaking of that, the covers were usually drawn by Basil Wolverton or Wallace Wood. The insides were mostly drawn by Sergio Anagones & that probably made me think of Mad Magazine since he was mainly known for being an artist there. Anyway, I would take my money I earned mowing lawns or what ever & walk a few blocks to the nearest 7-Eleven store. Once there I would get a Candy Bar, some Topps Non-Sport Trading Cards ( Wacky Packages! ), & a few Comic Books...sometimes an Icee Drink, if it was hot outside. It's kind of a stupid thing but these little trips are now some of my most fond childhood memories. I remember the feel of my fingers as they grabbed the metal spinning comic book rack. You'd give it a turn & it would make this squeeking sound that I can still hear today, "squeek, squeek!". When you spun the rack around you never knew what treasures would pop-up. I would mostly buy Superman, Batman, The Justice League of America, & sometimes an issue of PLOP! Yeah, good times, good times. Oh yeah, be sure to click on the funny Batman "Comic Strip" up above for a larger, more detailed, version.

MEGO MEET 2010 - Vintage Toy Collector Show

Do you remember those wonderful Mego Dolls from the 70's? Do you collect them? Well, the Mego Museum is having their annual MEGO MEET again this June. I know, that's about 3 months away but I thought I would report it now so many of you can make travel plans. I will probably remind everybody closer to the time it actually happens but it's good to know early. Now, for people who have never been, MegoMeet is a chance for the Mego Toy Collectors Community to get together in person to trade and buy parts and action figures, sit in on sessions designed to educate and answer questions about the Mego Corporation and the Toys they made, but more than anything a chance to hook up with friends and fellow collectors live and in person, instead of over the internet. This year it will be in Wheeling, West Virginia at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. The date for the event is June 11th & 12th, 2010. OK, this thing is always way too far for me to go so if any of you go please send us some cool pics!

BATMAN AD : Batman From The 30's To The 70's Hardback Book

Here's a picture sent in by a BAT-BLOG reader that I meant to share awhile back but like a moron put it in the wrong folder & didn't find it until now, ha ha. Sorry, Frank but thanks for a very cool picture of an original ad placed in a publication for bookstore owners to order books. It was an ad from the publishers of the now classic hardback book BATMAN FROM THE 30's TO THE 1970's! I had this book as a kid & still have it in my personal collection. It's one of my all-time favorite bat-items. It has some really great stories & wonderful graphics. In the picture up above you can see the large hardback book on the right, the ad is on the left side...nice! The artwork is done by classic Silver Age artist Carmine Infantino! Thanks again Frank for this piece of Bat-History!

Vintage Batman & Robin Toys From The 1960's

Whew! Yesterday I just got back from vacation & it was a nice trip. It's really nice to get outta town for a few days & recharge the old batteries. Now I'm ready to get back to posting! I thought I would share some pics of a few cool Vintage Batman Toys because that is what BAT-BLOG readers like best. I usually have a "theme" to these posts but this time they're just a mix of toys from mostly the1960's. Some are even foreign ones. The 1st photo is a picture of an original 1966 Batman Gumball Machine Vending Display Card showing some Flicker Key Chains. In my personal collection I have ALL the key chains but not this display card...aaahhhh! Thanks for sending the photo, Dave! The next shot is a nice picture of the 1966 Batman Marble Maze Game by Hasbro. This is a large clear disc where you try to move marbles around a game board without the marble falling in a hole, sort of a huge dexterity puzzle game. I love the vintage-style graphics. The 3rd picture is a really RARE 1967 Coloring Book from the UK. Actually it's a Sticker-Fun Book but made by the famous coloring book people & in the same format.

Vintage Batman Toys: Puzzles

Recently the BAT-BLOG has sort of been bogged down with THE DARK KNIGHT movie news so I thought I would do a traditional posting that is about Vintage Batman Toys. Which, is the main function of this blog! Here's some nice examples of different Batman Puzzles made thru the ages. The 1st one is a 1966 Batman & Penguin Puzzle made by Whitman. The graphics are really wonderful with a cool vintage Batman-Logo. The next picture is one of those Batman "Canister Puzzles" made by APC from 1973. I always thought that the way they sold them in coffee cans was kind of neat. The graphics on this baby were done by the Classic Comic Book Artist Carmine Infantino...nice! The next puzzle is one of my favorites. It was made by Aurora of all companies. They specialized in slot cars & model kits but I guess since they had the rights to use Neal Adams' awesome artwork they went ahead & made this puzzle. The cool thing about this puzzle is that it is super-HUGE & when put together it's almost 9 square feet, GIANT-SIZE, & great for display on the wall!! The last puzzle is a wooden frame tray puzzle made by Playskool. It features the cartoon version of the Batman & Robin movie, very obscure!

VINTAGE BATMAN Toys & Memorabilia 1960's & 70's

Today I thought I needed to do a post about Vintage Batman Toys. This is a crowd favorite & really the main reason for the blog, the joy of collecting old toys. The 1st photo is a picture of an old magazine ad for the Batman Bat-Cycle Riding Toy that I completely stole off a friend's website, ha ha! He has a great page that I like to visit to see old toy catalog pictures. It's called PLAIDSTALLIONS.COM & you should check it out sometime. The 2nd photo is of an extremely Super-RARE Set of "Official Batman JOKER EYES" novelty glasses. These would almost be worthless out of the package because they are so generic but as you can tell the Header Card says it all. I really love the vintage graphics on this piece, very cool! The next item is from the UK & quite RARE also. It's the Husky Extra 1966 Batmobile Diecast Car made by Corgi, #1202. The last photo is a nice collection of Vintage Signet Paperback Books done around the time of the 1966 Batman TV Show. We hope you have enjoyed some of these pics & if you have any pix from your personal collection then please send them in to share.

Vintage 1970's "Kid in Superman Costume" Family Photo

Our friend Brian sent this very cool vintage photo of himself when he was a little kid in the early 1970's. It's him dressed-up in his Superman superhero outfit. I know it's not "Batman-related" but it's still kinda funny & very cool! Brian wrote, "I'm sending a new photo of myself just for fun. It's me in the Superman costume from the vintage Batman/Superman costume ad that you posted a few days ago. This is from about 1972 or 73 complete with 70's wood paneling and a Spock haircut. :) It looks like they dropped the red shorts portion of the costume by the time I got my hands on one. I know this isn't appropriate for the Bat-Blog since it's not really Batman related. I just thought you might get a kick out of seeing this." Ha Ha Ha, Yes! Thanks for sending this Brian. The old photo and Superman costume are really really great ( I love old pics like this )! I want to invite our readers to e-mail us with their classic photographs, even if they are not Batman-related. ( But, Batman stuff is better, ha ha ). Thanks.

Two 1970's Batman Novelty Transistor Radios

"Play That Funky Music White Boy, Play That Funky Music Right!". During the Disco craze of the 1970's Transistor Radios were still quite popular. One of my favorite kind of radios are the novelty ones. Here are 2 Batman radios from that classic era. Both are shown with their original boxes...ROCK ON!

Vintage 1970's BATMAN TOYS Comic Book Ad

Does anybody else remember these full-page advertisements that ran in DC Comic Books in the 70's? They were from a company that sold superhero merchandise. As a little kid I used to order their catalogs & drool for days, ha ha! They were jam-packed with toys & books that were all comic book character related: Batman, Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern / Arrow, etc... There were Mego dolls, action figures, vehicles, play sets, etc... This ad features a few very very RARE toys. For example, you NEVER see those "Stunt Cycles" with Batman, Penguin, & The Joker! That "Styrofoam Bat-Plane" is RARE because you know they were all destroyed by playing with them, ha ha! The only semi-common item on that page is the "Batman Squirt Gun" that's shaped like his head. I have one of those in a display case & it's one of my favorite pieces just because it's so weird. One last thing, this ad is from 1976.

Bootleg Batman Comic Book from Iran!

A friend to the BAT-BLOG sent in these 2 graphics from a 1970's Batman comic book that was published in Iran. He said he wasn't sure of it was a licensed product or just ripped off. We think it's probably bootlegged but the graphics are really cool. We love the Batman Logo!! Thanks Jordan for the cool pix! If any other readers have some contributions they would like to share then please send them in too!

Random Photos of Great Vintage Batman Memorabilia!

I'm really tired this morning so I thought I would just do an easy post, nothing complicated, but still fun. Here's some random photos of cool Vintage Batman Memorabilia! The 1st photo is my favorite because I had this Melamine Plate, Bowl, & Cup Set as a small child & I still have the original plate. It hangs in my kitchen & every time I see it I always feel all warm & fuzzy inside, ha ha! In this photo we get to see the Dinner Set all shrink-wrapped in it's original box, which believe me, is way beyond RARE! I would kill for this! The next photo will be recognized by all 1970's Mego Fans for it's rarity & beauty. This is the COMIC ACTION HEROES Play Set with Exploding bridge & Batmobile. This was made for the smaller action figures & NOT the 8" dolls so the scale is way smaller. I have that Batmobile but it's missing the clear roof canopy piece, still pretty cool. The next item I see on eBay all the time. It isn't vintage but still pretty neat & would look great on a hat or jacket. It's a sew-on patch with graphics of George Barris' 1966 TV Show Batmobile, a true work of Art! The last photo was sent in by a reader named Randy who wrote, "Tommy, I was walking through my local outdoor flea market ( Tulsa, Oklahoma ) recently when all of a sudden my eye caught a glimspe of this rare 1966 Batman Bicycle Tag! I ran over to it, grabbed it, then remembered that I needed to not act all excited about it so the dealer wouldn't raise the price, ha ha ha. I asked how much it was & he said $5.00. I could not get my wallet out fast enough!". Wow, Randy! I love the story but wish I would have found it first, ya bastard! Ha Ha, just kiddin'! ( Randy's a good friend & I can tease him like that ). Thanks for sending me the photo Randy, ya know, to torture me. But, I do appreciate it because my readers will love it, thanks. If any other readers have stories/photos to share then please send them in or join our Message Board & tell/show everybody!

Reference Photos: VINTAGE 1970's BATMAN TOYS and MEMORABILIA

From the very beginning the Bat-Blog has been all about the joys of collecting Batman with a special focus on the cool Vintage Toys. Here are a few examples: The 1st picture is a RARE Set of 1970's Official Batman & Robin Sky Diving Parachutist Figures, Mint on original card. I seriously love the retro graphics on these from 1973. They're just basic hard-plastic figures with a flimsy-plastic parachute but I had one of these as a kid & it brings back a lot of fond memories. The one I had was Superman though & I used to wonder, "Why did Superman need a parachute??", ha ha! The next photo is the cutest. It's a super-cute little Batman Batcopter & it's so adorable, yes it is, who's the cutest little Batcopter!? This was also a toy from the 70's. The next photo is actually a picture from a Vintage Aldens Store Sales Catalog. It's the REMCO "Flying Bat-Copter" Playset that was sort of like those Verti-Bird playsets. Remember those? I used to have one with a Police Helicopter theme & used to play with it for hours! Hey, wait a second. I just realized this post has a total "Seventies Theme", ha ha!

Has Anyone Seen This BATMAN 1970's Rain Coat?

I recently got a message from a guy named Steve who is searching for a piece of his childhood. Well, he's looking for a Batman Rain Coat that he had as a kid in the 1970's. He wrote me to see if I had any information but I have never seen this bat-product before. The cool thing, he made these 2 awesome drawings to represent what he's looking for. Yeah, he got into heavy detail here, ha! the Coat was made out of Heavy Black Latex Rubber & was sort of like a Poncho. It had a Bat-Cowl Hood with a Clear-Plastic Visor. On the back was a Large BATMAN Logo ( 1970's Style ) inside a Yellow Oval-Shape. So, has anybody ever seen this thing? If so then please let us know. Thanks.