Here's some really great Bat-News! BATMAN BEYOND will be returning this year in June, well, sort of. Unfortunately it won't be an animated TV series cartoon but it will be the next best thing, it's gonna be a comic book! To be exact, a six-part mini-series from writer Adam Beechen and artist Ryan Benjamin. The graphic up above is the cover artwork for the 1st issue as drawn by Dustin Nguyen. I also made it into a BATMAN BEYOND WALLPAPER BACKGROUND so please click on it for a larger version to brighten your desktop! For a little insight, here's a quote from Writer Adam Beechen,
“The dark future of the legendary animated series comes to the DCU in a six-issue miniseries, as Terry McGinniss, Bruce Wayne’s young successor as Batman, faces his deadliest foe yet — a mystery murderer from the Dark Knight’s past! Old faces return, new allies and enemies step into the light, and the partnership between Terry and Bruce - not to mention Terry and Bruce themselves - might not survive!”
The Bat-Blog posts 2 brand-new Batman Desktop Wallpapers every single Wednesday. It's a proud tradition & recently we have been getting a lot of Bat-Blog Readers sending us this material which is even better because besides making some extremely cool stuff it also creates some nice variety. Both of these are a perfect example. The 1st one was made by a friend named "Bacon" who used some graphics from the new graphic novel book titled THE JOKER. It was written by Brian Azzarello & has turned into a bestseller. The artwork ( used here ) was done by Lee Bermejo. His work is really amazing, a very talented guy. The 2nd background was sent to us by a girl named Danica. She took this photo of one of the Joker Bank Robber Goon Action Figures she has. Of course this is the character from the Dark Knight movie. It kinda cracks me up that Ironman ( from the movie ) makes an appearance. I wanna thank both Bacon & Danica for sending these in, they're really wonderful...good job! Oh yeah, for anybody looking for this JOKER Graphic Novel Book, please click on our button here to buy it from Amazon. We don't get much but every little bit helps keep this site going, thanks.
This video was done by an art student who was totally inspired by Batman. It's based on the Frank Miller Batman from "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel. If you have read that classic book then you will recognize this moment. Overall the animation is pretty good & I like the minimal-style artwork too...a great piece!
OK, By now you must have heard all the hype about a whole new publishing concept by DC Comics. They will be releasing some brand-new Graphic Novel material that will be collected like "Volume 1, Vol 2, Vol 3, etc...". The idea is that instead of being published as comic books first they will go straight to book form. Their experiment will involve their 2 best properties: Superman & Batman ( with the Caped Crusader being the way better of the two, ha ha ). Each character will get their own book, plus another part of the concept will be that they will be living on "Earth One". Meaning, the stories will not be considered to be apart of the actual continuity of the "real characters". In other words, the writers & artists have full reign to do whatever they want & it will not effect the actual characters in the regular DC Universe. I imagine they will be going totally nuts & I think it might be kinda fun, we'll see. For our favorite Dark Knight the title will be called BATMAN: EARTH ONE. The writer of this series will be Geoff Johns & the artwork will be drawn by Gary Frank. Up above is a BATMAN: EARTH ONE Desktop Wallpaper Background I made using his artwork, check it out! ( Thanks Knipp for the heads-up on this new DC Comics concept ).
Up above is a sample of some of the comic book art for the future BATMAN ODYSSEY Graphic Novel that will be done by none other than the Master himself, Neal Adams! The art shows what Aquaman will look like & it looks pretty cool! Plus, speaking of "cool", be sure to follow our link for a video featured on Adams' website where we get to see a BATMAN ODYSSEY Promo Video his company made. It's a very small clip but gives you an idea...Hey, Just Click HERE!
The Bat-Blog recently received a whole bunch of really great photos from a Bat-Fan named Garrey. This is his room where he displays some of his Batman Collection. He's got a lot of Vintage Comic Books, New Graphic Novels, DVD Movies, Action Figures, Collectible Toys, Movie Posters, etc... I couldn't post ALL the photos he sent so I just condensed them down to a few of the best ones. He really has a lot of neat Batman items! Now, you know I totally love all this kinda stuff ( especially the toys ) but I gotta say that the BAT'S MOTEL sign is really funny! If I remember right, he said he got it at BIG LOTS during the Halloween Season. It's not really a "Batman item" but it does totally fit into the collection. Plus, I like the humor. Thank you Garrey for sharing your personal photos with us, I appreciate that a lot & know that many people will enjoy seeing these pics. It's always cool to see what other people have so if YOU ( Bat-Blog Reader ) have anything to share then please send us your pictures today!
It's hard to believe that Batman: The Killing Joke came out 20 years ago, this makes me feel really old! I remember when it came out (I still have my original copy). Even back then it was a very BIG deal because it was written by the famous comic book writer Alan Moore & the artwork by Brian Bolland is still extremely beautiful by today's standards. In fact, this graphic novel is ICONIC. Shown up above is the original 1988 comic book ad hyping the release of the original graphic novel, 20 yrs ago! That famous picture of The Joker has been made into T-Shirts, Posters, Banners, etc. If you have never read The Killing Joke you should because it's really an important piece of history in the Batman Comic Book Universe. Plus, it's just so incredibly well-written & drawn, a great book! Recently, DC Comics published a Special "20th Anniversary" Edition. Here's a link for more information, check it out!
Please help support the Bat-Blog by making ALL your online Amazon purchases through our Amazon link button. They really are a great place for good service & if you look, some of the best prices online to save money on Batman DVD Movies, Books, Action Figures, Graphic Novels, T-Shirts, & Toys!
Based on the popular Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Graphic Novel. Original comic book story art was by Frank Miller but this is an homage with new art that was animated by Jared Kowis. I guess you gotta be familiar with this graphic novel but I think it's pretty cool. But, let us know what you feel about it. Hit the comment button below & tell us what you think!
Here's a very cool JOKER Tattoo Photo sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Kevin. He has a large tattoo inspired by Brian Bolland's artwork in the BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE Graphic Novel. This book ( and comic book artist ) is a total favorite of mine. Also, this is a great choice for a tattoo because this image is so iconic. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Kevin for sending us this cool pic. Plus, if any other readers out there get some ink done then please shoot us a picture, thanks!
OK, I guess I gotta explain this post a little bit. Basically DC Comics ( or is it now DC Entertainment? ) is gonna come out with a special series on November 11th that will feature an extremely classic character from the Golden Ages...DOC SAVAGE! The cool thing is that he teams up with Batman. I bet the angle will be, "Is he a good guy? or a Villain?" Now this character has been around a very long time & if you've ever visited any used book store then you have probably seen all the paperbacks they did in the 1970's. As a Vintage Book & Toy Dealer I have had a lot of these & they ALWAYS sell, they're just really popular. Doc Savage Fans are really loyal to this guy. Now I gotta admit that I have never read one of his pulp books but plan to the next chance I get. He just seems like such a cool character. Anyways, sorry I lost focus ( ha ha! ) but DC will be releasing the BATMAN / DOC SAVAGE SPECIAL #1 that will be a prologue to an upcoming 6-issue miniseries. It will be written by Brian Azzarello ( THE JOKER Graphic Novel ), Art by Phil Noto ( Famous for Pin-Ups & the current Batgirl covers ), Sketchbook material and variant cover by Rags Morales ( His variant cover artwork shown here in black & white inks ), & the regular cover will be by JG Jones which I have made into a BATMAN / DOC SAVAGE Desktop Wallpaper you can enjoy now! As a side-note I would like to know what Bat-Blog Readers think about this so please be sure to leave some comments down below. Like, are you totally excited about this?!
The other day a friend reminded me of this awesome Batman Fan Film titled ARKHAM ASYLUM. I had this on the bat-Blog awhile back when it premiered but thought it was worthy of another look. It's a short fan-film by Miguel Mesas (www.miguelmesas.com). It's based on the famous comic book graphic novel BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM (Written by Grant Morrison. Art by Dave Mckean). It's also a "foreign language" film so that's why there are English subtitles. The art direction, costumes, & overall quality are totally insane ...enjoy!
OK, We have mentioned this before at the Bat-Blog many times so it should be no surprise but for quite awhile now the legendary comic book artist Neal Adams has been working on a HUGE Batman 6-Part Graphic Novel Project titled BATMAN: ODYSSEY. Adams is creating both the story & the artwork ( awesome! ) Well, we finally have a sneak peak at what some of the art is gonna look like. Check out these beautiful pics, right here! Neal Adams said, "It's gonna be MY version of the Batman character". I'm sort of paraphrasing what he said but that's the jest of it. It's gonna be Batman the way HE thinks Batman should be done. So, it could be extremely great stuff! Now one thing I gotta mention is that Frank Miller is writing all the dialogue so let's all hope that it is as good as the drawings, ha!
There's a brand new Batman Hardback Graphic Novel by DC Comics coming out on November 4th, 2008 that's simply titled "JOKER" and the amazing thing is that it is already getting a ton of hype & the reviews are all excellent. In fact, many people are calling this book the current generation's "The KILLING JOKE". Now, to be honest, I have not seen it yet except for a few pages. But from what I have seen so far it looks pretty cool! The JOKER book is written by Brian Azzarello with artwork by Lee Bermejo and Mick Gray. The cover art, by Bermejo, is shown up above. I also managed to get 9 preview pages so you can view the art & read the dialog...it looks pretty awesome if ya ask me. I can't wait to read it!!
I usually don't post new Batman Toy information this early ( these won't be out until the middle of next year ) but when I saw these "new" Batman Action Figures I thought they were really great so here they are! I love the "Silver Age" look of them. It looks like DC Direct is going to re-release a set of 5 figures that they have done before, but now they have a slightly different paint job, & will also come with a special graphic novel book of collected stories. Here's what DC Direct actually says about them:
Five of Gotham City's most colorful figures are collected in this special action figure box set, in both 3D and comics form! A 64-page original collection of classic stories featuring Batman, Robin, Batgirl, The Riddler and Bat-Mite is packaged along with an action figure of each character. The stories included in the special DETECTIVE COMICS CLASSICS book are "The Riddler's Prison-Puzzle Problem!" from DETECTIVE COMICS #377, "Tall, Dark, Handsome – and Missing!" from DETECTIVE COMICS #384, "Hunt for the Helpless Hostage!" from DETECTIVE COMICS #385, "The Invader from Hell!" from BATMAN FAMILY #1, and "Bat-Mite" from WHO'S WHO: THE DEFINITE DIRECTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE #2. On Sale: June 23rd, 2010
This photo is of an extremely cool Batgirl Action Figure owned by a Bat-Blog Reader named Neville. In his e-mail he sort of explained that he just recently got it & it's a favorite figure of his. Well, I gotta agree. It is pretty awesome! Now to clarify, this figure is made by DC Direct & it's a character from the ELSEWORLD'S FINEST Graphic Novel by DC Comics. Now you might be saying to yourself that this doesn't quite look like the Batgirl you know & love. OK, the thing with the "Elseworlds Series" is that they do a lot of "what if..." stories that don't really exist in continuity with the regular line of comic books. For example with this story both Batman & Superman never existed. Well, Superman sort of did but died right after leaving Krypton & arriving in Earth. This story's main focus is with this new set of Supergirl & Batgirl characters. To be honest I have not read this book yet so I can't quite say if it's any good or not. But I'm assuming it was pretty decent because they made a few action figures of it. Thanks to Neville for sending the cool pic, that's really great!
I recently met this very nice guy on Facebook & he shared the fact that he is getting some tattoo ink work done as a tribute to his favorite Batman Villain, The Joker. He was kind enough to send us some photos & I have to say that they're very impressive. Now, I forgot to ask, but I think they are in their early stages & will probably be colored. But even if they're not they are both pretty cool just like they are. Oh yeah, there are 2 of them. One of them is on his right arm, a nice portrait of Joker's face. The other one is sort of large & is under his neck! The "Neck Tattoo" is an interesting concept because when he raises his head you can see a Joker smile. The artwork is inspired by the cover art to the recent JOKER Graphic Novel with original art by Lee Bermejo ( written by Brian Azzarello ). You know the one I'm talking about, but I'm posting a photo of it as a reminder or for people unfamiliar with it. But most people should know it because it's starting to become a very iconic image. As a side note, it's a great read too. Now, back to the tattoo. The artwork so far has been done by Nate Laird at INK DADDYS in Salem, OR. I'm assuming that if it's colored it will be the same guy. This artist's work is very high quality. These JOKER Tattoos are very cool & I wanna thank Jessie for sharing some of his personal photos with us. If any other bat-Blog fans get some ink done then shoot us some pics!
