I got a wonderful email last night from a Bat-Blog Reader named Matthew who reported that TARGET Retail Stores are carrying Batman-related merchandise in their "Dollar Bins" again, awesome! So, be sure to keep an eye out on your next trip there. The "Dollar Bins" are usually located near the front of the store, as soon as you enter. Personally I really love the fun stuff they sell. Matthew said he bought a Batman Sticker Pack (with a play scene), 2 Activity Books, and 2 Jumbo Activity Books. There were also a lot more items that he did not purchase like: Another Sticker Pack, Motion Stickers, 4 Packs of Crayons (Batman themed and Joker themed), Markers, Push-Up Pencils, and 2 little Childrens Books one of which was a Riddler story. These are just in time for Back to School! Plus remember, you are never to old to color in a Batman Coloring Book, ha ha! To give you an idea what they look like check out the pics that he sent, Thanks Matthew!!
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!
Last night we were at the evil Wal-Mart to get some household supplies when all of a sudden I discovered these new Batman items! If you hit their "Holiday Cosmetics" area you might be able to find these Batman Bath Products: Batman Toothbrush Holder, Batman Fizz n'Foam Bath Set, Cans of Batman Moldable Foam Soap ( 2 ), & the Large Batman 3-Bath Foam Set! Please excuse my crappy photos, I only had my camera phone with me, but you get the idea! The Large Bath Foam Set ( 2nd photo ) is $9.00 & all the others are $5.00 each. These are usually a pretty good deal, & well liked as children's Christmas gifts, so be sure to get them if you see them. They almost ALWAYS sell-out early! Also, I bet you can also find them at Target stores because they usually have them every year, but I have not checked yet. The next item is something extremely cool that was spotted by our friend Joe! He was at a Walgreens Drug Store where he said he found this Exclusive BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Wall Clock, it's only $9.99. I really love this cartoon so this clock will be a "must have item" for me, ha ha! ( Thank you very much for sending the pic Joe, I appreciate that ). Now listen Bat-Blog Readers, if you spot ANY brand-new Batman merchandise while cruising around the retail stores then please let us know so we can share the info with other collectors, thanks!
I was recently contacted by a Vintage Toy Collector in the UK. His main collecting obsession is the very wonderful GIVE-A-SHOW PROJECTOR SETS made by Chad Valley & Kenner. I think we all had one of these toys as a kid. I did, & truly loved it ( I think I had the one with Popeye ). Anyway, he's created a very well designed website that features many of these playsets & it's really great reference material for serious collectors. But, he wrote me to tell me about his post on this 1967 BATMAN TOY that capitalized on the popularity of the 1966 Batman TV Show. Ya see, I did a post about this cool collectible awhile back, right here on the Bat-Blog. He told me he has pictures posted of all the slides. His page has all of them & I posted just a few to give you an idea. So, be sure to visit his site to enjoy them all. I also want to ask ALL Bat-Blog Readers, who collect both new & vintage Batman toys, to please send me any info/photos you might have. Sharing the love of collecting is what this site is all about!!
This post is an ongoing series of photos contributed by a loyal Bat-Blog Reader named Billy. His main collecting focus is the Batman Batmobile Cars in all it's crazy shapes & forms. I've seen parts of Billy's collection & it's seriously amazing! I also think it's kind of neat that he focused on one aspect of Batman Collectibles. If any other readers have ANY Batman-related photos to share then please send them in. Our e-mail button is always at the top right-hand side of this page, thanks.
As an obsessed Batman Toy Collector I totally love the "foreign stuff". A lot of collectors do because this merchandise, even with eBay's influence, never reaches the USA that often & when you come across it it's always super-RARE. I have always loved Japan & Japanese culture so to see bat-products made there has always been a treat. Here's just a few examples: The 1st photo is one of those wind-up figures of a "Movie Version Batman". From the look of it I would guess it was made during the "Batman Returns" period. I love the goofy look of this figure, it's great! The next item, this wonderful Batmobile Toy Car, came out during the 1992 Batman Returns movie. I love the graphics of the Bat-Signal shining over the skyline of Gotham City on the original box, very cool. The 3rd pic is something that's a little older because it came out during the first 1989 Batman Movie. They really went nuts merchandising that movie & even today there's a ton of products from that era. This wacky toy is a SOUND ARM Costume Piece. It was a bat-gadget thing you wore on your arm & it made a lot of different sounds. I bet it drove parents completely crazy with the bing bing boing boing sound-action, ha ha! The last photo is something that just came out maybe a year or two ago, in other words, it's pretty new. It's a pair of Batman Snow Boots. I always love the little kid's Batman slippers & shoes...they're so cute & great for display. Plus, if you don't buy them brand-new most of the time they're kinda hard to find on the "secondary market". Mainly because children totally wear them out! The graphics on this pair are AWESOME! I guess, as a last thing to say, if ANY Bat-Blog Readers have any photos of "foreign items" ( Both new or Vintage & not just from Japan, but from anywhere ) then please send them in to us. Remember, sharing the love of collecting is what the Bat-Blog is all about!
Ha Ha! A friend of mine told me he saw a new Batman Bubble Bath called "Crazy Foam" at Target where the bottle has a huge Batman head. He said it wasn't designed like the old 1970's Crazy Foam but a more modern design, just with the same name. So I ran over there to get one & couldn't find it, but I did find this wacky bat-item! I guess some stock person found this old merchandise in the stockroom & put it out. It's a product from "The Batman" cartoon-era. It's a small plush pillow that gets cold when you freeze it in the refrigerator. Then you place it on sore muscle areas. It's kinda cute but the main reason I bought it is because it's so extremely www-weird. If any of you readers come across brand-new Batman items please let me know so I can share with other collectors, thanks.
This Vintage TV Commercial will bring back fond memories to anybody who is over the age of 30! It's for a famous product called UNDEROOS which were basically little kid's underwear made to look like superhero costumes. I know that I personally had the ones of Superman, Batman, & The Flash, ha ha! My sister had the Wonder Woman set & practically lived in them, ha ha!
OK, anybody who has been reading the Bat-Blog for awhile knows that I am a pretty serious Batman toy collector & one of my favorite things to collect is the "wacky foreign items". So, this post shows a few Batman items from around the globe. The 1st item is a photo sent in by a Bat-Blog Reader who lives near France. This is a set of THE BATMAN Playing Cards made during the time of the TV cartoon series. I really love the cool graphics ( Thanks Andrew for sending this, it's awesome! ). The 2nd pic is something that is in stores right now! In Malaysia, a bath products company that I think is called "Eskulin", is making Batman Talcum Powder, Shower Gel, & Shampoo plus Conditioner. Most Bat-Fans might recognize Jim Lee's artwork on those, very cool! Another item that is out right now, in Argentina & Brazil, is this box of Batman Band-Aids, ha ha! I love the graphics on this packaging too, especially the side with the Joker. The last item is a Nestle Zucosos Cereal Box that was sold in Bulgaria to promote the Dark Knight Batman movie ( I don't think these are available any more ). Anyway, as you can see these are all really wonderful "foreign items" that you can't get here in the United States. Their rariety & wackiness is one reason I really love this kind of stuff. Hope you do too! If you happen to live in another country beside the US then please report to me about Batman goodies in your area. Sharing the love of the character & the joy of collecting is what this blog is ALL about!
It looks like he wears briefs! Ha ha! Here's a photo I saw over at my favorite 1966 Batman Message Board. It was posted by my buddy Darren & he explained that this is a brand-new product (for Men) that they're selling at Wal-Mart. He said they were only about 7 or 8 bucks, not a bad price! I might have to get a pair. You know, for the ladies. MEOW!!
Just a quick post: One of the websites I buy bat-stuff from featured a set of three "Classic DC Comics" Resin Head Knocker Nodders of Batman, Superman, & Wonder Woman made by a toy company named NECA. They had the items "pre-listed" meaning they were not available to buy yet. Then, they never came out or were instantly sold-out. Now, they are offering another set of Head Knockers called "Classic DC Comics, Series 2". This set offers another Batman & Superman in more of an "action pose". Also, the other character they have this time is the Green Lantern. I missed the first set & didn't get to report on them because they were "not avaliable". So, I will be getting this Batman Bobblehead this time & I'll search eBay for the 1st one. The thing I like the best about these Bobble-Head Nodders, mainly the Batman Nodder, is he is dressed in the Classic Silver-Age-Style costume. It's blue & grey with the "yellow capsule" bat-belt & the "yellow oval" chest bat-symbol...awesome! Here's a link if you want to pre-order them too:
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.
Here at the Bat-Blog people are welcome to send us their vintage family photos if they're Batman-related. I always seriously love to get these because sometimes they're really cute & funny, other times they're just a really neat piece of Bat-History. This one is a great example of both! At first glance you see an extremely cute little Batman Fan sporting a BATMAN One-Piece Jumper ( I think they're called "Onesies" ). Just on that level you get the "cute & adorable" motif but then you see the Batman Clothing & realize that this bat-item is actually extremely SUPER-RARE. Man, I would love to have one of these in my personal collection. In fact, I would have it framed & put behind glass to protect it, ha ha! The next thing that's pretty interesting is the fact that this little kid started out in the crib as a Batman Fan & still is today. Now, that loyality! The photo is of our friend Ed & he explains it this way, "Let's see...I'm born Dec '65, "Batman" premieres on ABC in January of '66, and by Sept of that same year I'm already dressed in a Batman shirt. Yep, guess I've been a fan my whole life." Oh yeah, I love both the photo AND the story...too funny! Yeah, Batman Fan Forever! So, thanks Ed for sharing your family picture, it's great. Readers, he send another one of himself from later in life when he dressed as Robin at Halloween. You won't wanna miss this costume because it's actually pretty cool. But that one is for a future posting, so keep an eye out for that!
As Serious BATMAN Fans most of us totally love the 1966 BATMAN TV Show & here are just a few brand-new products related to that series. You see, Burt Ward, the Actor who played ROBIN THE BOY WONDER, has an official website where he has a few exclusive pieces of merchandise. I went there the other day & noticed a few things I have not seen there before. Shown here is a Batman and Robin T-Shirt, Writing Pen, & Key Chains with "1966 Batman" graphics ( I really love the Bat-Pen, ha! ). You can also see a few other new items there, just click HERE!
Hot Topic just notified me that they will have a special 3-day Clearance Sale on over 60 items & there are a few cool Batman & Joker items there with really good prices. Some of them are tied into The Dark Knight movie & others are comic book-related. There's gonna be T-Shirts & way more. My two favorite items are the DC Comics The Long Halloween Collector Gift Set & The Batman Cowl Hoodie. OK, I guess that "Joker Car Seat Cover" is pretty sweet too! The sale runs from Feb 13th to Feb 16th, so if you wanna catch some good deal then hurry soon! Because of space limitations I am only showing a few pieces of merchandise here but you can find more at their website. Also, If you buy anything there then please use the banner down below & support the Bat-Blog. Thanks Good Citizen.
