It's always "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" here at the Bat-Blog & this week I thought I would go totally RETRO 70's! The 1st Batman Wallpaper uses a hi-res graphic I found of vintage 1970's artwork by Neal Adams. This was a popular image used on a lot of toy packaging, like Corgi Toys Diecast Cars. Of course I am a huge Neal Adams fan so I had to use that! The next background is just as classic. It's Batgirl as drawn by Carmine Infantino. Another great comic book artist from the Silver Age. I think older readers will like these because they bring back nostalgic feelings & younger people will enjoy them just because the artwork is so good. Please let me know what YOU think about them. If you ever want a certain wallpaper design or a character that's kind of obscure just let me know & I'll see what I can do.
The Bat-Blog reported awhile back about the fact that Neal Adams was going to be at Midtown Comics in New York City ( Times Square ) & that he would be signing copies of his brand-new BATMAN: ODYSSEY #1. I know a lot of people went because of this report so that's cool. I'm kinda bitter that NYC is so far away form me, ha ha! Anyways, here's some great photos sent in by our friend BatDave. He went with his girlfriend & friend, who are both total bat-fanatics. They all had a great time! The pics show Neal Adams signing BatDave's copy of the book. It looks like he was using a silver-colored Sharpie Pen, which looks great on that cover. Yes, I'm totally jealous, ha ha! But I'm glad BatDave got a signed copy because I know he's a HUGE fan of Adams' work. Plus, I appreciate him sending these wonderful pictures. They're really fun to see. All the other reports I have got from people about the event all say that Neal Adams was extremely gracious & very fun to be around. They all said he was a very nice guy, very talkative. So, that's cool!
Here are a few "prototype photos" of the NEAL ADAMS' MAN-BAT Black & White Statue as sculpted by Jason Spyda Adams. In fact, I "stole these images" from Jason's site, ha ha! The pictures show how detailed this thing is gonna be & I can't wait to see the final product. If it's anything like all the other ones then I know it will be extremely cool! I love that DC Direct has been branching out & doing a few villains in the B&W series. Look for MAN-BAT towards the end of 2010 ( around October 13th ). For more information about this product then be sure to click HERE!
Here's a modern masterpiece worthy of the Louve in Paris or the Museum of Modern Art in New York! This is the original production art page for the cover to the Batman # 241 ( May 1972 ) comic book by Neal Adams!! This cover is a classic icon making it alot better than most Bat-Covers you see. Some Art Gallery is currently offering this on eBay & if I were not so dang poor right now I would be on it tonight! Just thought I would give my millionare readers a heads-up to check it out. For more Original Comic Book Art be sure to CHECK THE BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES to find stuff by Norm Breyfogle, Steve Stanley, etc..( You can click the small picture above for a a larger photo ).
I just recently realized that, like a moron, I didn't post any FREE Batman Backgrounds on "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday". So, to make up for it here are 2 really great ones you will hopefully enjoy. They came about because of a suggestion from a friend named Satish. He said he wanted to see some "Neal Adams artwork". These wallpapers were made with graphics that were found on the front / back of some Vintage 1970's LP Album Covers. Remember those awesome stories published by POWER RECORDS? Well, here they are! In that one with Batman and Robin's faces I seriously love that old Batmobile car, very cool! The other one has the Joker which is always fun. Now remember, you can click on the button down below for the 20 or so most recent Batman Wallpaper Backgrounds or you can dig through our BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES where you can find hundreds of them. The "Archives" are located on the left side of this page, about half way down.
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!
I thought I would post this for BAT-BLOG Readers living in or near New York. BIG APPLE CON is coming November17, 18, & 19th. The main guest is ADAM WEST! Val Kilmer is also gonna be there & famous Batman comic book artist Neal Adams! Oh yeah, Bernie Wrightson, who drew Batman a few times will be there too! Check out the pic above for more info, you can click on it for a larger picture. I wish it wasn't so far away because I would go!
There's a really great site I found last week that is totally dedicated to the TREASURY COMICS. Basically it's all about the history of those cool GIANT-SIZED Comic Books made in the 1970's & early 80's. Most of the time they were reprints of classic stories in a HUGE format. Both DC Comics & Marvel Comics made them for their main characters but they even teamed-up in a landmark issue called SUPERMAN VS SPIDERMAN. This was the 1st time in history the two companies got together to make one comic! The design layout of this webpage is beautiful! It's sort of a minimal-style site that really makes the photos of the covers shine thru! As a very young comic book collector I used to really love these & still have about 15 of them hidden away in my closet, most of them Batman! This site is very detailed with alot of great information that will bring back alot of good memories, so go check it out. Just remember to BOOKMARK The BAT-BLOG before ya go, ha ha!
Here's a cool pic sent in by our good bat-friend Dave. He got to go to a Comic Book Convention in New York City & met Neal Adams. Yes, THE Neal Adams! Neal is extremely famous for his work on Batman comics in the 1970's. He is even still working on the Dark Knight character today. Right now, he is writing and drawing a HUGE Graphic Novel Project called BATMAN: ODYSSEY. We can't wait for that to come out! Also, I wanna say thanks to Dave for sending the cool pic plus I am totally jealous you got to meet the Legendary Neal Adams ( Jealous! ).
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!
For the Bat-Blog readers who live on the east coast I thought I would do this post to remind them that the annual NEW YORK COMICON COMIC BOOK CONVENTION is on April 18th-20th, 2008. This year they have a ton of guests that are "Batman-related". They include ( in no certain order ) : Mike Mignola, Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Grant Morrison, Alex Ross, Frank Miller, Neal Adams, Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, Denny O'Neal, Steve Rude, Darwyn Cooke, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, & probably a few others I missed! The guest list is HUGE! Also there will be three exclusive Batman toys. I featured 2 of them in a previous post ( scroll way down ) but shown here is the just-released Special Edition Comic Book Convention Exclusive "Tech Suit Mr.Freeze" action figure from Mattel ( Booth # 1547 ). I think this figure is really great! This is an awesome event that I highly recommend you going to, especially for the chance to get some sketches and/or autographs from these classic Batman writers & artists. Here's a link button down below if ya need more information:
Remember, you can always get 2 fresh NEW Batman Wallpapers every Wednesday at the BAT-BLOG. For today we have an awesome graphic of Batman fighting the Joker. They are on a Gotham City rooftop & Batman is pimp-slapping The Joker, nice!! It's really sharp & the coloring is really cool too. This comic book art was done by Alan Davis. The 2nd picture, to brighten your desktop's background, is an awesome graphic of Batman by the iconic comic book artist Neal Adams! These also look really great in MySpace layouts so feel free to use them there too....Also, Be sure to tell ALL your friends about BAT-BLOG.COM!
Neal Adams is set to do an interview on the "Where Monsters Dwell" podcast. The word 'legendary' gets thrown around a lot these days but in this case it certainly fits the bill. From his work re-establishing Batman as a dark brooding figure to his work making Green Lantern/Green Arrow 'relevant' and from his work on a few small Marvel properties like X-Men and Avengers, Neal Adams has cemented himself as a legend in the comics industry. He joins WMD this week to chat about creator rights, how the industry has changed since he got in, his new Batman series 'Odyssey' and his new sketchbook coming from Vanguard Publishing 'The Art of Neal Adams'. It's gonna be Episode #113 so be sure to check it out & if you miss the original time you can always listen to it later.
For the Art Collectors who collect the BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE Statues here's a brand-new addition just announced by DC Direct. It's the Neal Adams version of The MAN-BAT! This statue will be sculpted by Jason "Spyda" Adams so you know it's gonna be ultra-cool! The pose that Kirk Langstrom ( character's name ) is in is taken from the cover to the classic Detective Comics #400 comic book ( shown down below ). Which, by the way, was the character's very first appearance. Plus it's interesting to note that Neal Adams had actually created this character so that's cool they're making a statue & having him design it. The Retail Price for the B&W Statue will be $ 80.00 & it goes on sale October 13th, 2010. So, towards the end of the year, be sure to keep an eye out for this awesome piece of art!
I got an e-mail this morning from Jason Spyda Adams, the sculptor/artist of the new NEAL ADAMS BLACK & WHITE Sculpture from DC Direct. I was really happy to see this super-sharp color photo of the completed piece of art, it's beautiful! The attention to detail is very impressive & the funny thing, to me, is that it looks exactly like Neal Adams' art. ( Please click on the picture above to see the larger, more detailed, photo ). As a toy collector I'm really kinda loyal to the older vintage toys & have stayed away from all the cool Batman statues that have come out over the last few years, mainly because of budget. They're kind of expensive & my money is limited. ( Yeah, being poor sucks, ha ha! ). But, these "Black & White" statues from DC Direct are very affordable. Now, this one of Neal Adams' artwork....It's really amazing & extremely well-done. For nostalgic reasons ( I grew up reading comic books in the 1970's ) I might have to break-down & get this one! If you're thinking about getting one then here's a place with great service & good prices...click the button below.
Remember, we post 2 Free Batman Wallpapers EVERY Wednesday! One of my favorite things about doing this Batman Fan site is getting e-mails from readers who like to share their love of the Batman character. Well, I got this letter from a guy named Jason, he wrote, "I really love your blog; it's one of the first sites I check every day. Here's a couple of Neal Adams wallpapers, made from album covers from Power Records, circa 1975. Hope you can use them!". Heck Yeah we can use 'em, they're awesome! Thank you Jason. I have a few of these records in my personal collection & really love them. My sister & I , as little kids, used to play them all the time, ha ha! Good times, yeah, good times. Plus, I am a HUGE Fan of the Batman artwork of Neal Adams so that's another reason. Oh yeah, the last wallpaper, I put the Bat-Blog Logo in there, ha ha, another shameless promotion.
Here's the Neal Adams cover art for ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER # 8! It's so exciting to see Neal doing Batman again!! When you 1st look at it you see a stressed out Joker but if you look close enough you can find a hidden picture of Batman, sort of an optical illusion...cool huh?! This will be a special variant cover for ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER # 8, Due in stores on November 28th, 2007. Don't miss out, order your copy today!!
Neal Adams is an icon in the world of comic books. There are many reasons. He was very influential in having DC Comics recognize Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster for creating Superman. He brought an extreme realism to comic art & also brought in issues with politics ( drug use, racism, etc..). Then he also did a lot of "wrap-around" covers. Here's an example. This is the cover for Batman #238. It's really cool how the front & back is one seamless image...cool! Thanks Neal.
Recently a Bat-Blog Reader ( David ) sort of introduced me to another artist named Larry Malott. Now I really appreciate that because this guy's work is AMAZING!! He is also very versatile as he likes to work in many different mediums. He draws, paints, does 3D computer graphics, sculpts statues, sews costumes, etc...this guy is almost insane, ha ha! ( Sorry Larry, I mean that in a good way ). For example, the 2 graphics shown here are of some 3D Model images he made. It's for an idea he has about some new vinyl toy he would like to make. It's name is BAT-MOUSE & I totally love it! Readers, please be sure to click on the small graphics up above for larger, more detailed, versions. The modeling is awesome & I love the retro silver age style of the bat-costume. In fact, when I asked him if that one picture was inspired by original Neal Adams' art ( because of the classic pose of the character ) he said, "YES!". He said he totally loves Adams' work & is even in the process, right now, of creating a "Neal Adams Style" Batman Costume. Now, I've seen some of his other costumes he has made so I know it will be totally great! I can't wait to see it!! ( Larry, You better send us some photos of it later, ha ha! ). I wanna thank both David & Larry for introducing me to this art. Larry has a lot of other artwork ( most non-Batman-related ) that is really great too & if you would like to see it then just click HERE!
In the 1970's there was a recording company called POWER RECORDS. They made small books that contained comic book stories & came with a 45 rpm record to listen to. Basically you would listen to the story while reading the book. It sort of taught you how to read & the recording sounded a lot like the old-time radio shows because it has voice actors, music, & sound effects. They were really great! They made a ton of these with all kinds of characters like GI Joe, Six Million Dollar Man, Superman, plus many more. They even made a few of them with Batman characters ( Joker, Scarecrow, Catwoman, etc...). If you click on the Audio Button down below you can listen to the entire story titled, "Robin Meets Man-Bat!". The artwork for the comic was done by none other than the comic book master artist himself, Neal Adams!! I hope that listening to this brings back a lot of fond memories to people who owned it originally. Also, if you have never heard this before, then give it a listen, it's alotta fun!!
