The Artists of The Last Airbender : Dawn Brown

On Thursday, the new M. Night Shyamalan film The Last Airbender will be released and I'll be featuring a profile on the two concept artists (Warren Manser and Dawn Brown) and storyboard artist Jim Magdaleno.
Dawn Brown Manser is a set designer, conceptual artist and comic book creator. Raised in the suburbs of Kansas City, she began her career in the art department on the underwater science-fiction show seaQuest DSV. Now she's an established set designer and concept artist, and has worked on many big-budget feature films like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) (set designer), Star Trek (2009), Watchmen (2009) and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010).

In addition to film projects, she has created two critically acclaimed titles, "Little Red Hot" and "Ravenous."

She has a great eye for ornate work and we can expect some wild designs for The Last Airbender.

Here's a sample of her costume design for Watchmen's Dr. Manhatten from her gallery. I like how she manged to capture the glowing feel of the character.

Image property of Warner Bros. Pictures

New ALL-STAR BATMAN and ROBIN MINI STATUE

DC Direct just announced a brand-new Batman Statue that will be released early next year. It's the ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN Mini Statue! It was designed by Jim lee & sculpted by Jack Mathews. This full color, hand-painted cold cast porcelain mini statue measures approximately 4.5" high x 5.73" wide x 4.5" deep, is packaged in a 4-color box. What I really love about it is that it's a total homage to the classic 1960's comic book artwork of Carmine Infantino, very cool! Look for it to hit retail around February 16th, 2011. Oh yeah, one last thing, it's gonna cost around 80 bucks.

NEW BATMAN BACKGROUNDS Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!

Hey Kids, it's Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday! We got some really great Batman Backgrounds this week so get ready! The 1st one uses some promo art from the new DC Universe Online game. It's a beautiful pin-up of the super villain Poison Ivy, hubba hubba! The next one is a close-up shot of a Custom Batman Munny Figure that was customized by a friend of the Bat-Blog ( He did a really great job on it ). I thought that both of these images would make fun wallpapers. What do you think? Listen, you guys need to let me know which wallpapers you like the best or maybe which characters you would like to see. Ya know, I'm always trying to make the Bat-Blog the best fan site ever & I do need feedback every now & then, ha! Please remember, if you dig through the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES, located on the left side of this page ( near the middle ), you can find hundreds of other Batman Wallpapers we have done over the years.

VIDEO - BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM With NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround Technology

OK, This is a very short video clip but it does show, extremely well, how the "Batman: Arkham Asylum" PC video game looks utilizing NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology.

Warning:
It's so awesome you better be prepared to cry.

MORE New Photos BATMAN - UNDER THE RED HOOD Movie

Yes, the release date for BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD movie just keeps getting closer & closer ( July 27th, I'm really excited! ) so I thought I would post a few new pictures from the film. The 1st pic with Batman & The Joker is my favorite but the one with Robin, The Boy Wonder, is pretty cool too. OK, the one with batman in the Batmobile is pretty awesome. Wait, ALL these pictures are wonderful...there you go! Now remember, after everybody sees this new animated movie I want to hear from you & know what you think about it.

BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Batmobile - Hot Wheels Basic 1/64 Scale

YES! Awhile back, here at the Bat-Blog, we got the scoop on the latest Batman Hot Wheels Car but never had a decent picture of it. Until now! Ladies & Gentlemen, I present...the BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Batmobile by Mattel! It's going to be "regular Basic Hot Wheel size", which is 1:64 scale. It's rumored to hit retail stores around late July 2010 so be sure to keep an eye out for it around then. I totally love this new Batmobile from the animated TV Cartoon series so you know I'm really excited! OK, enough talk, it's time to drool all over the pictures, enjoy!

SUPERMAN / BATMAN : APOCALYPSE New DC Universe Animated Movie

OK, Warner Bros has not even released BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD yet & they're already announcing another Batman-related animated film...AWESOME! Warner Premiere's next DC Universe animated movie will be titled SUPERMAN / BATMAN : APOCALYPSE ( Yes, I think Batman's name should have been listed first, ha ) will hit Blu-ray and DVD on September 28th. The movie is based on the second story arc, "The Supergirl from Krypton," from Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner's the "Superman/Batman." Plus, the exclusive animated short will feature Green Arrow, that sounds cool! This, and the cover art ( pictured below ), is about all we know about it so far. But, stay tuned to the Bat-Blog because you know we'll be telling you all about it!

The Artists of The Last Airbender: Warren Manser

On Thursday, the new M. Night Shyamalan film The Last Airbender will be released and I'll be featuring a profile on the two concept artists (Warren Manser and Dawn Brown) and storyboard artist Jim Magdaleno.

Warren Manser started out working for Sam Raimi on Army of Darkness, since then he has worked on great films like The Matrix, X-Men, Spider-Man, Minority Report, Serenity and is currently working on Transformers 3. "Primarily, my work has been for the film industry, but I've also had the opportunity to be involved with theme park design, video games, animation, and other industries. I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan where I studied Industrial Design at the Center for Creative Studies."

Here's what he told io9 about the difference between being a comic book versus a concept artist.
"Concept art differs from comic art and book illustration in many ways. It is extremely rare that a concept art piece is actually seen by the audience, whereas other forms of illustration display a faithful reproduction of the art piece itself.

Concept art depicts a set, scene, or object that will be built by carpenters, model makers, or digital artists, so the concept artist has to have some idea of the reality of the final product.
And, the concept art piece can be created to depict its subject in a cinematic manner. That is, in some instances a 2D piece that is illustrated, however beautifully, potentially depicts a scene that can not be shot with a camera."

This a profound statement. A concept artists job is to take a two-dimensional image and portray it in a way that allows those working on the film to see it in three-dimensions. That takes a lot of skill.

If you'd like to read more about him check out "The Art of the Matrix" and "Pearl Harbor: The Movie and the Moment." Also, check out his new book "Constellation Orion: The Immortal Hunter". It is beautiful.

I was hoping to get permission to feature some of his work on this blog, but, for now, just head over to the gallery on his website for more.

Vintage Foreign BATMAN Movie Poster & Books

As a totally obsessed ( yes, crazy ) Batman Toy Collector one of my favorite areas in the genre are "foreign items". They're pretty hard to find here in the US & they're always interesting. Here's a few examples: This 1st item is a Vintage Movie Poster for the 1960's BATMAN film. But what make it unique is that it's from Italy & the language is completely Italian...awesome! I love the graphics on this thing. Now, the next 2 pictures show some cool Batman books from around the globe. The 1st book was published in France ( Yes, it's all in French, ha ha ) & it reprinted some Golden Age stories from 1943-44. It was released as a hardback around 1989, during the Tim Burton movie craze. The next book is a paperback & one of the things that make it extremely interesting is the size of the book is very very weird. It has a standard width, but it was made to be extremely tall ( or very long ). The next great thing about it is that it's from Uruguay! It was published around 1968 & is extremely RARE! So, I guess I'm gonna ask all Bat-Blog Fans who live outside the USA if they have any "foreign bat-books or toys" in their collections to please send us some photos. Thanks!

Vintage BATMAN Coloring Book From Argentina

OK, I'm wondering if anyone knows if this BATMAN Coloring book is an actual licensed product or just bootleg? ( Either way it's pretty cool ). It was made in Argentina around 1989 & the shape of the book is die-cut, which is interesting. The artwork is kind of cheesy but that's normal for a coloring book. It looks like it was made by a company called "Sylvapen". Does anybody have any information on this?

Ralph McQuarrie Made Battlestar Galactica Look Cool First

Ralph McQuarrie is one of the true legends of the conceptual art world and his work on Star Wars is inspiring. He also helped design the look of the original Battlestar Galactica television show.

"Following the opening of Star Wars I was contacted by Glen A. Larson. When I went in to talk to him he described his idea for a 'Wagon Train' in outer space. It sounded interesting so I agreed to do it. The Empire Strikes back had not started yet so I came to George and explained the job, he said go ahead. Over time as I was introduced to the characters and the similarities began to come out." This is ironic, because soon after the show went on the air, George Lucas unsuccessfully sued the show.

 

Original Battlestar Galactica design was far more detailed and not as sleek.

Early Colonial Viper design (Eventually used for buck Rogers).

Late Colonial Viper design.

[Image source: galactica.tv]

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 ).

Eben's Special BATMAN BIRTHDAY CAKE - Party On!

I just got an email from a Bat-Blog reader named Eben. He has sent some stuff in the past, but this picture is extra special. I guess I will sort of let his letter explain it. This is what he wrote:

"I wanted to send a picture of the cake my wonderful girlfriend Ashley made for me this weekend. It's really special to me because she has never been very sure of her cooking skills and this was her first try at something like this. She's very proud of it and I love her for the effort."

Thanks for sharing this pic Eben. Yes, this cake is awesome!! Not only because it looks really cool but because the main ingredient is "love", aaahhhhh :) Please tell Ashley that she DID do a great job on it!

VIDEO - Batman UNDER THE RED HOOD Film Clip

Here's a brand-new sneak peek at some of the animation in the soon to be released DC Universe animated movie, BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD. Now remember, this film comes out next month...Awesome!

Original 1966 TOPPS BATMAN TRADING CARD ART by Norman Saunders

Here's an extremely cool photo I found awhile back while researching some major "Pop Culture Collectibles" auction. In one of their lots they had some original comic art done by Norman Saunders ( Click on it for a larger, sharper, version ). Of course he's the ultra-famous illustrator for many of the vintage trading cards made by TOPPS back in the 1960's & 70's. This photo shows the original art (custom framed) with 2 actual 1966 Batman Trading Cards. This is card #1B & features "The Joker's Icy Jest". The weird thing is that you can see that the artwork is only a little bigger than the actual card, very cool! But regardless of size, it's an incredible piece of art....a total masterpiece! I never checked back on this thing to see what it went for. I mean, what's the use? I knew it would be totally out of my price range, ha ha! Whoever owns it now is an extremely lucky person.

BATMAN GOLF CART Inspired by "The Dark Knight" Tumbler Batmobile

OK, There's a few people who hated the new Tumbler Batmobile from the recent Batman movies & there's a ton of people who totally loved it ( I loved it ). But regardless of your opinion, you just gotta admit that this is an extremely clever Custom Golf Cart! Yes, this thing was totally inspired by "The Dark Knight" films. It's crazy! Unfortunately it's not an official product. It was customized by a Warner Bros employee & is currently used to get around the lot. Now, my question is, how many of you would totally buy one of these?

Chomp on Brilliant PAC-MAN Concept Art

While not technically movie or television concept art there was a Saturday morning cartoon of the iconic 80s arcade game Pac-Man. Tōru Iwatani (岩谷 徹), was at the Festival of Games in Holland and shared some of his original designs for the game on graph paper. Back then, the game images consisted of rather large blocks, so it was easy to do.

[Image from Bleedingcool]

David's BATMAN and SUPERMAN MEGO BENDY Adventure!

Here's a wonderful vintage 70's family photo sent in by our good friend David. It shows him & his friend John Paul playing in the swimming pool with some of those Mego Bend & Flex Figures. Basically they were "bendy toys" of popular DC Comics superheroes ( they made MARVEL ones too ). I have a few of these in my collection. They're really hard to find in MINT shape. Mostly because, back in the 1970's, little kids played with them in the water ( Hey David, ha ha! ). If you would like more information about these toys, plus see some great pics, be sure to check out this article at the YESTERVILLE TOY ROOM website, just click HERE!

New "Passing on the Smile" Fan-Film Teaser Trailer - Harley Quinn's Origin

I received an email this morning from a guy who is working on a new fan-made film called "Passing on the Smile". Basically, the movie is all about the creation of Harley Quinn. She is an employee of Arkham Asylum in Gotham City & we all know that she turns into a villain ( and Joker's girlfriend ) ...but, how does it happen? I think this film is going to try & explain that. This is the teaser trailer & you also get a small glimpse of the Joker.

ADAM WEST BATMAN BACKGROUNDS - Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday!

When I woke-up this morning I was sort of in an "Adam West" mood so that's the theme I thought I would go with when posting a few Batman Backgrounds for Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday....please enjoy!