Noblemania's “Bill the Boy Wonder” Book Contest Giveaway!

Over at the official Website for Author Marc Tyler Nobleman he is having a Book-Giveaway Contest where he is giving away 3 signed copies of his new Bill Finger Biography Book ( Batman Co-Creator ). It's titled, "BILL THE BOY WONDER". You enter by leaving a comment about Bill Finger, in six words ONLY, on his blog ( His site, NOT here at the Bat-Blog! ). The deadline is June 30th, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Winners will be announced on his site on July 1st.

For more info, and to enter, CLICK HERE!

BILL THE BOY WONDER! - New BATMAN History / Biography Book

WOW! Here's a brand-new book that every serious Batman Fan and Comic Book Historian is going to want to read. It's titled "BILL THE BOY WONDER! The Secret Co-Creator of Batman". Basically, it's a very well researched Biography on Bob Kane's Ghost Writer, Bill Finger. It was written by Marc Tyler Nobleman, Author of  "Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman", and Illustrated by Ty Templeton, a fan-favorite Batman Comic Book Artist. 

Please check out the BOOK TRAILER up above for an idea on what this book is about. Also, It's being published by Charles Bridge and you can get more details by clicking HERE!

BATMAN NEXT MONTH IN DETECTIVE COMICS - A Visual History

Over at the BULLY SAYS: COMICS OUGHTA BE FUN website they recently posted a very cool article on the "Coming Next Month" Ad Promos from the Golden Age DETECTIVE COMICS used by DC Comics to promote BAT-MAN. It's more of a visual history but kind of interesting to see, just click HERE!

RIP Lew Sayre Schwartz ( 1926 - 2011 ) Golden Age BATMAN Comic Book Artist

It's with a heavy heart that we, here at the Bat-Blog, have to report the passing of a Comic Book Legend & a Pioneer of the Batman character. We're talking about the Artist Lew Sayre Schwartz. He was a major contributor during the early development of the Dark Knight. He was 85 years old & will be deeply missed. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to both his Friends & Family. For more information please be sure to read the news story posted at THE BEAT!

RIP Lew Sayre Schwartz (1926-2011)

BATMAN Comic Book DETECTIVE COMICS # 27 Makes Record Price at Heritage Auction

Well, it looks like the DETECTIVE COMICS #27 recently auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, TX is now totally famous as being the world's most expensive auction price for a Golden Age Comic Book! Of course all Batman Fans know this issue to be the very 1st appearance of the Dark Knight in 1939. It sold for $1,075,000. Yes, you read that right, One Million Seventy Five Thousand Dollars!! Just 3 days prior to the Batman comic book selling so well a company called Comic Connect auctioned off a vintage issue of Superman ( Action Comics # 1 ) for 1 million. Then, Batman beat that record price by 75 thousand!!

DICK SPRANG TRIBUTE - Golden Age Batman Comic Book Artist

This is pretty cool! In a small Government Building in the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah there is a small plaque hanging on the wall that is a Tribute To Dick Sprang. Of course he was one of the original comic book artists of the Golden Age of comics!! Here at the Bat-Blog we totally love his artwork, he's really great! This weird piece of Bat-History was discovered by our friend Wayne Smith, who stumbled upon it while on vacation! Take a look at his photo & read what the message says, it's pretty interesting! ( Thanks for the pic Wayne )

LOS ANGELES, CA - Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950

At the Skirball Cultural Center, in Los Angeles, they are having an exhibit called "Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950". It features a mind-blowing collection of superhero and comic book rarities, including the first sketch of the Joker, the Original 1966 Batman TV Show Bat-Cycle, the earliest known sketch of Superman, a RARE copy of Action Comics #1 ( 1st appearance of Superman ), Captain Marvel Toys, Wonder Woman Memorabilia, & much much more! The event runs from February 19th - August 9th, 2009. I wish it wasn't so far away from me or I would go, it sounds extremely cool! For more details be sure to check out this review at the LA Weekly website. Here's a link:

CUSTOM ART: GOLDEN AGE BATMAN and DOCTOR DEATH Dolls / Action Figures

Here are a set of 2 totally amazing custom-made dolls of a Golden Age Batman & Doctor Death. They were sold on eBay awhile back & I was extremely impressed with their craft & attention to details. Before I get into this post too far I want to apologize to the artist who made these because I forgot to get his name to give him credit. I had bookmarked the information & now, later, I can't find them. I searched forever! But, while these photos were sitting in my bat-folder for a long time I knew I had to get them up here anyway so, sorry. Basically, there's a Batman Fan out there who is extremely creative & was inspired by some 1930's & 1940's Batman stories to create these 2 Custom Dolls. These figures really deserve to be called ART MASTERPIECES because they are so extremely well done. One, of course, is BATMAN, who we all know. But the other one might be a character that some Bat-Blog readers are unfamiliar with. His name is DOCTOR DEATH ( real name: Doctor Karl Hellfern). Basically he was Batman's very 1st "Super-Villain". He first appeared in Detective Comics # 29 in July 1939. This book was Batman's very third appearance as a character so it's an extremely "early story". His deal was he liked to kidnap very wealthy people, inject them with a toxic poison, & then hold the antidote for a ransom of very large sums of money. Yeah, a real wack-job! The artist who created these did them with amazing detail. he sculpted the heads, painted them, created the clothing & costumes, and even made some props. I had to share these because they are so beautiful, really, & if any reader knows the artist who made them please let me know so I can get his name in here. For now, just please enjoy the pictures. Click on them for larger, sharper, verisons ( they're nice ). As a side note: the very last photo is a Detective Comics # 35 comic book ( January 1940 ) that was recently auctioned off by Heritage Auction Galleries in 2006 for almost $18,000.00!! Yes, Eighteen-Thousand!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Batman Santa Claus Pictures, Photos, and Graphics!

Recently I have got a ton of messages & e-mails requesting Batman-related Christmas graphics so here we go! We got pictures of Golden Age Comic Book Covers, Jim Lee's Tumbler Batmobile ( a gift from Santa ), Photos of Batman & Santa together, Batman dressed in a Santa Claus costume, & even The Joker in his Santa Claus suit! I'll try to find more but I wanna ask readers to send some if they got 'em...Happy Holidays!!

Batman Parody: DOSTOYEVSKY COMICS Crime and Punishment

One of my favorite artists, R. Sikoryak, drew a really great Batman Parody Comic Book in the art style of Golden Age artist Dick Sprang titled DOSTOYEVSKY COMICS. What he does is recreates the Classic Book CRIME AND PUNISHMENT ( Written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky ) with Batman characters. The artwork is awesome but a lot of people are really impressed with how well it sticks to the actual story of the book. The Mock Cover to this book is shown up above & then 2 of my favorite panels. Batman hitting The Joker in the head with an axe is hilarious, ha ha! You can read the entire story at a blog named AGAIN WITH THE COMICS, here's a link:

CLICK HERE - DOSTOYEVSKY COMICS!

The Bat-Blog Reccommends BULLY SAYS, a Cool Comic Book Fan Site.

BULLY SAYS: COMICS OUGHTA BE FUN! is a really nice blog that's ALL about the joy of reading comic books. It's spokeperson is a BULL ( stuffed animal ) named "Bully" who seems to have an unheathly obsession with Jane Wiedlin ( Guitar, Vocals of the 1980's GO-GO's rock group ). My favorite part of the site is a series of articles called SEPARATED AT BIRTH. He shows examples of how comic books do "Homage" covers meaning they do a modern day version of an old classic comic book's cover. A few examples are shown above. Be sure to check out Bully's page sometime but please remember to bookmark the Bat-Blog before ya leave!

Wacky Batman Wallpaper Wednesday!

Yes! This Wednesday we're able to post new Batman Wallpapers! Last week we experienced the worst PC virus ever & was unable to post anything for a few days....aarrrgggh! But today we're on schedule. Here are 2 kick-ass Batman Wallpapers you can use to brighten your desktop or put in a MySpace layout. The 1st graphic is a scanned Golden Age Comic Book page where you see Batman bursting thru a window. As wallpaper, it looks like he is jumping thru your PC monitor. I love the "Retro 30's look" of Batman here. The 2nd graphic is by Frank Miller & is from the classic graphic novel THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. It has the cool Carrie Kelley ( Girl Robin ) character that you don't see a lot of, very obscure. Be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for many many more desktop wallpapers. We also have a Batman Wallpapers page. The links for both are supplied on the right-side of the blog.

Jerry Ordway's Homage to Batman's Bob Kane

On the left is a picture by Bob Kane from the golden age of Batman. On the right is a more modern-day version of that classic pose penciled by Jerry Ordway who obviously wanted to pay homage to Bob Kane. I just thought it would be neat to show this as an example. The artwork of comic books has progressed quite a bit, don't ya think?

Batman Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday! VINTAGE BATWOMAN ON HER BAT-CYCLE

REMEMBER : Every Wednesday is "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday" at the BAT-BLOG!! Each week we try to theme the wallpaper in a way so that everybody gets something they like. This time we thought we would use the crazy theory "Something old, something new". The 1st wallpaper, featuring vintage 1940's graphics of Batwoman on her Bat-Cycle, was actually made by a BAT-BLOG Reader & sent to us thru our Bat-Blog Message Board! I know it sounds kinda corny but it was actually a very proud moment for us here, ha ha. He did a great job on it & we really love the "Golden Age" Batman! The 2nd wallpaper is a more recent version of Batman & we like the gothic buildings with the moonlight behind him, pretty cool. Both of these would look great for a MySpace Layout but if you're looking for something else be sure to check our BATMAN WALLPAPER PAGE, the link button is on the top/right of this page. Also, be sure to check the BAT-BLOG ARCHIVES for 50+ wallpapers posted in the past!

DARKHORSE COMICS & DC DIRECT Classic DC Heroes GOLDEN AGE BATMAN STATUE

In a continuing collaboration, Dark Horse Comics and DC Direct, are teaming to create a new series of vintage-style statuettes featuring four of DC Comic's best-known characters. Modeled after products that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s, the four new statuettes being produced by Dark Horse are designed and manufactured consistent with earlier "syroco"-style figures. Joining the initial release, Superman, is none other than Batman. The sculpting and packaging design is inspired by the art style of original Batman creator Bob Kane, and echoes the look and feel of his first comic appearances. The style, costumes and other details will be consistent with the original "Golden Age" look of the character from the comics of that period. Limited edition of 2,000 pieces. Each statue is packaged in a litho-printed full-color tin box and includes a vintage-style pinback button, and booklet about the character. This item is ready for pre-order from TFAW at a 20% discount. I suggest buying one early because these are known to sell out pretty quickly, I already ordered two of them! Here's a LINK to check it out!!