BATMAN TOY COLLECTING - 1970's Memorabilia

I was a little kid back in the 1970's so much of the Batman Toys and Collectibles from that era have a deep nostalgia for me. It's just that I remember actually playing with them, ha! So, here's a nice assortment of groovy 70's items!



First up is a BATMAN TRU-DIMENSION 3-D Action Picture Kit ©1976. Basically this was like a paint by numbers kit, except the "canvas" was 4 layers of clear plastic. You painted them sort of like the way an Animation Artist would paint a cartoon Cel, there were designs in black outline & you would fill-in the color by painting it's back side. Then when you flipped it around it was complete. Each piece had just a few different elements of one total picture. The 4 sheets of plastic were then put in a frame with each piece slightly separated & layered. The end result was a 3-D picture.





Then, here's something you don't see a lot nowadays. This is a Fanzine Magazine, COMIC ZINE #1, from Oct 1971. I'm totally digging the Golden Age artwork on the cover here! These are usually pretty hard to find because they were so limited & usually distributed regionally. Like, only sold in certain areas.





Next up, is an extremely SUPER-RARE item! This is a Batman Long-Sleeve T-Shirt made by a Children's Clothing Company called "Rob Roy". The design on the front is made with artwork "borrowed" from Neal Adams. This example still has it's original Department Store Hang Tag! It was made around ©1974 and very hard to find.





Last, but not least, is this 1977 BATMAN STAMP 'N PRINT SET made by Ahi Brand ( Azrak-Hamway Int'l Inc ). This is one of those cheesy toys you would see at 7-Eleven or you might remember begging your Mom for this at a Grocery Store, ha! I totally love the vintage graphics. It's also cool that it contained a lot of Super-Villain character Rubber Stamps.

Check Out The BATMAN ART Of Arlen Schumer!

I just made a new friend the other day & his name is ARLEN SCHUMER. He is an extremely talented Graphic Artist & Illustrator, but more importantly, he's a HUGE Batman Fan! To prove it just check out the 2 pics up above. The 1st photo is a cover he drew back in 1976 for a Batman Fanzine called BATMANIA. But the funny thing is, he had done his own magazine about 6 years earlier... when he was just 12 years old ( that's the 2nd photo )! You can really see some improvement there, huh. Actually I think the 2nd one is great because, even though it's sort of crude, you can tell that a lot of love really went into it. Plus, it's pretty good for a 12 year old. It seems, that in one way or another, he has always been mixed up with the comic book style of drawing. He's done work for a large list of major clients. He just recently produced a book titled "Neal Adams, The Sketchbook" ( more on that later ). If you would like to see more modern-day examples of his work then just click HERE!

The Bat-Blog is Looking for Vintage Issues of The BATMANIA Batman Fanzine by Biljo White

Recently, here at the Bat-Blog, we were contacted by a family member of the "Biljo White Estate". For readers unfamiliar with his work Biljo White was a commercial artist in the 1960's who was such a HUGE Batman Fan that he created a fanzine ( magazine ) called "BATMANIA". It covered all the recent news of the character. Just think of it as the "Bat-Blog done in paper & delivered in the mail", ha ha! White created all the artwork for the covers & inside content. It was a labor of love & he was also an extremely talented draftsman. The artwork is some very beautiful stuff! These vintage copies today are highly sought after by Batman Fans & are actually pretty hard-to-find. In the photo up above I show a few copies to give you an idea so please be sure to click on that graphic for a larger, more detailed, photo. Well, OK, now to the part where the family contacted us. They wanted me to do a post where I ask Bat-Blog Readers if you have ANY of Biljo White's artwork, especially these magazine issues. They want to put together a small book honoring his life & art. Personally, I really love this guy's artwork so it's an honor for me to do this. So, if ANY readers have any of these original issues then please contact us today. Thank You!

THE ART OF DON NEWTON: An Awesome Fan-Site For A Great Comic Book Artist!

I just re-discovered a really cool website that's totally devoted to the career & artwork of Don Newton. Sadly Don Newton died of a heart attack in 1984. But this site gives a great biography of him & many great examples of his work. He drew comics for many major companies like Charlton, Marvel, & DC Comics. He was a regular artist on Batman for awhile in the late 70's & early 80's. He also drew The Phantom, The Defenders, Ghost Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, The Avengers, & The Invincible Ironman, among many many others. The double-graphic you see in color next to the original sketch pencils, that looks like a comic book cover, was suppose to be the cover to Batman #356 but was rejected. Luckily the artwork got picked up by a fanzine magazine & became the cover to The Comics Reader # 205. His graphic style is very amazing & the website is worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of his work. I have included a LINK BUTTON down below, click on his "Signature".

BATMANIA Batman Fan 1960's Fanzine Magazine

Now, these Batman Fan magazines are EXTREMELY RARE! Here's a set of BATMANIA Batman Fanzines, Issues # 1 thru 19. This was a magazine for Batman Fans published by artist / writer BILJO WHITE in the mid 60's, about 2 yrs before the Batman TV Series premiered in 1966. This was a grass-roots level publication that covered everything Batman. Sort of like the BAT-BLOG in magazine form, ha ha! Please click on the photo up above to enlarge it to a giant-sized photo. I put it up this big so that you could enjoy the incredible artwork by Biljo White. He did all the covers & from a graphic art point of view they are super great!! My favorite is issue #4 which shows Batman & Robin racing away in the Batmobile & it's shown at a weird angle you never see. Many more of them are really great too & we hope you enjoy this RARE chance to see these extremely hard-to-find masterpieces!! Be sure to check back with the BAT-BLOG often for more Batman eye-candy...See y'all tommorrow!!