WACKY BATMAN WALLPAPER DAY On Thursday!

OK, Here at the Bat-Blog we have one gimmick where we post some FREE Batman Backgrounds on a certain day of the week and we call it, "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday"! Which was yesterday, but I was so busy I didn't have time to post so, here we go! Now, I really did want to post these because I'm actually very proud of them. They are all really interesting images for a desktop background but the main reason I like them so much is because they were all contributed by Loyal Bat-Blog Fans who wanted to share some fun pics and their love of the character. So to me, that is very very cool.

The 1st Wallpaper is an AWESOME photo sent-in by our Friend Paul. He recently went to THE TUMBLER TOUR at the National Harbor in Maryland, during the DC tour. In his hand is "The Gotham Times" Newspaper that was sent out during THE DARK KNIGHT 2008 Movie Viral campaign. ( Hey, that's pretty clever! It's like he's a Citizen of Gotham City, ha! ).

Next up is a GREAT Photo all the way from Berlin! It was sent to us from a Friend named "Zerokewl" and it's sort of an Advertising Billboard  for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie he saw at a local German Cinema near him. It's a GIANT-SIZE Wall Poster Mural for the upcoming film, which will start in Germany on July 26th, 2012.

Then, There's this really great image which represents the 1966 Batmobile Car and two other Batman Vehicles. Yeah, the 1960's Bat-Cycle and Bat-Copter! All three of these were at the recent Mega-Show Expo thing in New Jersey and our Friend BatDave got this excellent shot of all 3!

Wow! All 3 of these pictures are totally great and if the Bat-Blog is any good at all then it's because of the wonderful input from Fans & Readers. This post was just a small way for me to say that and also say, "THANKS!"

RARE German Vintage BATMAN Mask Premium Give-Away!

I got an email late last night from a good friend named Ralf who lives in Germany. While going through a few things he came across this old BATMAN MASK ( Circa 1979 ) and was kind enough to send us some wonderful photos. Ralf also explained,

"Have you ever seen this Mask? It was printed by the German Ehapa-Verlag in the 1970s/80s. For some coupons, which were published in Superman/Batman and other comic books, the reader could get Wall Posters ( One was the Blueprint Chart of the Bat-Cave, another one was the famous "Running Batman" by Neal Adams ) , This BATMAN Mask, and a ruined comic-book."

WOW! This is very cool information! One thing I love about being a serious Vintage BATMAN Toy Collector is that there is so much stuff you can never know everything. I mean, I've been hardcore serious for 20+ years & it seems like I come across "new" vintage items all the time. You know, "things you have never seen, ever"... I love that! Thanks Ralf for sharing your pictures, I appreciate that ( Ich Danke Ihnen! ).

BATMAN GRAFFITI ART Spotted in Germany!!

Here's a wonderful example of some BATMAN GRAFFITI ART all the way from Germany! Yes, a BAT-BLOG Fan named Daniel was kind enough to send us this photo he took recently of an amazing Wall Mural of the Dark Knight he spotted on the front of a large Barn in a small German town. Oh man, it's so cool!! ( Danke Daniel! ) Hey, if any other readers notice any cool Artwork like this then please shoot us a pic!

International BATMAN Comic Books - Photo Reference

I was recently surprised by a wonderful email from a Bat-Blog Fan named Marc. He lives in Germany & loves to collect "international Batman Comics". He sent us some photos from his comic book collection & they're a total joy to see. Basically, they're a few issues he has where he shows different variations from different countries. We get to see books in many foreign languages: German, English, French, Spanish, etc... The interesting thing is that sometimes they create whole new artwork for the cover. The "BATMAN: GOTHAM NOIR" Graphic Novel is the perfect example of that. I wanna thank Marc for taking the time to shoot these pics, I appreciate that. If any other Bat-Blog Readers have interesting things about their comic book or toy collections that you would like to share then please do. The main focus of the Bat-Blog is the joys of being a Bat-Fan & Collector.

BATMAN MEMORABILIA From Around the Globe!

I don't know what my fascination is with "Foreign Batman items" but that sort of stuff is really cool! Plus it's very hard to find. Here's some great examples: The 1st photo shows a JAPANESE POTATO CHIP BAG with a 1989 BATMAN movie promotion. Now, how wacky is that! Speaking of "Japanese", right now my heart goes out to all the people of Japan. The recent events there are such a tragedy. Let's hope things get better soon. The next pic features a 1980's German-Language BATMAN Comic Book... from Germany ( Duh!, ha! ). The the last group of photos are vintage Batman items from Australia. These Australian comics are from the 1970's. So, what do you think? Is this stuff kinda cool!? Hey, I got a question, Do YOU have any foreign bat-items you would like to share? If so, then please send us some pics today. Remember, the Bat-Blog is all about sharing information about the joys of collecting.

German - BATMAN KLASSIK Comic Books By Hethke Publishing

Lately I have been sort of obsessed with "Foreign Batman" comic books. They're really hard to find in the US. I like the ones that have a total foreign language on the cover. I can't read them at all, but they're cool to look at, ha ha! Here are a few examples of a title called BATMAN KLASSIK. They're published in Germany by the Hethke Publishing Company. This series reprinted all the classic "Neal Adams Batman" stories from the 1970's, mostly the ones featuring the characters that Neal Adams created, R'as Al Ghul & Man-Bat. I always loved those stories from my childhood so they're kinda great to see in another format. If there are any Bat-Blog Readers from other countries who could send some information or photos that would be great, thanks!

BATMAN'S 70th ANNIVERSARY: 3D Computer Art!

This amazing 3D Computer Graphic Art was done by our good friend Achim Loobes to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Batman, the Caped Crusaider! He has a website devoted to Batman that has a ton of very cool 3-D computer artwork. Now, the only problem is that the website is from Germany & is totally in the German language. So some of you, like me, can't read anything, ha ha! But it's very well designed & easy to navigate. It's worth a look just to see the cool images. Some of them are interaction & when you move your mouse around on top of the image, they come alive! Oh yeah, the site is called DER-VIGILANT & you can make a visit by clicking HERE!

VIDEO: 1966 BATMAN TV SHOW German Promo Ad Commercial

Here's an interesting piece of Bat-History, a TV promo spot for the 1966 Batman TV Show that aired in Germany! And for people who understand German, read this: Programmhinweis von Pro7 zur Batman Serie von 1966.

COOL BATMAN MERCHANDISE From The Netherlands, Germany, & Argentina!

For this post I thought I would share some photos of some very obscure pieces of Batman Memorabilia from around the globe. The 1st bat-item is a Set of Batman ( Comic Book Version ) Story / Music Cassettes. These were made in the Netherlands in the early 1980's. There's actually a lot more of these in the original set but finding even these 3 are pretty difficult. I really really like the cover art. The next item might look just like it's American-counterpart but it's totally in German! Yes, it's the 1989 BATMAN MOVIE Novelization Paperback Book, but from Germany. I wonder if these are as common there as the US versions are here, ha ha! But still, it's really cool that it is "foreign language". On to the next photo we see a toy made during the BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES cartoon craze in Argentina! This is one of those Batman: Drawing Play Sets where there's a machine you load plastic tiles into that have "drawings" embossed on them ( raised design ). You snap them into a template, load a piece of paper, & then scratch a pencil across to get the artwork on your paper. It creates an image that is black-outlined & you can then color it. Sort of like having a manual "coloring book sheet maker" in your home, whew! Anyways, it's so great that it's from South America and it's got the BTAS thing goin' on. Plus, seeing the Joker on the box is kinda cool too. OK, right now I want to extend an offer for all Bat-Blog Readers living all over the world to send in any "Foreign Collectibles" photos & stories you might have.

Batman Magazine Covers From Around The Globe!

This post is just sort of a hodgepodge of many different photos of Batman-related Magazine Covers from around the world. I think they're kinda interesting to see & I love how the character is popular outside the United States. The first 3 are from Argentina & the surrounding area. Over there they totally went nuts over "The Dark Knight" movie, that's great! The next one is from Asia & they have had a love affair with the popular icon for many decades! I like how they managed to get a sexy picture of Maggie Gyllenhaal in there! The last 2 are from Germany. I especially love the German Mad magazine! I used to read MAD when I was a little kid & it's good to know that children over there are getting their brains twisted too, ha ha!

BATMAN MEMORABILIA The Iris Art Collection From Germany

The Bat-Blog has a friend named Iris who lives in Germany & sometimes shares photos with us from her personal collection. This time she e-mailed us some really neat photos of some of the Batman Art she has on display at her house. The photo with the "Multiple Batman Figures" was colored by her daughter & some of her daughter's friends. She took them & framed them all together. I really love children's art so this picture is very cool & I gotta say that it's my favorite! The way Batman is in different colors & in multiples sort of reminds me of Andy Warhol's Pop Art, ha ha. Another photo shows some standees that she has in a hallway ( the one of Batgirl is my favorite! ). She explained that the artwork of The Riddler ( Jim Carrey ) is an actual piece of airbrushed art. Overall there's some really neat stuff here. Thank you Iris for sharing these personal photos, I appreciate that. If any other Bat-Blog Readers have photos like this to share then please do. Our e-mail button is always on the top right-hand side of this page.

THE DARK KNIGHT DVD & BLU-RAY Batman Movie "Foreign" Store Exclusives

OK, in researching some of the "foreign" DVD & Blu-Ray Releases of THE DARK KNIGHT I have come across these two. The 1st one is the "German Edition" Blu-Ray Set & it comes with a Laser-Cut 3-D Display of the Bat-Pod Motorcycle. It also comes in a special display box. I imagine they will also sell a regular DVD set too but it might not have the extra gift. The 2nd one is from Canada. It's a "Special Two-Disc DVD Edition" & will come with the "Joker Goon - Bank Robber Mask" Statue. Something to keep in mind is that the Canadian one might work in US players but the German one will probably be "Region 2" so it might not. DVDs are sold in different formats for different countries. Region 1 is usually for the USA & Canada...you might check before buying one. This one has a special box also. If any other readers living outside the USA come across any special DVD sets then please let us know.

Video: Classic 1966 Batman Movie "Somedays You Just Can't Get Rid of a Bomb" Scene, in German.

As a wacky Batman Collector & Historian I totally love the "foreign aspects" of Batman. When the caped crusader is adapted by other countries I think that's so cool. Here's a really great example. This is the classic scene from the 1966 TV Batman movie where Batman ( Adam West ) is trying to get rid of a bomb. But the funny thing, is that the language is all in German. It makes the scene even more surreal!

BAT-BLOG CONTEST: List of "German Gotham Times" Winners!

OK, for people following this blog they know that every month we have at least 1 or 2 Bat-Blog Contests where you can win wonderful prizes! Yesterday was the final entry time to enter our latest contest & last night, at midnight, we randomly picked 5 lucky people who will now receive a free copy of THE GOTHAM TIMES ( German Edition ) NEWSPAPER. This was a promotional premium at German movie theaters during The Dark Knight Batman movie & is actually very hard to come by here in the USA. To me, that made these prizes extremely cool! Also, these awesome set of prizes were donated by a very generous Bat-Blog Reader named Guenter, who lives in Germany. So, first & foremost I wanna thank him for making this fun contest possible...THANK YOU GUENTER! I also wanna thank everybody who joined in on the contest. OK, here's the deal. I have five of these newspapers to give away & the list of winners are as follows:

• Jonathan T. of
Bensalem, PA.
• Andrew E. of Parker, CO.
• Matt M. of Omaha, NE.
• Ryan D. of
Albertville, AL.
• Richard P. of San Antonio, TX.

We want to congratulate all of the latest Bat-Blog Contest Winners & tell them now to look for our confirmation e-mails very soon. Also, we wanna thank Guenter again for making this awesome event possible! For readers new to this blog please be sure to stay tuned because we promise to bring more contests in the near future & YOU could be on our new list of winners!!

Vintage Batman Memorabilia From Around The Globe!

I've been doing the Bat-Blog for over two years now & one of the things that still amazes me is Batman's popularity all over the world. I get messages from Bat-Fans who live in the most obscure places, that's awesome! So I thought I would use that as the theme for this post. Here's a few photos of some super-rare Batman Toys mailed in by our readers. The 1st one is from a friend in Germany. This is a very funny "Bootleg" Batman Hand-Puppet from the 1960's. The mask that the figure is wearing does look a lot like the cowl worn by Adam West in the 1966 TV Show. Plus, ya gotta love those wacky eyebrows, ha ha! Also, It looks like they stole the image from the "1960's Batman" Life Magazine cover for the header card...nice. The next set of photos feature the BATLANCHA ( Bat-Boat ) made by Gulliver Toys. This beautiful masterpiece is from Argentina. The 1st Bat-Boat comes with it's own original box. I love the vintage graphics. The 2nd Bat-Boat, the one by itself, is a later re-issue in a slightly different color. Both of them are awesome! The last photo is one of my favorites. It's a group of Vintage Batman Manga Magazines from Japan with wonderful artwork. I really really love the Japanese Bat-Logo. It looks really great! I hope all my readers enjoy seeing these as much as I do & I hope it inspires a few people from around the world to send in photos of their "foreign treasures". Remember, our "e-mail button" is always on the top right-hand side of this page.

New Bat-Blog Contest: THE GOTHAM TIMES Newspaper GERMAN EDITION!!

OK, We just ran a Bat-Blog Contest that was pretty successful & I really enjoy doing them so much that I decided to have another one already! Actually, just the other day I hit my post office box & was really surprised to find a few copies of THE GOTHAM TIMES Newspaper there. The thing that made them very unique was that they are the GERMAN LANGUAGE EDITION! The headline reads, "BATMAN, RETTER ODER BEDROHUNG?". Which, if I did the translation right, means "Batman, Rescuer or Threat?". Yes, these are the ones distributed at movie theaters in Germany & are totally in German! Now, I can't read them at all ( ha ha ) but they are very beautiful to look at & very hard to find in the USA...a nice collectible. Another thing that's really neat about them is that the inside is a full-color movie poster of The Dark Knight! For people who have never seen these ( even the US copies ) they are printed on real newspaper paper stock, in the actual size, & look just like real newspapers! These GERMAN EDITIONS were mailed to us from a good friend who lives there. His name is Guenter & I really appreciate him sending these. It was an extremely generous thing to do & as soon as I saw them I knew it had to be the very next Bat-Blog Contest! So, we're gonna take entries until October 15th. To enter just e-mail us your FULL NAME / ADDRESS with the phrase "Thank You Guenter" in the title. You can ONLY enter once & all entries must be received by Oct 15th, 2008, 11:00 PM Central Time. We will pick a winner on that night, at midnight, & he/she will be announced on Oct 16th. Oh, one last thing, we have more than 1 copy so MULTIPLE WINNERS will be picked!! That just means you will have a better chance of winning!! So, please be sure to enter today. Also, remember that we never sell or distribute this information & we respect your privacy.

CONTEST RULES:

1. The contest is open to the general public as well as anyone currently reading the BAT-BLOG on a daily basis. Employees of the Bat-Blog and employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this contest.
   
   
2. The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded.
   
   
3. Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available.
   
   
4. By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which Bat-Blog may deem appropriate.
   
   
5. In accepting the prize, the winner, and any reader(s), acknowledges that the Bat-Blog may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize.
   
   
6. The person whose name is drawn as being the winner of the specific prize will be required to send us their correct mailing information before the prize is awarded to them. Postage to be paid, free of charge, by the Bat-blog.
   
   
7. Detailed contest rules applicable to this contest, including contest entry dates, how to enter, and prize value, number and any restrictions applicable to these prizes are available upon request by reading these Contest Rules, ha ha!
   
   
8. The Bat-Blog retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever.
   
   
9. This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws.
   
   
10. The Bat-Blog reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.
    
    
11. Approximate value of prize varies.
    
    
12. Contest open to loyal Bat-Blog Readers only.
    
    
13. One entry per person.

BATMAN COLLECTOR in GERMANY Sends Awesome Batman Collection Photos!

I recently got an e-mail from a reader named Iris who wrote, "I'm a Batman-Collector from Germany. The Bat-Blog Site is very good. Here I send you some Photos of my Batman-Item`s. I collect Batman-Item`s from the whole world. I buy Batman-Item`s in America through eBay. My English is not so good, but I hope you understand what I mean." Yes, Iris. I understand. Your English is very good. I understand how hard it is to communicate in another language that you do not speak & I appreciate your effort, good job. WOW! It looks like you have an amazing collection! ( Readers, please click on the above photos for larger versions where you can see a lot of neat stuff ). I recognize a lot of it as American but you also have a nice selection of foreign toys as well. I see a lot of French items, that's cool. These photos are great & thanks again for communicating with us. Please stay in touch. I want to invite ALL the Batman Collectors from around the world to please send us photos of your collections. Sharing the fun of this hobby is what the Bat-Blog is all about!

Video: THE DARK KNIGHT STEALTH LAUNCH BATMOBILE TOY By Mattel TV Commercial in GERMAN!!

Here's a really neat video of a TV Commercial for THE DARK KNIGHT "STEALTH LAUNCH" BATMOBILE TOY made by Mattel. But, the thing that makes it extra cool is...it's in German! Yes, this is a TV Spot that circulated around Germany. I wanna thank our friends over at WWW.BATMANS.DE for posting it, awesome!!

THE DARK KNIGHT Movie Trailer TV Commercials in German!

I regret that I only speak/understand English because it is pretty cool to see these Batman movie TV spots for "The Dark Knight" that are now appearing in Germany, in German!

German TV Spot # 1

German TV Spot # 2

German TV Spot # 3

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie BURGER KING Fast Food Toys in Germany!

Recently at the Bat-Blog we featured photos of all the new DARK KNIGHT Batman Kid's Meal Toys that will be at Burger King in Germany. It's a total shame we won't have any fast food toys here in the USA but these are still kinda neat! Well, here's the TV commercial that's being shown there. The cool thing is that it's in German!