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The artwork from the 1966 Batman trading card set is so delightfully retro, with simpler character designs, hand painted panels, and less stylized versions of your fav villains, that I hope modern artists and designers take note when going for that retro look in their own artwork.
It’s not all about warm and tacky color schemes, Hanna Barbera character designs and outdated fashion, it’s the fact that everything is done without using a heavy outline and vector shading to convey form. These beautifully rendered panels by Norman Saunders have a classical aesthetic, and I’d almost forgotten how mundanely human villains faced by the Caped Crusader used to be!
Traveling all the way from Wayne Manor to the Gotham City Police Department headquarters takes the wind out of a crimefighter. Sit down and rest a bit before taking on the next case. Instructables user Orvis has just what an aging Dark Knight needs.
DevantART member DrFaustusAU, who brought us Horton Hears The Call of Cthulhu and Dr. Seuss’ Ghostbusters, has done it again! See his versions of Batman, Catwoman, the Riddler, the Joker, and Harvey Dent in the style of Dr. Seuss illustrations. Link -via Laughing Squid
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In 2006, a street artist who goes by the name Posterchild left signs in Toronto that would lead reasonably intelligent residents to conclude that the Batman had left Gotham City. I mean, if you saw a Batarang stuck into a telephone pole or a bat-marked bootprint on the wall, what would you think?
Embrace and live out your dreams. Yes, you, too, can live in a Batcave. All it takes is a bit of creative thinking. Sure, The Atomic Lounge no longer sells these fan blades, but some plywood and a jigsaw, you can make some of your own.
Link -via Uber Review
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This drawing by Aaron McConnell amused me, even though I didn’t understand the meaning. Then I learned that it is a reference to a 1988 album cover by Leonard Cohen. How do the two connect? McConnell explains at the link.
Link -via The Uniblog
Comments Off Everybody’s getting ready to see what the new Batman movie will be like, some are hoping it fails while others (myself included) pray that it’s as good as the first two or better.
The folks that made this sweded version of the Dark Knight Rises trailer obviously have love for the film franchise, but that doesn’t stop them from having a bit of fun with the whole Bane’s voice thing, as well as putting some sweet cornball animation into the mix! Behold, and be amused!
–via Ology
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What happens when you combine one of the world’s greatest comic books with one of the cutest cartoons on TV? You get a great mash up piece like this one by Dan Hipp.
Link Via The Mary Sue
Comments Off The 1966 TV show intro recreated, to the smallest detail, in LEGO bricks! For comparison purposes, here is the original. (via Buzzfeed)
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Bruce Wayne is incredibly successful, as a millionaire businessman and an anonymous crime fighter in his spare time even without the benefit of super powers. Unreality magazine has some lessons in how to be a success, as demonstrated by Bruce Wayne in comics, TV, and the movies. For example:
Bruce Wayne is incredibly focused on wearing the perfect suit for the occasion (he’s ordered more than 20,000 hats according to the movies), and while your work-wear won’t be stab-proof or taser-resistant, it also has the advantage of not needing to be stab-proof or taser-resistant. One of many advantages of a business degree is the idea of getting a job where you don’t need to offer fries with that, help people carry things, or outwit a demented madman determined to poison the city’s water supply.
Read the rest and put it to good use. Link
He is the keeper of the forest, the protector of the innocent, the avenger of the wronged. So turn on the Totoro Signal and summon him.
Artist’s Website -via Comics Alliance | Image: Michael Petz
Batman and Star Wars would be a pretty sweet crossover, with Batman battling the Imperial Army forces while trying to contain his own dark side.
But this fan art mashup by Dean Fraser contains concepts I find a bit strange, like the fact that the Joker is the Emperor and is therefore Batman’s superior, or Nightwing being directly opposed to Batman as Luke Skywalker, but the character designs are spot on and very well done so I guess strange concepts be damned. Funniest character mashup in this series- Penguin the Hutt!
Bruce Wayne has a lot of accidents. Why is that? Dr. Russell Saunders’s comprehensive medical report offers clues, but no definitive answers. A sample:
By far the greatest contributor to patient’s ongoing morbidity are his multiple and seemingly ceaseless musculoskeletal injuries. The most significant of these was sustained several years ago, when he was rushed to GCGH with several fractures of his lumbar vertebrae, reportedly after falling while rappelling. Skeletal series obtained at that time revealed numerous (>20) areas of orthopedic injury in various states of healing, which could not be fully explained by recent fall, including areas of all extremities and many ribs; confirmatory bone scan similarly showed many areas of increased uptake. Patient’s robust stature is not consistent with osteogenesis imperfecta, and skin biopsy was negative for abnormal collagen and P3H1 or CRTAP genetic defects. Malignancy was suspected, but eventually ruled out following oncology consultation. Patient explained most of these (and most subsequent) injuries as being the result of membership in a private and apparently quite intense mixed martial arts club. Patient has denied being the victim of domestic abuse by Mr. Grayson following indirect and direct questioning on numerous occasions.
Link -via Glenn Reynolds| Image: deviantART user ErikVonLehmann
Comments Off Sometimes you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to hired entertainment for a kid’s birthday party. Enter the wackiest collection of superheroes party entertainers I’ve ever seen, getting down in ways which seem totally inappropriate to do in front of a bunch of youngsters. These kids will never look at Spider Man the same way again, and the Batdance will surely haunt their dreams.
–via BuzzFeed
TheBookofBatman tells the tale of The Dark Knight in the style of the bible, showing just how much of a savior Batman is to Gotham City. Finally the religion of comic book nerds has gotten the formality it deserves.
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Apparently Australians love their comic books so much that they’ve decided to start issuing license plates with images of DC superheroes, like Superman and Batman, printed on them. This means that the Australian motor vehicle department is officially the coolest on the planet! When are we going to get license plates that prominently display our geek love?
In my opinion, the Joker is the ultimate comic book villain. From the beginning he has been one badass dude, killing with laughter in a time when comic book deaths were few and far between.
He is the ultimate nemesis, a criminal so chaotic, so insane, that Batman’s logical mind simply cannot keep up. The Joker has seen his character remodeled over the years, but not as much as many of the other comic book heroes and villains that get facelifts, proving that the Joker’s creators more or less had it right the first time.
ComicsAlliance has an interesting and insightful article detailing the history of the clown prince of crime, read on if you want to see just how far the Joker has come over the years.
Apparently men wearing spandex on television wasn’t looked upon very kindly during the 1960′s, and whisper campaigns plotted to take shows like Batman off the air due to an overwhelming fear of homosexuality, implied or otherwise.
An article from TV Radio Album, circa 1967, suggests that Adam West and Burt Ward might have been more than just friends, which was meant to turn public sentiment against them, then the article proceeds to show the dynamic duo doing karate and surfing like total studs. Read on, faithful viewer!
Harvey Dent revealed as the Batman? Ferry passengers forced to choose between murder and self-preservation? Commissioner Gordon’s family in peril? To see the resolution of this story, tune in next week. Same bat-time, same bat-channel!
-via The Mary Sue
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If you saw this poster outside the theater advertising an upcoming release, wouldn’t you expect the film to be some sort of avant garde silent film with a science fiction twist?
Created by French designer Greg Guillemin, they’re minimalist and moody, and their retro style could be the inspiration for a new alternative universe storyline. Silver Surfer fighting the Nazis in WWII, now that would be an interesting tale to tell!
Link –via DesignTAXI
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These great sculptures by Calvin Ma casts an oddly frumpish light on spandex clad superfolks. They look emo, bored with life and overweight. These are what action figures must look like in the Bizarro world, with catchphrases like “why bother?” and “i’ll get to it later”. And, looking at his website, all of Calvin’s sculpts look like action figures, even the bronzes!
Link –via ComicsAlliance
If you’re like me and miss the old Batman animated series, then the new feature length film Batman: Year One, based on the comic by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, is going to get your bat fever burning again.
Featuring that Warner Brothers look that made the original series so iconic, and actors like Bryan Cranston and Eliza Dushku lending their voices to the production, this is one tale of the Batman not to be missed!
-via ComicsAlliance
Hopefully he is voiced by James Earl Jones instead of Christian Bale. Or Kevin Conroy, who was the best Batman of them all.
Link -via Geekologie | Photo: Unknown
Previously: Bat Vader
Comments Off Well, over time, the Joker did change his appearance. I mean, Cesar Romero and Heath Ledger didn’t look alike at all. So some confusion is inevitable for a busy vigilante.
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Every lunch period would be an adventure if kids had lunch bags that look as cool as these! Take a look at this dad’s Tumblr page and see why his son sports a great big grin to school every day.
Link -via GeeksAreSexy
A Webshots user who goes by the name gothamtradingcompany makes high-quality tables with popular themes. He’s made a few Batman tables, one featuring the Scottish lion, and several with the logos of American sports teams. Link -via Walyou
This unintentionally goofy mistranslation appears on a toy package in a Chinese dollar store. Unfortunately, the original photographer is unknown. -via Dangerous Minds
You may have heard the term “the New 52″ thrown around recently and thought to yourself “the new 52 of what?” Well, your days of wondering are over, cause their coming your way this September! “The New 52″ is DC Comics unprecedented overhaul and relaunch of 52 of their most popular, and world renowned, comic book series. From Superman and Action Comics to Batman and Detective Comics, to obscure titles like Swamp Thing and Creeper, every title is starting over, and they have never looked better! Check out the DC Comics website to learn all about how your favorite costumed crimefighters are going back to square one with style.
Link -via ComicsAlliance
Redditor worstenememe snapped a picture of his nephew as the child modeled the outfit he plans to wear for his first day of school. This little boy’s teacher is in for a treat! Well, you know what they say, dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. Link
Dr. Vasilis K. Pozios is a forensic psychiatrist and reader of superhero comic books. He’s spent his career studying dangerous criminals and is now applying that knowledge to comic book villains and the way in which Batman interacts with them:
“As a mental health professional, Batman comes across as insensitive,” Pozios told HuffPost Weird News. “He could definitely use more training in that area.”
Pozios’s colleague, H. Eric Bender, would also like to clear up a misconception about the Joker:
Bender uses the example of the Joker, the most famous Batman villain, as a character who has incorrectly been called “psychotic” many times throughout Batman’s 72-year history.
“Someone who is ‘psychotic’ is experiencing symptoms of psychosis, a mental disorder, which can include auditory hallucinations, such as hearing voices; visual hallucinations, where they see objects that are not truly there; or have delusional thoughts, despite evidence to show that such beliefs are incorrect — such as believing that one’s movements are being tracked by deep space satellites — or disorganized behavior,” Bender said. “In the vast majority of depictions, the Joker is not experiencing such symptoms; rather, the Joker has shown symptoms of psychopathy.”
Link -via Glenn Reynolds | Image: deviantART user MZ09
