Here we have a hand-painted title card for what is likely the first of several Super Friends TV cartoons. I'm fairly certain this is from the initial one that aired from 1973 to 1974, and it features Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Superman.
Click on the image for a larger version.
I think I like the idea of reading Golden Age superhero comics more than actually doing it. Compared to today's comic books, the stories and artwork often don't measure up. But man, I could look at the covers all day. So in the spirit of the season, here's a few Golden Age comic book covers with a Halloween theme. The Superman one is technically Silver Age, but I think it has the same lighthearted spirit as the other three so I included it.
If straight-ahead horror comics from the Golden Age are more your thing, I've got a gallery of them too.
I couldn't resist including this last one from Batman, even though it is firmly entrenched in the Silver Age and is of a much more serious tone. But how can you go wrong with a vintage Neal Adams cover?
Riding the wave of popularity brought about by the Batman television show, DC Comics took the opportunity to cash in on the Caped Crusader's new fan base. One of the more interesting Batman and Robin artifacts from that era was All Star's Slam Bang Vanilla Ice Cream from 1966. Here are a few outstanding pieces of ephemera related to the ice cream -- a well-preserved product box and a large paper ad.
Note that at this point the official corporate name for DC was still National Periodical Publications, Inc.
For more auction finds, click here.
One of the many cool devices used in the '60s Batman TV show and feature film was the Batcycle. Since having Robin straddling Batman from behind would've been too much even for the Dynamic Duo he had his own sidecar, which could detach and drive on its own like a go-cart.
A few years ago the Batcycle sidecar/go-cart (built in 1966 by Richard “Korky” Korkes and Dan Dempski) went up for auction and sold for a whopping $30,000. Here are a few pictures of the go-cart at the time of the auction, and some vintage photos of Robin (Burt Ward) riding it on what looks like a film studio lot or location. You can also see the Batcopter in the background in one of the pictures.
For more auction finds, click here.
For those who haven't yet beheld the wonder that is the official Facebook page of the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, there's still time to head over and click that magical Like button. Otherwise, there's no telling what could happen.
So won't you please think of all the sidekicks out there, click on this link (or on the Facebook icon in the upper right), and then hit that Like button? I promise it'll be worth your while, as there's all sorts of cool stuff to see there that I don't share here.
This is it! This is the final thrilling chapter in the 1943 Columbia Pictures Batman serial film. At last, all of our perseverance and dedication will be paid off, for surely Batman and Robin will triumph over the evil Japanese would-be saboteur Dr. Daka and his sinister henchmen. Right?
Yes, of course. Don't be silly. But first the Caped Crusader must escape imprisonment in his wooden coffin. Looks like it'll be up to the Boy Wonder to save the day! But not before Batman can spew a little period racism...
I like how Batman immediately tries to un-zombify Linda Page, without first testing the device on someone less, uh, necessary.
Anyway, stay tuned to this column for another exciting vintage serial! As soon as I figure out which one to do next...
And so we've arrived at the penultimate chapter of the 1943 Columbia Pictures Batman serial film. In the last chapter, the lovely Linda Page -- Bruce Wayne's fiancée -- was turned into one of Dr. Daka's mindless zombie slaves, and Batman found himself in a classic Looney Tunes trap: the wall of spikes. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time that happened to me!
Only the fortuitous arrival of Robin saves the Caped Crusader from becoming a shish kebat. But will the duo finally be able to thwart Daka once and for all? My guess is no, since there's still one more chapter left, but I've been wrong before. Maybe the last part is just 15 minutes of Bruce and Dick Grayson gloating over Daka's corpse or something.
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Inspired by the excellent work done at Neato Coolville, I've started dabbling in Windows desktop wallpaper creation. My first offering was inspired by my recent trip to see the excellent The Dark Knight Rises, and is an inconic image from Batman's distant past -- the cover of Batman #20, dated Dec 1943/Jan 1944. It features Robin and an early version of the Batmobile, and was illustrated by Dick Sprang.
The original image is 1920x1080, and clicking on the smaller one below will take you to my Flick page. There you can choose from other sizes to meet your needs!
If you have any requests for future images, let me know in the comments.
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We're so close! After this week, there are only three chapters left in the 1943 Batman serial film! Sadly, Daka's henchmen still haven't figured out that blowing up a building is a less than effective way to kill Batman and Robin. That's lucky for us I suppose, since otherwise this series would've ended weeks ago.
One of the shortcomings of the serial format is fairly clear to me now. There really are only so many ways to end each segment with a cliffhanger putting the hero's life in danger. This is at least the second or third time Batman's been trapped in a burning building or wreck in this series. It does start to feel worn out at a certain point. I don't know, maybe it felt fresher 70 years ago.
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