Japanese Batman

Batman: The Brave and the Bold is airing an anthology episode (tonight, I think) that includes nods to the Batboy and Rubin Mad Magazine parody, appearances from Scooby Doo and Weird Al, and this little gem ... which shows what a Batman and Robin cartoon might have looked like in Japan in the 1960s.

Batman Vs TV Censors

Y'all owe Adam West an apology

And maybe Burt Ward, too.

Here are comparisons of screentests for Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell/Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin for the 1960s television show. While I prefer the darker, faux realism on modern Batman stories, there's a lot of room in the world for different interpretations of the character. As great as Christian Bale is as Batman, Adam West was equally great, though for different reasons. I'm not suggesting he was Brando, but West was a charismatic actor who was capable of more than he was ever allowed to do.

Unfortunately, he came up in a time when comicbooks were only a rung or two higher than horror and porn on the entertainment social ladder.Today he's kind of like William Shater's less-ironic cousin. And he deserved better.

While I've never been a particular fan of Burt Ward, it's clear he's still the best actor to play Robin on screen (this will likely be the case for many years to come, given that Warner Bros has even less interest in Dick Grayson than DC Comics.) If you watch the video above you'll see that Peter Deyell certainly looks more like the youthful Robin as depicted in the comics ... but he lacks screen presence.

Batzman Meets the Green Horned Bee!

Here's a nice supplement to the Mad Magazine/Batman parody I posted a while back: Cracked's parody of Batman and the Green Hornet.  The art for this story appears to be by the great Marie Severin, but I could be mistaken.

I used to love Cracked as a kid, though popular opinion held that it was Mad's poor relative. Cracked really came into its own in the late 1980s when it became much more timely and relevant than its rivals.

The Killing Joke

A Death in the Family meets The Simpsons.
Via Spingfield Punx (which also has Simpson-ized versions of Batdance Prince and the cover of Thriller.)

(Bat) Man of Fire

Mina Mikhael put America's intermittent fascination with fireworks to good use last summer with this display of "light graffiti." Here are the technical specs, for those of you interested in creating a similar image.

Classic Mad Magazine BATMAN parody

Here ir is: the original Mad Magazine parody of the 1960s Batman TV show. Written and illustrated by Mort Drucker and Lou Silverstone, the plot shares a few important concepts with Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Strikes Again, for better or worse. Click the pics for larger images.

Because 15 minutes have passed without a Batman-related post ...

Via Wondermark (and, in a round about way, the Hypno Pimp)

Offbeat Batman tees

Bat and Robin from SnorgTees

Wayne Enterprises logo from BustedTees

Zombie Batman vomiting Black Lantern Rings

Batman Splatter from Palmer Cash

Crisis on Infinite WTFs

Batman's a Downer

Melbourne was once known as ... Batmania?

The Bronx cover Prince (video above.)

* If it's on the Internet then it must be true: Melbourne, Austrailia, was once known as Batmania?

* De-Animator: Online Flash game pits you against Lovecraftian zombies. Link.

* Casting call for Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit video. Link.

I dig the chainsaw bayonet, but the silencer is probably redundant.

From Something Awful (obviously.)

Batman Vs. Predator ... Who Would Win?

Er ... nevermind.

Well, at least we got rid of Joel Schumacher

Above is a Key of Awesome video parody of The Dark Knight. It seems a bit willfully obtuse at times (I'm not sure the movie was as difficult to follow as they make it seem ... the video sometimes sounds like those nitwits back in 1994 who complained they were "confused" by Pulp Fiction) but the performances are pretty good.

Toyetic: Gotham City, part 2

Here are a few more photos taken last week of some of my Batman toys. These are a bit more Dark Knight-themed.

Batman needs a hobby

Via Rogue Bakery.

Toyetic: Gotham City, part 1

This week I've taken a few photos of my toy collection, experimenting with lighting, exposure and color to see what kind of images I could create. I didn't have any particular goal in mind when I started. In fact, it began on a whim as I used the camera in my cell phone to take some shots of a friend's action figure display last weekend.

I've been posting them at my Facebook page this week and decided to share a few of them here. First up: the Denizens of Gotham City!

Batisfaction!

Art by Shawn Ward.

Random Awesomeness

Nico and Andy Warhol as Batman and Robin

San Diego ComicCon teaser for The Avengers

 Star Trek/Firefly mash-up via.

Star Wars TV show put on hold

Batman's Bad Guys

Batman's rogues galleries by Dennis Culver.

(And yes ... that appears to be King Tut in the bottom corner.)