BATMAN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD Figures!

I love the new animated BATMAN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD show.  It mixes decades of Batman comics, from the absurd to the intense, into 30 minutes of pure Bat fun.

Ah, if only the toys didn't suck.

Granted, there are some people who think toys should be for playing.  By children.  These "some people" happen to be toy company execs and they figures said children would probably want to play with toys from this show, so "some people" decided to make the toys "playable".

"Playable" meant that each figure was based on a stock body that had octogonal plugs in the legs and arms to allow various toy accessories to added for "play value".

Sure, my kid can "play" with Batman.  But what about Batman's visual aesthetic?  Isn't a crappy looking Batman figure hurting my kid's chances at an Ivy League education?  Doesn't corporate America care about my child?

This is where WHEN BATMOBILES FLY comes to the rescue:  Saving children from childish things.

Yes, children like playing with their toys.  Yes, children like beating the living crap out of their action men.  Yes, children do not understand what is good sculpting and anatomy and that is why these toys are rotting the hearts and minds of our children.

Thankfully, we here at WHEN BATMOBILES FLY understand that children don't buy children's toys. Grown men, with an empty void inside them, buy children's toys.  These Grown Men need toys that look good on the shelf. 

The show brilliantly re-invented Aquaman, who has to be one of the most boring characters of all times, and made him a bombastic adventurer with a heart of gold (fish).

Additionally, to address the issue of "& Robin The Boy Wonder", the writers borrowed from a 70's story which depicted a Robin who had grown up, moved on, and made a costume that included pants.

This adult Robin, designed by Neal Adams (him again), is gaudy and ridiculous, and 1000 times better than contemporary comics which had The Boy Wonder grow up to become a moody Batman knock-off.

It also just so happens that my complete run of BATMAN THE BRAVE & THE BOLD comics has to be one of my most favorite.  Every month, Batman teamed up with another hero to solve some world crisis, or a street crime.  The show borrows from the comic by selecting some of the guest heroes who made frequent appearances, and in a similar manner avoids team ups with the bigger DC heroes, such as Superman and The Flash.

It's just that the toys suck.

One of the shows best decisions was to be more inclusive of Plastic Man into the Dark Knight's world.  Plastic Man never quite made it in the DC comics, most likely due to the lack of imaginative writing.  In the show, he's every bit as unpredictable and fun as he was when written and drawn by his creator Jack Cole.

He just needed a better action figure.

The toy line is now all but dead, as is the show.  I've decided that the figures represent the best possible medium to enjoy an expanded Batman collection: they're small, affordable, and easy to work with.

70 years of Bat fun awaits.

Get ready, get set,

Batusi.

Comic Art Tuesday: Nowlan, Seth, and Neal Adams!

Ahhh, the book sketch.  Who amongst us wouldn't succumb to the offer of: "Ayeh, I dig yur stuff, wouldyuh drawl uh purty pit-ure innt?" if it meant another sale of that golden publication?

It just so happens that I've been persuaded by three said book deals, and they all happened to be Bat-related.

Kevin Nowlan (Batman)

The world needs more Kevin Nowlan.  What an amazing brush!  He floats into a romantic world of dark realism and then puts in all these goofy people, like his Boy Wonder.  I would love to go for a bigger commission of the Bat family from him.  His faces are so distinctive that it was hard to pass up the opportunity to buy his recent paperback sketchbook collection with the offer of a head sketch.

His inking is wonderful and I see that he's been accompanying Jose Garcia Lopez on recent BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL work and the Metal Men pages of WEDNESDAY COMICS?  Is it overpowering the Don Jose?  Perhaps.  The JGL/ Nowlan work has a unique look- neither JGL nor Nowlan alone create those layouts with those shadows.

Seth (Batman)

The whole wide world needs more Seth.  Seth is the best thing to ever come out of a Canadian time machine, set back some 50 years ago.  I adore his comics, buy every sketchbook or project (or half-completed project.  Hello CLYDE FANS?).  I think you can spot his cartoon work from 100m away.  Luckily, he came to town one day and so I told him just that.

He loves comix and I think he even has a spot in his heart for Super Hero stuff, although I suspect it is the TIMELY and NATIONAL/DC stuff of 70 years ago.  I grabbed two of his book, VERNACULAR DRAWINGS, and had him personalize them for my brother and I.

Bonjour Batman!

Neal Adams (Batman)

Finally, if you grew up in the Seventies reading Batman and you live on the East Coast, there's no one closer to The High Holy Bat than Neal Adams.  There's so much to say about him, his careers, his artwork, and his influence on Batman, that it will take multiple postings.  His insane BATMAN ODYSSEY is worth about three blogs and a dozen clozapine.

Neal's artwork is priced high.  It's lovely stuff.  It's rare, however, that I see something Bat from him that has screamed BUY ME!  This year, Neal started doing profile commissions at cons.  Then, he published a retrospective of his entire career- comics, animation, etc.  THIS is the book I've been waiting for- something that will cover his strip work, the comics, and beyond.

Then I saw a wav movie of him doing a Batman profile in the book.  It was perfect. Exactly the Batman from those BRAVE & BOLD issues.  My brother wrangled a great two-fer deal and lo and behold: I now own a Neal Adams.

Thanks, compadre!

Comic Art Tuesday: DeStefano, Broderick, and Giella!

Stephen DeStefano (ZING!)

Stephen DeStefano represents the storyboard artist at his best- a guy who can belt out perfect lines and make it look soooo easy.  He did MAZING MAN for DC and some fun stuff with My Hero: Bat-Mite.

The Zen of Bat-Mite is simple: Pure hero worship that makes fan-boys seem subtle.

This illustration could be a 5th Dimensional smack down, or the latest DC NATION panel at COMICON.

You be the judge.

Pat Broderick (Batman &  Two-Face)

Pat Broderick had the tough act to follow Michael Golden on my childhood worship of MICRONAUTS comix, but he also gave us the introduction of one Timothy Drake, Esq. into the world of Batman.  I always dug his classic Batman and Two-Face.  

Pat went all-out on this commission and delivered the amazing amount of ink-work that you see before you.  Has digital colouring screwed us out of a black and white world?  Is texture now an option on a paint software?

Not in this man's Gotham.

And of course, the man who united the New Look for Batman: Joe Giella.  I would give my Adam West cowl to have been a Bat-Radio Tracer on the wall when DC gave Bob Kane the news that "he" would no longer be needed to create all the Batman comics for DC.  Some cite low sales (which I don't believe), some imply a leveraged buy-out of the "Kane Ghost Shop", no matter who you believe, suddenly Mr. Kane was no longer "drawing" monthly issues of BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS, allowing Julius Schwartz and artist-EIC Carmine Infantino to give Batman a much needed make over.  The deal was that artist Joe Giella would be retained to ink/finish all the books, to give them a "coherent look". 

Joe Giella (1964 Batmobile)

Now, anyone who thought the Moldoff/Giella and the Infantino/Giella books had a "coherent look" were probably blind, but Joe did it all.  Infantino takes credit for designing the New Look Batmobile and I'm willing to believe it, but it first appeared under the pencil and brush of Team Moldoff/Giella.

Whoever thought Batman and Robin would strike terror into the hearts of criminals by driving a Spyder?

The Saga of the Golden Age Bat-Mite: Fini

After Pops rendered his front end of the Bat Mite, I went to work getting the body shell completed.  First up was getting the number done.  I took my best guess on the font and created the decal using Word and custom decal paper.  To make life easy on myself, I coloured the inside of the "0" using the computer.

Next up was the bat head on the front grille.  After getting the two-tone colours finished, it was easy to tape up the bat head.  It turned out rounder than I had imagined, given the curve of the front end, but it looked great.  We hadn't considered the "V" shaped front bars, but it still looks like a Batmobile!

The Bat Mite

The biggest challenge was the bat symbol.  I computer generated a white circle with black border and then attached the custom decal.  Using a PITT pen, I carefully inked in the bat symbol.  The hood vents didn't make this easy, but I think it worked.

It's remarkable how little car is around the driver.  You were really exposed when throwing one of these around a dirt track!

Finally, the kit came with a trailer and I couldn't resist doing it up in the midnight blue I use for my Golden Age Batmobiles.  I had created a car based on Dick Sprang's work from 1949 and it matches the timeline of this Kurtis Midget perfectly!  A nice use of blue and yellow throughout both cars!

Can't you just see Batman pulling up to the track on a Saturday night?

Now, do I make one for The Boy Wonder....

Bat-Manga!

I think my most exciting Bat-development of the past few years has been the discovery of BAT-MANGA! THE SECRET HISTORY OF BATMAN IN JAPAN (2008), edited by Chip Kidd and Saul Ferris, with pictures by Geoff Spears.  Chip Kidd and Geoff Spears have done a bunch of Batmania related books, in addition to some nice collections of Alex Ross' work.  This time, they turn to collector Saul Ferris to unearth a series of Batman Manga that were published in 1966 by Manga Sensei Jiro Kuwata in the wake of the American TVshow.

The book is the best insane translation of Batman ever.  Kuwata was given American scripts, which he adapted loosely for Japanese tastes.  The Manga are at their best when they let go of Western story conventions or model guides for the characters.  In this, I found my inspiration for my next figure.

As a guide, I wanted a Manga-related 6" action figure that I could base my work on.  I had to look no farther than the BATTLE OF THE PLANETS line, which gave me great options for the Caped Crusader.

All of the basics are here, proportionally, and it has a Manga-influenced face that I wanted for my Bat-Manga.

The majority of details were removed and the costume was sculpted in place.  This was very basic work, consisting of modifying the boots, belt, chest and gloves.  Instead of creating a new cape, I used one from the DC Direct SILVER AGE BATMAN AND ROBIN boxed set.

The biggest challenge for this work was the colour.  The Manga were usually done in grey tone on manilla paper.  It appeared that Bat-Manga had a two-tone cape (most likely to allow for detail in the artwork) and stripes on his boots and gloves.  I took my best guess and went for a combination of black, blue, and grey.

I searched in vain for colour work from Japan that portrayed the figure.  Most Japanese Batman toys were heavily based on American comics, so the majority of them have artwork that is very close to models of American artists.

Book co-editor Saul Ferris listed his contact information and he was very enthusiastic about the figure.  He provided wonderful insight into the art, along with some images from his vast collection.  He wanted a Bat-Manga! Man Statue based on the colour data from his collection.

I enjoyed working on the statue, because it gave me the opportunity to change the sculpt and create a mold of the character.  I designed a base platform using the colours and imagery from the Manga and re-tooled the costume to match the art.  I had to be careful to level the mold correctly to get a good flow for the resin.

Originally, Saul wanted the figure to have the standard Batman look and to have the statue aged.  I'm glad he went with my alternate look, which emphasizes the differences in cultural interpretation of Batman.  I found aging the statue challenging.  In looking at his collection, most pieces from 1966 hadn't aged all that much.  Plus, how would you exactly get a lot of paint rub on what is ostensibly a statue?  I decided on gently rubbing the paint on the base, and selecting a washed out orange that might convey some age.

Finally, I decided to hand paint the statue, to give it a sense of age.  I'm not so sure this last part worked.  I will probably use my airbrush to re-paint the original.

Saul gave some wonderful art direction, which really improved the statue.  I think his colour palette works much better than my original one.  I intend to re-paint my original figure, possibly lightening the grey tights a bit more.

The best part of the deal has been making Saul's acquaintance.  He wants more- Robin The Boy Wonder and my favorite villain Lord Death Man.   I had planned a set of four characters, so perhaps I should make a few more...

   Will Bat-Manga continue?

   Will Lord Death Man haunt Bat-Manga from the    
   grave (or the next toy shelf)?

   Will we learn the identity of the fourth statue?

Tune in to the Flying Batmobile,

Same Bat Blog,

Same Bat Artist!

Comic Art Tuesday (Wednesday): Maguire, Perez, and Gene the Dean!

Kevin Maguire (TV Batman & Catwoman)

Ahh, it is spring and all thoughts turn to Flying Batmobiles!  In anticipation of some fun figure-making and Batmobile-tuning in the next month or so, I crack open the top shelf and dust off some fun art!  

Kevin Maguire can draw the phone book and I show up, checkbook in hand.  He was the reason I gave THE JUSTICE LEAGUE a try in the late Eighties, with the cover showing a team of heroes, standing there, looking up at you.  All of those unique, wonderful, diverse facial expressions looking back at you.  He is the master at communicating comic art through portraits.

When his art rep opened up a commission list, I jumped.  It took him a long time to get to it, but it was well worth it.  Kevin captured the essence of the 1966 TV show.  You probably can't tell from the image, but it's pencil.  Is that a #2?  I don't think so.

The work is crisp.  The detail is amazing.

I don't always get to meet the artist, but I make it a point to thank them when I do.  Needless to say, he remembered this one.

George Perez (Golden Age Batman)

Is there a comic fan alive who isn't familiar with George Perez?  George Perez, the Grandfather of the Rapidiograph, drew my adolescence in multi-panel brilliance.  His sense of arrangement and his commitment to detail and character is legend.

I grabbed a page of his JSA work, when the Golden Age Superman and Batman learn of the JSA's disbanding.  I so adore his Sprang-esque take on the Golden Age Batman that I had to ask him to do it again.

Batman, as barrel-chested guardian of Gotham.  This pen and ink included grey-tone washes for depth.

Gene Colan (BATMAN)

Finally, I include a true master: Gene "The Dean" Colan.  I certainly associate Gene with MARVEL comics, mostly through the DareDevil reprints of my youth or his Captain America work.  However, he was the Batman artist I loved the most in the monthly publications I read as a kid.

Of all American comic artists, I think Gene is singularly beyond us all with his abilities.  That is, I don't think we have the technology to fully appreciate his ability with the pencil.  Gene's pencil work has a depth and vibrancy that is removed when it's inked for publication.  Simply put, I don't think we "get" the art that Gene sees in his mind's eye.

Gene was very ill right after he took this commission.  I really thought he wasn't going to make it.

I rejoice that we still have The Dean in the world!

    

Comic Art Tuesday: Fradon, Giordano, and Lew Sayre Schwartz

Ramona Fradon "BATMAN and ROBIN"

Ramona Fradon can draw the phonebook and I'm in love.  Ramona, the illustrator of my childhood.  Instead of testosterone-fueled musculature and adolescence-inspired cleavage, Ramona was an excellent storyteller with a minimum of lines.  SUPERFRIENDS was a great comic to read as a kid, with tons of guest stars and villains.  Her Dynamic Duo was what I had in my head growing up.

Every time I run into her I think of something new to get from her.  Maybe Batgirl next time... 

"The Justice Society" Dick Giordano

Dick Giordano was the unifying force of Batman in the Seventies, inking Jim Aparo, Neal Adams, and the other greats of the Bronze Age of comics.  My favorite Treasury comic was a JUSTICE LEAGUE edition that my brother received, mostly because of the cool front/back cover design work by Dick.  The back cover was the alternate universe team the "Justice Society", a collection of the Golden Age heroes (including a version of Batman) that started in 1939 and retired in the late Sixties or so. The Justice Society Batman supposedly never wore the yellow oval bat-insignia on his uniform.   My brother and I each asked Mr. Giordano to re-create one of the covers.

Lew Sayre Schwartz, Personal Correspondence

Definitely, as a kid of the Seventies, I read a ton of DC reprints.  My favorite Bat-artist had to be none other than Lew Sayre Schwartz, who created The Red Hood and the Gorilla Crime Boss of Gotham, amongst other memorable stories.  I think most fans agree that Dick Sprang was the best artist of the Golden Age of Batman, but Lew illustrated with a heavy brush, which added a comic strip quality to the work that was never duplicated.  

Meeting Lew was a wonderful opportunity.  Like many illustrators of his age, he served in World War II and was enthusiastic in talking about common interests.  A recent collection of Batman comic covers had just been released and we flipped through it together and found all of the mis-credits.  He is a cool cat, a bit of an ad man attitude about the whole thing.

I adore him.