BATMAN’S HOT-LINE | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Dec01

The Eternally Groovy CORGI BATMOBILE, by DAN JURGENS

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Dec 1, 2022

The Eternally Groovy CORGI BATMOBILE, by DAN JURGENS

TOYHEM! The DC Comics artist/writer brings you little atomic batteries to power, little turbines to speed… — Welcome to TOYHEM! For the fourth straight holiday season, we’re bringing you a series of features and columns celebrating the toys of our youth, which often made for the best memories this time of year. Click here to check out the complete index of stories — and have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah and Happy Holidays! — Dan — UPDATED 12/1/22: This is one of my fave TOYHEM stories from the vault, so we’re re-presenting it this year. It first ran in 2019. Dig it! — Dan — TOYHEM! isn’t really a single series of stories. It’s sort of a series of series. We have the 13-day Custom Mego Box of the Day, for example. (Click here.) But we also have TOYHEM! MEMORIES – a collection of guest essays by comics creators on their favorite childhood toys. Last time, it was Gene Luen Yang on The Six Million Dollar Man. Click here. This time? It’s Dan Jurgens on the Corgi Batmobile. Dan’s probably best known for his role in The Death of Superman, but the comics stalwart has probably touched just about every DC character there is, and a fair number of Marvel heroes and villains too. He’s also the creator of Booster Gold, who just happens to have a big hardcover collection out right now: So dig this look back at one of the most popular Batman playthings ever — and certainly one of my own favorites: — By DAN JURGENS In the 1960s, we didn’t have much in the way of toys that were based on comics. More than anything, we had toys that were based on TV shows that were based on comics, and the king of them all was ABC TV’s Batman. Not only was it massive as a two-night-per-week TV show, it was also an iconic symbol of pop culture, capturing much of the crazy concepts of the era. Part of that craziness was the idea that almost every show on TV seemed to have a unique car as part of its “cast”. The Munsters, The Monkees, The Beverly Hillbillies and more all had recognizable cars that were worthy of exploitation by the toy industry. Batman was the leader in that regard, thanks to the Batmobile. Designed and built by George...

Nov29

The TOP 13 BATGIRL ARTISTS of the Silver and Bronze Ages

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Nov 29, 2022

The TOP 13 BATGIRL ARTISTS of the Silver and Bronze Ages

An ANNIVERSARY SALUTE to one of comics’ great characters… Quick story: A year ago, I promised readers a story about Batgirl’s TOP 13 artists in celebration of the 55th anniversary of her debut in Detective Comics #359, which was released Nov. 29, 1966. Unfortunately, a time crunch hit and I wasn’t able to swing it (which is why I almost never promise anything in advance unless it’s locked down). Anyway, my bad. But it was something I really wanted to do and even if this is an oddball 56th anniversary, here’s the TOP 13 BATGIRL ARTISTS OF THE SILVER AND BRONZE AGES. I’ve grown accustomed to ranking my picks in these sorts of columns, but here was a case where I just couldn’t, basically because it’s not a level playing field: I don’t think it’s entirely fair to judge the work of a penciller who did a bunch of stories against one who maybe did some pin-ups or occasional stories. I decided to instead post them alphabetically. OK, enough with the self-referential explanation. Let’s get to the art! Dig it. — Neal Adams. Adams didn’t draw much Batgirl in his career but, as always, he left an impression nonetheless. This is one of the most striking images of Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in the Bronze Age – even if the gloves and boots are the wrong color. — Jim Aparo. Aparo’s Batgirl output was generally confined to covers but he put together some humdingers, especially those for Batman Family. — Ernie Chan. Like Aparo, Chan generally drew Batgirl on covers and his Batman Family #3 is a real winner. That said, I’ll take his Batman Family #9 as one of the most memorable Bat-covers of the ‘70s. — Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Another artist whose Batgirl can be judged in quality over quantity. There were a couple of comics appearances but JLGL’s best known Batgirl is his DC Style Guide model — to some the Bronze Age’s quintessential version of the Dominoed Daredoll. — Dick Giordano. Giordano drew Batgirl mostly in pin-ups and the like and each time he nailed it. Then again, Giordano nailed everything he worked on. In any event, the back cover of Detective Comics #483 is one of my favorite images of the Bronze Age and Batgirl looks perfect. — Mike Grell. Male or female, it was nearly...

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