EXCLUSIVE: A purr-fect addition to your Mego collection… We’ve shown off nearly two dozen of super-customizer Anthony Durso’s 8-inch, Mego-scale playsets this year and I gotta tell you, this is easily one of the most inspired: the Batman ’66 Catwoman Catlair, which doubles as a loving tribute to Julie Newmar’s rule as the Queen of the Catwomen. Just check this out — and look for the references to Newmar’s appearances, most notably the greatest Batman ’66 episode ever, The Purr-fect Crime/Better Luck Next Time. “I think I’ve had a crush on Catwoman (Julie Newmar) as long as I’ve been aware of her arch-nemesis, Batman,” Anthony, who runs The Toyroom, explained. “My memory says age 5, 1972, kindergarten, but it might be a tad earlier than that. And wouldn’t you know, there was a girl in kindergarten that vexed me as much as the Felonious Feline did the Caped Crusader. If I was playing Batman on the playground, she would pop up and say she was Catwoman. Holy Hijinks! And although there have been other Catwomen over the years (including Lee Meriwether and Eartha Kitt), it’s Julie Newmar’s performance that is the cat’s meow to me.” Here are some more angles: “So when it came to designing this playset, its inspiration was all Julie,” Anthony, who is also a 13th Dimension contributor and the owner of Retropolis Tees, added. “I should have the episodes committed to memory but I did a refresher and watched them about three times each while working on this. And even though some elements changed from episode to episode, the basic ‘Catlair’ remained the same. I tried to include as much as I could from all the episodes (I wish I had room for more), so there’s lots of Easter eggs. But you might need the eyes of a cat to see them. Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar!” So that makes three Bat-villains with playsets — the Joker, the Riddler and now, Catwoman — plus the United Underworld HQ. Up next, says Anthony: the Penguin! — A few thoughts: — Good thing Chanukah’s coming. Because I’m adding this baby to my list. Just terrific work all around. — Mego, of course, never made a Julie Newmar Catwoman figure. But she exists now thanks to modern makers of Mego-style figures. — In addition to...
Celebrating the late LOU SCHEIMER’s birthday… — UPDATED 10/19/20: Lou Scheimer, who died in 2013, was born 92 years ago today. This first ran in 2017 but it holds up perfectly as a tribute to the major domo of kitschy animation house Filmation. Dig it. — Dan — Batman’s 1968 Filmation run is one of my favorite iterations of the character. The cartoon isn’t particularly great but it is entertaining and, just as importantly, soaked in nostalgia. It also works as a quasi continuation of Batman ’66, without the adult-skewing camp. (That’s not to say the Filmation show wasn’t silly. It often was.) Because of this connection, I’ve teamed up with John S. Drew on his Batcave Podcast for a special series of episodes exploring each of Filmation Batman’s 17 segments. The first one — which covers My Crime is Your Crime and A Bird Out of Hand — can be downloaded here, here or from iTunes. These episodes will be uploaded on a regular basis, so join us for a listen, won’t you? In the meantime, I’ve put together 13 QUICK THOUGHTS: The Kitschy Kick of Filmation Batman: — 1. Filmation Batman is the de facto fourth season of Batman ’66. It went into production just as the ABC show was ending and took many of its cues from its live-action counterpart. The episode set-ups, cliffhangers, larger-than-life traps, Chief O’Hara, Robin’s “Holy! –” expressions, even the way Commissioner Gordon talks, are just some of the examples of how the DNA carried over. 2. Which is unsurprising, because think about how long a shadow the live-action show cast for decades on popular culture. Until Tim Burton’s Batman ’89 came along, Batman ’66 was how the average person thought of the Caped Crusader — often for the worse. And it’s not like it ended there. Only now that a generation or two — and dozens of cinematic, comic-book blockbusters — have passed do people see Batman ’66 as a nostalgia thing. — 3. Even as the comics themselves were reverting to Batman’s dark roots, Filmation’s brighter version chugged along for 17 segments (each including a two-parter and a shorter, one-parter) on CBS, then syndication. And it kept going. Filmation Batman’s sensibility paved the way for his portrayals on Scooby-Doo and Super Friends — and, of course, the lamentable 1977 Filmation...
EXCLUSIVE: A purr-fect addition to your Mego collection…
Celebrating the late LOU SCHEIMER’s birthday…
There have been so many covers, it’s easy to forget a lot of the great ones…
