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

Dec06

THE 1973 IDEAL PLAYSET: The Most Underrated BATMAN Toy Ever

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Dec 6, 2022

THE 1973 IDEAL PLAYSET: The Most Underrated BATMAN Toy Ever

TOYHEM! Sometimes simple is better… — 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 12/6/22: I LOVE this set, so we’re re-presenting this INSIDE LOOK from 2019. Also, click here for an INSIDE LOOK at the Spider-Man version. Dig it! — Dan — My first Mego superhero was Batman with the removable cowl, which probably comes as no surprise to regular readers of 13th Dimension. I got him when I was about 5 years old. But what is Batman without Robin? So, for some time after I got the Caped Crusader — days? weeks? — I hectored my parents to deliver unto me the Boy Wonder. (Mostly my Mom, I’m sure. She was the softer touch.) So, finally one afternoon in what I can best determine to be early 1973, Mom came home with Robin in hand. Naturally, I was ecstatic, even though I was a little disappointed that Robin’s mask was painted on. (I missed out on the brief wave of Removable Mask Robin, which I knew about thanks to my pal Phillip Tagliaferri. Click here for that entertaining story.) But Mom also had a surprise for me — she held out this white rectangle of vinyl with Batman and Robin painted on the front, promising something “FANTASTIC”: A playset by Ideal. I was mystified because I had no real understanding what this was. Besides, I was too distractedly happy that I finally had a Mego Robin to go with my Mego Batman. But then I took a closer look, popped the snap and opened it to find a miniature world of Batman adventure. The case folded out to form a diorama with three sections: Wayne Manor, the Batcave and a museum that was designed to prove irresistible to villains of every stripe. There were working doors, including my favorite — a bookcase that led from Wayne Manor to the Batcave a la the Adam West TV series. But it was the cast of cardboard characters, vehicles and props — printed with fronts and backs to give you a 2D...

Dec06

When the JUSTICE LEAGUE Was Brave, Bold — and Brand New

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Dec 6, 2022

When the JUSTICE LEAGUE Was Brave, Bold — and Brand New

An INSIDE LOOK at The Brave and the Bold #28 Facsimile Edition — with cameos by Mickey Mantle and Charles Atlas! — UPDATED 12/6/22: DC is re-releasing The Brave and the Bold #28 Facsimile Edition this week. Perfect time to re-present this piece from March 2020, when the original FE came out. Dig it. — Dan — Pop quiz, hotshot: Who was the first superhero shown in the first Justice League of America story in The Brave and the Bold #28? The answer may surprise you — and we’ll show you below. Meantime, it’s worth noting that the Justice League has had dozens of line-ups over the last 60-plus years but on March 18, you’ll get a chance to take a thrill ride with the original Magnificent Seven with DC’s The Brave and the Bold #28 Facsimile Edition. Naturally, the League’s first appearance is one of the major landmarks in comics history and it’s a real kick to be able to buy a replica of B&B #28 — ads, bonus features and whatnot — for a penny shy of four bucks. So dig this INSIDE LOOK, with story pages, a couple of nifty ads featuring some of mid-century America’s biggest stars, a swell Superboy PSA — and a current events lesson about faster-than-light space travel! — A few thoughts: — Want to know what hardcore comics fans first thought of the JLA? Click here. — The story was written by Gardner Fox, pencilled by Mike Sekowsky and inked by Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson. The cover was by Sekowsky and Anderson. — As with most Facsimile Editions, you’ve probably read this story before. But like this week’s Detective Comics #38 (click here), I don’t believe the issue has ever been reprinted in full before now. Neat! — Why now, anyway? Well, the issue came out at the end of 1959 but the official publication date is February-March 1960, with March on the cover. That’s 60 years ago this month, kids. Also, DC will be publishing a hardcover collection celebrating six decades of the League in April. — Standard Price Comparison: A high-grade, unslabbed copy of the original recently sold on eBay for $3,850 — well out of the price range of most collectors. The Facsimile Edition? $3.99. — MORE — EXCLUSIVE: THE FLASH #135 — Featuring the...

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