A MORRISON MONDAYS SPECIAL for Halloween — even though it’s Saturday! By BILL MORRISON Just in time for Halloween, I bought a Ben Cooper Batman Play Suit from 1965 in the original box! I still own most of the pieces of the one I got when I was 7 — the belt never made it out of the ’60s — and I wrote about that costume in my autobiographic comic story that details my quest for the ultimate Batsuit, My Life as a Bat. There’s something magically irresistible about having something you once owned as a child in the original packaging. Whenever I got a new toy, I was so excited to play with it, the box was immediately forgotten and cast aside. And like a circus roustabout following behind a horse to instantly scoop up the manure, my Mom was right there to grab boxes and wrappings and toss them into the trash. I know my Mom was not unique in this practice. It’s just a Mom thing, it’s what they do. And that’s a big reason why a collectible in the original box is rare and special. Well, maybe not so special. A few years ago, I bought a Ben Cooper Batman Play Suit that was complete with the belt, cape, cowl, and mask, and my recollection was that it didn’t have a box. But I dug into my archive and discovered that it did have one, but the box is more generic than the one I just bought. So now I have two complete Batman Play Suits, likely manufactured a few years apart, and I have no memory of which one I had as a tyke. I know, first-world problems. So, the new Ben Cooper Batman Play Suit will join the old one, along with other items in my collection like the Marx Hot-Line Batphone and the Mattel Batman’s Bat Maker-Pack in the subset that I call, “Things I once had that are mine again, and in the original packaging.” But first, since it’s Halloween and I just noticed this new playsuit is a size Large, I wonder… — Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back Monday (of course)! Want a commission? See below! — MORE — BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s JENIFER Still Haunts Me — More Than 50 YEARS Later. Click here. — If Only AURORA’s 1965 WONDER WOMAN...
DESPOP TUESDAYS! A couple days ago, SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN featured a riff on one of the greatest Batman/Joker stories of all time — The Laughing Fish, by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin, from 1977’s Detective Comics #475-476. But wait, there’s more! The story, as you know, was adapted for Batman: The Animated Series — combined with The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!, by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, from 1973’s Batman #251. Well guess what: Our pal Des has done a fab print highlighting the episode, and boy is it grand. Dig this: The 18″ x 24″ print — fully licensed — was one of six Des did for various eps, and it sold out when released. But he has artist’s proofs — signed and numbered — available at his website. Groovy! — Want more DESPOP TUESDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? Buy prints? Buy Des’ comics? Check out his Despop Art website! — MORE — Dig These Three New DC SUPER SODA Flavors to Quench Your Mind. Click here. — VOTE! SUPERMAN & LOIS or SUPERMAN & WONDER WOMAN. Click here. — DES TAYLOR is the man behind creator-owned comic properties Scarlett Couture, The Vesha Valentine Story, The Trouble With Katie Rogers and a new property in the works The Blue Lotus Strikes. His client list includes DC Comics, La Perla, FHM, Cosmopolitan, Universal Music, ITV Studios America and many more. When he’s not working on his own properties or churning out commissions, Des spends his spare time… working some more, hating Arsenal and raising his two baby daughters, Scarlett and...
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