Let me say this again : I’m a big Batman fan. It’s a pretty easy thing to be a fan of. I feel like it’s just become a part of my everyday life at this point - wake up, be a Batman fan, eat, sleep. I’m relatively subtle about it, though, and only introduce this fact after my acquaintances know that I’m a pretty decent, well-adjusted human being and that my admiration of a superhero doesn’t preclude normal social functions, as it sometimes might.

I collect Batman stuff, and until recently, I only collected official, quality, brand name Batman. I skip lots of things, like the movie action figures and things that I don’t feel fit into the Batman ideas that I have. Recently, I’ve purchased Chip Kidd’s ‘Bat-Manga’, a collection of 1960 Japanese Batman comics, and traded for an original Batman drawing from an artist friend. A few weeks ago, I broke my own collecting code, and it’s all because of a completely random find on eBay. I wasn’t looking for Batman - and even if I was, the item wouldn’t have come up, because it wasn’t ‘Batman’. It was Batdude.

What I’d found was a 12” action figure that someone had very carefully and meticulously dressed up as a customized Batman. It wasn’t completely professional, and certainly a little goofy, and the costume colors weren’t technically correct, but I immediately knew that this once could have been a more than suitable Batman for some kid to tear around the dining room with, fighting crime, large pets and houseplants which were surely turned evil by Poison Ivy. With a few minutes left in the auction, and less than $12 out of pocket, I had won my vintage Batdude.

Because this wasn’t an official Batman toy, and Time / Warner is very protective over their copyrights, eBay had actually pulled the auction during its first go-round, as the seller had listed the item as ‘Batman’. The second attempt at a listing used the ‘Batdude’ moniker, which made it seem even more appropriate for the slightly awkward figure.

The auction included a 12” vintage Mike Power action figure with loose joints, dressed up in a much more recent Captain Action outfit with the original bat-logo mounted on the front. The maker also created a bat grappling hook at the end of a long stretch of string, and a Batarang of sorts, both cut out of hard plastic - one of them being a hang-tab from some old package of something-or-other. Also included was a delicately sewn vinyl cowl with giant ears and a snap. At one point, the cowl had a cape attached to it, but it had fallen off from years of use, so that also had a modern replacement. The package also included the original black vinyl Batman suit that originally adorned the figure, which was far too delicate to re-dress the figure in. Impressions were left where the original bat-logo had fallen off, and where some color of shorts had been attached.

It’s difficult to date when the suit was made, as it’s no longer on the original figure and the suit itself has no markings, but the shape of the Bat-logo places it somewhere in the early 60s, as the familiar ‘yellow ellipse’ Batman logo was introduced in 1964, and probably took a while to catch on, and was used fairly consistently until the early 1990s. The Adam West Batman TV show kicked off in 1966, so Batman’s popularity was also rising.

Apparently, the seller that I had bought this from had also previously bought The Batdude off of eBay from a lot of toys which had been customized by a costume designer. The rest of the info has been lost to time, as everything previous to my purchase was handled by a third party.

I don’t consider this an ‘action figure’ as much as I consider it a piece of art. Before I saw it posed in any figural display, I saw it rappelling down the wall of Batman paintings and drawings that I’ve been collecting. Someone’s mom made them this, they loved it to pieces, and now, I think it’s found an honored place in my gallery as one of my favorite, completely unique Batman things.

Frank Miller’s ‘All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder’ comic has been regarded as a creative disaster since the inaugural issue. The backlash against the title has been strong enough to prevent me from spending any foldin’ money on an issue, but I’ve seen enough review material to confirm these suspicions of disaster. I’m all for changing up Batman and placing him in alternate situations and persona, but I just can’t seem to get behind this title.

(On the flipside, Grant Morrison’s ‘All Star Superman’ is a masterstroke of epic proportions and a wonderful read for anyone with a soul.)

While there have been plenty of re-envisionings of the classic Batman character, Miller’s most recent take is so laced with profanity, extreme violence, anger and ridiculous hyperbole that many comic readers can’t comfortably accept it as an artistic expression. Wonder Woman is a man-hating caricature of a woman who can’t control her emotions or her libido, and Batman is a criminally insane vigilante who prefers to giggle as he punches evil-doers in the face, rather than embody the stoic silence that defines Batman. This might all sound potentially awesome in theory, but even with Jim Lee’s exceptional artwork to back it all up, ‘All Star Batman’ is usually seen as a failure of a comic. It’s the equivalent of re-imagining Superman as a leopard man with a magical staff and a sailboat made of radishes.

Regardless of the negative reception to ‘All Star Batman’, we’ve made it to issue #10. It’s with this issue that the creative disaster that is ‘All Star Batman’ has made headlines - for a tremendously egregious printing error.

See, Frank Miller’s idea of profanity isn’t for lightweights. Take all of the worst words you know, make up at least five worse words, and imagine a world where they drip liberally from the lips of everyone around you, and then you’ll have Frank Miller’s idea of profanity. He writes it all out (sweat dripping from his meaty forehead, glistening in the blue glow of his computer monitor), the weak dialogue is printed into the comic, and then the astute editors at DC Comics place big ol’ black censor boxes over the offending epithets. Unfortunately, issue #10’s black boxes were printed just a shade too lightly, and as a result, Frank Miller’s disgusting profanity is visible on many of the comic’s pages. I’m no profanity prude, but this is some bad stuff.

DC immediately recalled the misprinted comics, but this was only after a good handful had been sold this past Tuesday. By Thursday, copies of the misprinted comic had already reached up to $250 on eBay, marking the most recent flash-in-the-pan comic collectible. With over 200 completed auctions and 150 active auctions on eBay (at the time of this writing), and an average price of roughly $60, the value of the comic will likely decline in the near future. As more and more copies surface, and scarcity is diminished, and the novelty of seeing vulgarity within the pages of a DC comic wears off, it’s not a comic that I’d recommend investing too much in. Sure, invest something - but within reason.

I remain a bit boggled that DC Comics would even print the offending words and then actually take the time to block them out instead of simply printing black boxes to begin with, but what do I know? I’ve never created a national scandal. Give me a little more time.

At least with Superman, the most you have to worry about is an occasional ‘gosh’.

For just about everyone in the 22 to 28 age range, The Batman Animated Series was our definition of ‘the who’ and ‘the what’ of the ephemeral Batman. We were too young for the campy POW! ZAP! Adam West Batman, and the comic book Neal Adams and George Perez Batmen were going out of style, so we had the cartoons.

(Please come to DVD soon, Adam West!)

The DC Animated Universe has consistently released cartoons and DVD movies since 1994, and almost all of them have been well received and enjoyed by fans who otherwise would be comic book purists - so I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of reaction the newest Batman DVD, Batman : Gotham Knight, would find with these same fans. I complain that vapid, product-placement anime destroyed Saturday morning cartoons, and then went on to devour afterschool cartoons also, but when anime-styled animation is good, it’s amazing. FLCL, Evangelion, Paranoia Agent - all good things.

The new Batman DVD isn’t one story, but six related stories, each one written and directed by different noteworthy directors and authors. Because of the six approaches to Batman, he takes on six different appearances during the film, but since Batman is invariably, distinctly Batman, it’s not distracting at all - except for maybe the out-of-costume Bruce Wayne moments, when he vacillates between dreamy, androgynous yaoi character to older, grizzly uber-masculine warrior.

My personal favorite tale of the six is the very first one, in which four skate kids recount their encounters with Batman, remembering him as the otherworldly, mythological forms that he implies. The Batman that I enjoy most in any media is the one that the general citizens of Gotham know of in this mythological sense; he may or may not exist, they might have seen him once, they’ve heard tales of him, but there’s nothing concrete to prove that he exists. To these kids, Batman is everything from a shapeshifting, shadowy ghost, to a giant bat creature, to an invincible robot. The truth is actually very moving, and the animation is simple, fluid and visceral.

The other five Batman tales are action-packed, from fast-paced battles with Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Deadshot, to the occasional contemplative exploration of how Batman became what he is, how he’s helping Gotham, and why he’s loved and hated. The whole series of short films brings us back to the dark, half-frozen-in-time Gotham that we love from the original Animated Series, and the original voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, even voices Batman in all six shorts. Some of the stories seem open ended and unsatisfying until you see how they all tie together, and all of them are tremendously beautiful. So, when I say ‘anime’, I’m not talking Pokemon or Monster Rancher or any other show that advocates cute ‘n’ cuddly cockfighting. Every frame and hint (or absence) of color paints a breathtaking picture of Gotham as it was meant to be seen - an extension of Batman’s being, which he fights tirelessly to cleanse.

After watching it, it’s really clear how much energy, creativity, and faithfulness to Batman was involved in the production - and anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m kinda picky about my Batman. Parents should note that this is a PG-13 DVD - mostly because of an animated decapitation, a little bit of blood, and gun violence. If there was any significant profanity, it didn’t stand out, because it was completely appropriate to the situation.

DVD bonuses for this basic edition are limited to a commentary track, and non-animated ’sneak peek’ at WB’s upcoming Wonder Woman animated movie. There’s a 2-disc edition to look for also, which includes a second disc replete with neat extras - documentaries, Batman episodes and more.

It’s a stellar production, and my favorite of all of the post-Justice League Unlimited Animated Universe. Go out, get it. It’s good to see that cartoons can still be taken seriously.

And collectors! DC Direct releasing a Batman : Black and White statue based on this animation on July 9th, so go out and get that also!

Over the past decade or so, the world of comics has been grudgingly granted some measures of legitimacy, as it fights hard to move beyond the common misconception that it’s all ‘muscles and fights’ and guys punching things and girls with ridiculous proportions and non-costumes (obviously drawn as such to attract the arrested arousal of adolescents and other men trapped on a adolescent state). The whole ‘comics are for kids and losers’ stigma is fading, so I’m a fan of anything that takes comic fantasy seriously as a significant cultural phenomenon. Even if you’re not a fan of comics, you can’t deny the impact they’ve had.

So, when an institution as important as The Met says ‘hey, we’ve got superheroes!’, I listen. Using an array of well-known, super-heroic costumes as inspiration, a small gathering of ultra-famous designers and design studios were summoned to create their own versions of the costumes. The characters represented included Batman, Iron Man, Superman, The Incredible Hulk, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Mystique (and her mutant ilk), and Catwoman - movie versions all. Photography was not allowed, so please click around to see links to photos and videos elsewhere on the web, snapped by braver souls than I.

It was a little disappointing that the paper heart of comic culture was not tapped more heavily, and only the superficial movie costume designs were utilized. If the idea was to access the most popular aspects of the characters, the movie versions of them would be it - even if the ‘movie versions’ of all superhero costumes are much more practical and realistic than their truly fantastic comic counterparts. I can’t help but think that exploring the true depths of comic imagery would have yielded some even more wild and/or sexy results. Of course, the designers made it very apparent that the physical appearance of the costume was pretty much irrelevant - it was what the costume represents that they were exploring.

These weren’t redesigned superhero costumes at all, so don’t let the title of the show fool you into some false sense of familiarity. No one’s fighting anything in these, except for a possibly to-the-death battle with dignity. These ‘costumes’ were all super-manifestations of the essences of superpowers - from abstract, angular sports designs for the speed and aerodynamism of The Flash, to a simple, tremendously ugly brick-pattern-slash-football-outfit to symbolize the strength and endurance of the Hulk.

Being completely ignorant of the fashion world, I wasn’t exceptionally thrilled (or even conscious) of the fancy designer names, nor seeing original designs in the flesh. What I WAS excited about was seeing each original movie costume that the absurd ‘designer’ costumes were inspired by. These included Christopher Reeves’ screen-worn Superman costume (accompanied by an excellent hologram that switched it back and forth between his Clark Kent, civilian attire), the Iron Man Mark II armor, and the surprisingly tiny Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman costume. Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman costume remains in one piece, though it bears the fading and loose threads of a costume ten times its age. The Batman costume of choice wasn’t a classic Adam West getup, or the acceptable Michael Keaton gear, or even the tragically-nippled Schumacher versions, but the Batman outfit from the upcoming Dark Knight film. The Met was so topical that it was showcasing costumes that no one had even seen yet.

If they really wanted to see something, The Met would have tossed out some classic villain costumes to reinterpret. Those guys are crazy, and they don’t care if their helmets have 9-foot tall fins on them, or that purple really doesn’t go with green. While heroes are about unity and coordination, the bad guys survive on discord and discomfort - which are two things that would be really fun to see in a ‘fashion’ sense. As it was, making a spider-webby dress to express Spider-Man is a disappointingly obvious decision, and green, inflatable Hulk muscle vests were a clever juxtaposition of form and function - even if they had zero aesthetic appeal.

It wasn’t unexpected that most of the the fashions were fairly pretentious (using one’s own initials instead of Superman’s trademark ‘S’), and had very little to do with superheroes. Every ‘fashion’ expressed very human qualities - things that heroes happen to occasionally represent when they’re not punching things. Sure, the show addressed the complexity of fictional heroism, but it could have very easily excluded the idea of heroes entirely and focused on the spectrum of human emotions. It might have made it feel a lot more coherent, but also far less appealing to a population that’s ready to embrace superheroes. And I wouldn’t have been able to see Rebecca Romijn’s mutant appliqués in person.

As a small bonus at the end of the show for real hardcore geeks, The Met assembled a collection of the most valuable comics in all of geekdom. We’re talkin’ Action Comics #1 with the first appearance of Superman, the first appearance of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39, and some astonishingly early Batman appearances, all in one place and under plexiglass. For people to tap on, apparently. Why one would tap on the glass in front of an inanimate object as if it were a sleepy kitten, I’m not entirely sure, but it was done. For the record, none of the comics seemed to notice.

The gift shop included some alarmingly (but appropriately) gaudy, $30 t-shirts, a super-glossy show catalogue paperback for $30, or a handsome tin-covered version for $50, among other more common items. The cost prevented me from partaking in the acquisition of new superhero items, as much as I like to extend my tangential superhero book collection.

The show is worth seeing, if only for the original super-costumes. While I came away with a new understanding of exactly what ‘fashion’ is and stands to represent, I’ll leave it to the experts, while I ponder how Wolverine gets his face-pointies to stand so straight. I’m willing to bet that it’s simple cardboard inserts. The show will be open through September 1st, 2008.

[Please read back here, here and here for previous articles about this year’s Toy Fair, for all of its weirdnesses and delights!]

By now, I’d seen the fancy DC Comics dolls over at the immaculate (but welcoming) Tonner booth, but I had other DC figures in mind - and I knew that they could be found at the showrooms of DC Direct and Mattel.

DC Direct is Time-Warner’s in-house DC Comics merchandising group and toy company. DCD makes action figures, prop replicas, statues, Minimates and other great comic items, all aided by the benefit of having original reference materials and current comic artists at their immediate disposal. They are, after all, the source. They’re responsible for a large number of artist-specific and story-specific action figures, which number over 60 each year, created in (unnumbered) limited editions. While you won’t usually find a DC Direct action figure at your Toys ‘R’ Us, you can find them in comic shops and mall entertainment shops, usually at a price of around $15 per figure. They’re a great company if you want the newest bad guy from a recent and major story arc, but they don’t normally address figures like ‘the most iconic Batman’ in a 6” scale. They will, however, give you a Batman drawn by every notable Batman artist in the past 30 years.

Walking the line between ‘action figures’ and ‘dolls’ is the 13” figure line. These feature large, articulated bodies in cloth costumes, and unlike the small figures, these DO successfully capture characters at their most iconic and recognizable, often also accessorizing them with a bevy of weapons, removable parts and packaging them in a beautiful window box. Past offerings in this size have included over a dozen characters, including Batman, Superman, Robin, Catwoman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, Lex Luthor, Two Face and more. Future offerings include The Joker, Harley Quinn, Green Arrow and Bizarro - but the only new announcement for this line during Toy Fair was a re-release of the original, rare Green Lantern figure, which has reached over $300 on eBay since it was released. This new edition will have a slightly different costume, as well as four interchangeable heads, including the basic Hal Jordan mug - with notable GLs Abin Sur and Tomar Re, as well as new fish-headed GL NautKeLoi, rounding out the variety. Sure, these figures are a little too big to fit in next to your 1/6th Sideshow toys, but they’re still fine enough to pass muster as their own thing.

A Wonder Woman figure has been on the drawing board for this line for over two years, with one undecided factor being whether or not she’ll have rooted hair, like a Barbie, or have sculpted hair. I put in my vote for sculpted hair as I spoke to a designer, and everyone else in the showroom chimed in and agreed. I’ve seen my niece’s Barbie-fros, and it would be an unbecoming look for a warrior princess. Plus, the appearance and manufacture of the series’ women should be consistent, and all have had sculpted hair thus far.

We will be getting a large Wonder Woman, though, as a Museum Scale statue. The most eye-catching thing in the showroom was this epic piece, with Wonder Woman standing at roughly 18” tall, wielding weapons and clothed in real fabrics. It’s a beautiful work of art, and it will accompany the previously released Superman and Batman Museum Scale statues. It’s not articulated, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a statue.

Next to her was a 1/2 scale (or, 50% smaller than actual size) Joker bust, which was another impressive and alluring (and slightly creepy) item, designed to accompany the previous Batman bust, also done in the same scale. Both feature details that are luminous and eerily human in person, but photography flattens them. Until you can see the statue’s pores shift in the light, it’s hard to communicate the level of detail in these. Batman’s stubble looks real enough to shave. Or caress, depending on just how you feel about stubble and / or Batman.

And then, we come to the regular action figure lines. 2008 will see the last wave of Alex Ross’ Justice line, rounded out with Supergirl, Captain Cold, Toyman and Batgirl. I’m still geeked out about the Jack Kirby New Gods figures, as well as the line of four ‘Showcase’ figures, which pull from the whole history of DC Comics for favorite artists’ works to turn into figures - including the Superman with three alternate, wacky heads that show the effects of red Kryptonite.

Newly-announced in the All-Star line, which pulls images from both ‘All-Star Batman’ and ‘All-Star Superman’ comics. This line will have the first two Frank Quitely designed figures ever created, those being of Superman and a super-powered Lois Lane. Also in the line will be another Batman and Batgirl, drawn by Jim Lee.

Also newly announced is another wave of ‘Secret Files’ figures, comprised of four Bat-villains : Hugo Strange (in a Batman costume, with an optional Batman head), Poison Ivy, Two Face and a tropical Joker from ‘The Killing Joke’. Slight variations of this Joker and Batman will also be released together in a ‘Killing Joke’ box set, along with a copy of the comic of the same name. Summer convention exclusives promise to be further variants of the same.

It’s also worth noting that DCD has announced a Huntress bust for their second series of ‘Women of the DC Universe’ bust series, all designed by Terry Dodson. The first series, all designed by Adam Hughes, ended at the end of 2007 after a dozen great busts - some of which are worth three times the initial sale price. There are also new Ame-Comi figures happening, based on Donna Troy, Poison Ivy, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna - if you’re into that anime thing.

Here’s some news for World of Warcraft fans : we saw the third wave of figures but weren’t permitted to photograph them. They were great, and the line of four has TWO female figures in it - so run out and buy your Blood Elf chick from the first series now! I’m not a WoW kinda guy, but I like warrior women. My complete collection of Xena DVDs agrees with me.

And Minimates fans, nothing new was on display. Rumor has it that these amazing little guys won’t make it past an 8th wave, which breaks my little plastic heart. If you like them as much as I do, make some noise. It’s a great line, it plays well with others, and the character depth is stellar. I mean, AMBUSH BUG.

[Click here for the full DC Direct Gallery in our Community!]

[Click here for the full Mattel Gallery in our Community!]

After we saw DC’s showrooms, we made our way over to Mattel, who hold the other major component of the DC Comics characters licensing. Mattel takes a different approach to making figures than DCD, so there seems to be enough room for both companies to coexist - inasmuch as Mattel DOES go for the most iconic character appearance possible, and uses a broader selection of recognizable characters that fans have asked for, regardless of current appearances within the comics. Mattel also super-articulates their figures so that they’re very posable (wherein DC Direct uses minimal articulation), and use a build-a-figure system where one can build a 6th, bonus figure if you collect all 5 of the basic figures in a set.

These DC Universe Classics didn’t come with many new announcements, but the display of the next dozen 6” characters was exciting. Wave 1 has been on store shelves for a few months now, and Wave 2 will include Aquaman (modern and classic), Red and Blue Superman (from a brief period a few years ago when he changed his costume), Firestorm (modern and classic), Black Manta, and Harley Quinn, and with parts from 5 of these, you can build a huge Gorilla Grodd. Wave 3 will include Nightwing, Robin, Sinestro (modern and classic), Deathstroke (masked and unmasked), and Hal Jordan Green Lantern. Get five of these together and you can make a huge Solomon Grundy. The makeup of future waves was not yet revealed, but Cyborg and Wonder Woman are definitely in the mix, as 2-up sculptures were displayed of them.

I was surprised by the sudden announcement of the ‘DC Universe Infinite Heroes’ line - a collection of small 3.75” figures spanning an unusual and diverse range of characters. While these little guys don’t yet come close to matching the quality of the large figures, they do seem to have appropriately simple sculpts with basic details, about ten points of pivoting articulation, and hearken back to the classic days of collecting from my youth. Their small size will allow for a larger range of characters to be made in a shorter time, and they’ll also be in scale with your Star Wars and GI Joe guys. That Han Solo / Flash smackdown that you’ve been praying for is about to happen. The reaction to the line has been very mixed, but I’m waiting to see the final product before I pass any kind of summary judgment, as most of the items on display were prototypes. No matter what, I’m getting a Bizarro out of it. Some of the other surprising figures in the lineup were Commissioner Gordon, Mirror Master, Thanagarian Warriors, Black Adam, Batwoman, The Question, and Hush - all of whom are usually second-tier characters at best, and don’t often (if ever) appear as figures.

Barbie collectors, note that a new Black Canary and Supergirl Barbies will be coming out, also! These should sit comfortably with the previously released DC Heroine Barbies of Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Harley Quinn. All of which are in my closet. Don’t laugh.

Mattel has also made action figures for the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight. While the ‘Movie Masters’ line is meant to appeal to the adult collector with a fixation on accuracy and display, a secondary line will feature the requisite Batman in a handful of impractical, brightly-colored armors with action features. Hello, Ice Lobster Helicopter Rescue Batman! Despite the recent death of Heath Ledger, the actor who played the Joker in this movie, it’s reported that the action figure in his likeness will still be released at this time. I can’t help but wonder what the initial eBay hysteria will be like.

Finally, the kid-friendly Super Friends line doesn’t seem to have anything new to add to it either, as the most recent figures of Cyborg and Hawkman are just now trickling out onto shelves, with nothing more planned. A vehicle or two is on the way, and a series of plush dolls - but nothing too noteworthy for the collector. Cuddleworthy, yes.

These two companies are surely holding off on a few big reveals until April’s New York Comic Con, since most of the ‘new’ information was already a few weeks old. Here’s my vote for ‘Doom Patrol’ anything.

Stay tuned on Saturday for toys from your favorite non-comic book forms of entertainment - if you’re entertained by Hellboy and Heroes. Which I am.