Gotham sings! Batman musical will premiere at Comic-Con

Jon Burlingame checks in with this fun piece on a catchy new tune echoing in the Batcave. And, no, it's not Adam West and the Batusi or Prince's "Batdance."

Ready for a superhero musical? Usually the answer is, no, no we're not. There’s been only one superhero musical of note: “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman,” which didn’t last four months on Broadway in 1966.

Admittedly, $40 million is being spent on “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” coming to Broadway next year. But even with Bono and the Edge doing the music, that’s a creative crapshoot, as conventional wisdom has always been that it’s enough trouble persuading audiences to believe in flying crime-fighters wearing colorful tights, much less breaking into song.

Still, the producers of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” the animated series that airs Friday nights on the Cartoon Network, are confident enough in the first Batman musical -- titled “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” -- which they’re unveiling to fans Friday at Comic-Con International in San Diego before its airing when the series returns for its second season in the fall.

In this most lighthearted take on the Caped Crusader since the Adam West series of the 1960s, “How I Met Your Mother” star (and upcoming Emmy host) Neil Patrick Harris voices the villain the Music Meister.

“It was always in the back of my mind that a musical would be a fun thing to do,” says James Tucker, producer of the series. A musical theater fan, he enlisted his co-producer Michael Jelenic to collaborate. Together, they came up with what Tucker calls “a bare-bones framework of a plot to hang the songs on. We didn’t want to do ‘Les Miserables' or ‘Sweeney Todd.’”

Batman, along with fellow heroes Green Arrow, Aquaman and Black Canary, and villains Gorilla Grodd, Black Manta and Clock King are powerless to resist the voice of the Music Meister, who naturally plans to control the world. Over five songs that occupy 18 of the show’s 22 minutes, the plot is revealed and foiled, along with a love-story subplot that fans of the DC comics will recognize and maybe even find touching.

This all started in July of last year, when Tucker and Jelenic met with “Batman” composers Lolita Ritmanis, Michael McCuistion and Kristopher Carter (all of whom won 2001 Emmys for scoring an earlier animated series, “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker”). It would be up to the trio -- who together have scored hundreds of Warner Bros. superhero cartoons dating to 1991 -- to make it all work musically.

Ritmanis, who had the most experience working on musicals, acknowledges that she was “a little gun-shy,” knowing that they had only three months to do what often takes a year of writing and rewriting. Yet, she says, “for us to be in on the beginning phase was thrilling, because usually we come in at the very end,” providing underscore that punches up the action dramatically or quietly supports the dialogue.

“They knew what they wanted the songs to do,” McCuistion adds. All three composers were impressed that the producers were following musical theater tradition in using songs to move the story forward. Tucker and Jelenic -- neither of whom had any songwriting experience -- went off to write lyrics, which the composers later set to music within specific musical styles.

Says Jelenic, “When we conceived a musical, we didn’t necessarily want to wink at the audience. We wanted it to stand on its own -- yet some of the lyrics are really absurd.” He hopes it works for audiences on multiple levels.

The opening song, which introduces the Music Meister, needed to be part “Guys and Dolls,” part Stephen Sondheim, McCuistion said. Ritmanis got to write the big ballad “If Only,” in which several characters yearn for their imagined soul mates.

The biggest challenge was the finale, which Tucker says demanded “a big, over-the-top, Busby Berkeley feel,” yet at the same time, Carter adds, needed to function as a grand “tango of death.” There is also a rock number and a funny patter song in which all the villains complain about Batman.

Harris was everyone’s first choice as the villain, since he had done voices for “Justice League” and “Spider-Man,” and proved his musical mettle onstage in such productions as “Rent” and “Assassins.” Tucker saw him in “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson Theatre in 1999 and remembered how good he was.

“Eighty-five percent of this episode is music,” says casting and voice director Andrea Romano, “so we needed somebody who was going to be able to handle this quickly and easily. Neil just flew through his session. It really was a perfect marriage of role and actor.”

Luckily, most of the other regulars were talented singers, notably Grey DeLisle (Black Canary) and James Arnold Taylor (Green Arrow). Diedrich Bader, who regularly voices Batman, stepped aside for Jeff Bennett to sing in the final number.

Tucker thinks this concept would never have worked on the earlier Warner Bros. comic book shows, many of which he worked on as designer, storyboard artist and director. All were too serious in tone. “Brave and the Bold” was just different enough.

“We wanted to free up Batman to be fun again,” he says. “This show has been so wild and out of the box that we can do a musical and no one will question it at all.” The studio even agreed to hire a 28-piece orchestra, similar to that granted to the composers of “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” but nowadays considered a luxury in children’s animation, which is usually scored with synthesizers and samplers.

Could the Music Meister return in another Batman musical? Ritmanis answers with a smile: “I have an idea that maybe he could return on Broadway.”

-- Jon Burlingame

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Credits: Batman images: DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Superman: Los Angeles Times.

I saw Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" a few weeks ago and I have to say I walked out of the screening feeling disappointed.

I'm a big Johnny Depp fan (who isn't?), I love the source material (the brilliant book of the same title by Brian Burroughs) and I consider director Mann to be one of the most gifted filmmakers in Hollywood. But even with all that (or maybe because of all that) I didn't get everything I needed out of this efficient but oddly inert period piece. I'm also thinking that maybe Christian Bale should make fewer movies. Christian, how can we miss you if you won't go away?

There's a different "Public Enemies" on the horizon and it doesn't involve Jack Sparrow and John Connor squaring off with tommy guns. In September, DC will release  "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies," the sixth release in the series of PG-13 animated films that are made for the home video market. Today we have some advance art from the film.

 

The film is based on the 2003 comics saga by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness. It was very popular, but I have to say it just wasn't one of my favorites ... maybe I need to lower my standards. Or stop writing about movies with this title. (Looks like there was a 1941 comedy about newspaperman called "Public Enemies" that had William Frawley, Fred from "I Love Lucy," as a co-star ... hmmmm.)  

Here's a blurb from DC: 

In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Batman: The Animated Series." Tim Daly ("Private Practice"), Kevin Conroy ("Justice League") and Clancy Brown ("The Shawshank Redemption") reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.

 

There are a lot of extras on the DVD for "Superman\Batman: Public Enemies." Among them are a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming "Blackest Night" comics event; "A Test of Minds," a featurette with Loeb looking at the relationship between the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader; and “Dinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy,” with the voice actor sitting down with voice director Andrea Romano, DC's Gregory Noveck and the very gifted producer Bruce Timm. There's even more on the Blu-ray, including bonus epsiodes of "Justice League" and "Justice League: Unlimited."

-- Geoff Boucher 

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Artwork courtesy of DC Comics. Jerry Robinson photo by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times.

I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.

As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.

Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:

We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.

Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there.  And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.

Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.

The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:

1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)

2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

3) Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica")

4) Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files")

5) Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, "Terminator," "T2")

6) Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, "Star Wars" series)

7) Rose Tyler (Billie Piper, "Doctor Who")

8) Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping, "Stargate SG-1")

9) Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, "Star Trek")

10) Leeloo (Milla Jovovich, "The Fifth Element")

11) Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, "Heroes")

12) Storm (Halle Berry, "X-Men")

13) Pris (Daryl Hannah, "Blade Runner")

14) Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer, "Batman Returns")

15) Barbarella (Jane Fonda, "Barbarella")

16) Sarah-Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen, "The Sarah-Jane Adventures" / "Doctor Who")

17) Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox, "Transformers")

18) Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian, "Babylon 5")

19) Number Six (Tricia Helfer, "Battlestar Galactica")

20) Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, "Star Trek: Voyager")

21) Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

22) Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter, "Wonder Woman")

23) Xena (Lucy Lawless, Xena: "Warrior Princess")

24) Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, "Alias")

25) Marina (Stingray)

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo credits: "Aliens" - 20th Century Fox. "Star Wars" - Lucasfilm Ltd. "X-Men" - 20th Century Fox.  "Xena Warrior Princess" - Reuters.

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Remember the "Batman's Bad Day" video? Here's the silly sequel...

   

These "Batman-the-sad-sack-mortal-in-a-world-of-superheroes" spoofs never get old. Or do they? Hmmm.

Seen any good fan videos lately? Leave a link in the comments section, and I'll put the best ones up.

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If you read DC Comics in the 1960s and '70s you were probably looking at images drawn by Carmine Infantino or influenced by him. Just as Jack Kirby was the signature force at rival Marvel Comics, Infantino was an inescapable presence at DC, where the Space Age brought a new science-based, cerebral tone that fit his angular style and sleek, kinetic flair.

Infantino was so adept at creating striking images that, after Marvel's failed 1967 attempt to steal him away, the veteran went on to become DC's artistic director ... then editorial director ... and then publisher. One of his first moves in the top post: luring Kirby away from the House of Ideas and onto the DC roster. Don't think for a minute that talent doesn't recognize talent.       

Infantino is celebrating his 84th birthday today and here at the mighty Hero Complex we thought that would be a wonderful excuse to dip into the vault and reflect on his singular style. Infantino's career stretched out six decades but it was his Silver Age work on Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash, where his elegant lines and eye-catching composition made for a special kind of magic.       

      
   

--Geoff Boucher

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Illustration: The Flash. Credit: Alex Ross / DC Comics  

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

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 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

'Public Enemies' ... no not that one, the one with the superheroes

I saw Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" a few weeks ago and I have to say I walked out of the screening feeling disappointed.

I'm a big Johnny Depp fan (who isn't?), I love the source material (the brilliant book of the same title by Brian Burroughs) and I consider director Mann to be one of the most gifted filmmakers in Hollywood. But even with all that (or maybe because of all that) I didn't get everything I needed out of this efficient but oddly inert period piece. I'm also thinking that maybe Christian Bale should make fewer movies. Christian, how can we miss you if you won't go away?

There's a different "Public Enemies" on the horizon and it doesn't involve Jack Sparrow and John Connor squaring off with tommy guns. In September, DC will release  "Superman/Batman: Public Enemies," the sixth release in the series of PG-13 animated films that are made for the home video market. Today we have some advance art from the film.

 

The film is based on the 2003 comics saga by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness. It was very popular, but I have to say it just wasn't one of my favorites ... maybe I need to lower my standards. Or stop writing about movies with this title. (Looks like there was a 1941 comedy about newspaperman called "Public Enemies" that had William Frawley, Fred from "I Love Lucy," as a co-star ... hmmmm.)  

Here's a blurb from DC: 

In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark "Superman: The Animated Series" and "Batman: The Animated Series." Tim Daly ("Private Practice"), Kevin Conroy ("Justice League") and Clancy Brown ("The Shawshank Redemption") reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.

 

There are a lot of extras on the DVD for "Superman\Batman: Public Enemies." Among them are a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming "Blackest Night" comics event; "A Test of Minds," a featurette with Loeb looking at the relationship between the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader; and “Dinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy,” with the voice actor sitting down with voice director Andrea Romano, DC's Gregory Noveck and the very gifted producer Bruce Timm. There's even more on the Blu-ray, including bonus epsiodes of "Justice League" and "Justice League: Unlimited."

-- Geoff Boucher 

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Ode to Carmine Infantino, the flashiest artist of the silver age

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Fallen 'Heroes': Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander fired 

VIDEO: Batman and Superman fight ... to the death

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Artwork courtesy of DC Comics. Jerry Robinson photo by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times.

I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.

As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.

Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:

We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.

Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there.  And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.

Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.

The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:

1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)

2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

3) Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica")

4) Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files")

5) Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, "Terminator," "T2")

6) Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, "Star Wars" series)

7) Rose Tyler (Billie Piper, "Doctor Who")

8) Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping, "Stargate SG-1")

9) Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, "Star Trek")

10) Leeloo (Milla Jovovich, "The Fifth Element")

11) Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, "Heroes")

12) Storm (Halle Berry, "X-Men")

13) Pris (Daryl Hannah, "Blade Runner")

14) Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer, "Batman Returns")

15) Barbarella (Jane Fonda, "Barbarella")

16) Sarah-Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen, "The Sarah-Jane Adventures" / "Doctor Who")

17) Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox, "Transformers")

18) Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian, "Babylon 5")

19) Number Six (Tricia Helfer, "Battlestar Galactica")

20) Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, "Star Trek: Voyager")

21) Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

22) Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter, "Wonder Woman")

23) Xena (Lucy Lawless, Xena: "Warrior Princess")

24) Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, "Alias")

25) Marina (Stingray)

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo credits: "Aliens" - 20th Century Fox. "Star Wars" - Lucasfilm Ltd. "X-Men" - 20th Century Fox.  "Xena Warrior Princess" - Reuters.

RECENT AND RELATED

Beyonce wants to lasso the role of Wonder Woman

Princess Leia strikes back at 'Star Wars' and George Lucas

A Whedon-less Buffyverse continues

Starbuck speaks! Katee Sackhoff on the final days of 'Battlestar Galactica'

Lights, shining on Wonder Woman

Dan Akyroyd says Sigourney Weaver ready for "Ghosbusters 3"

Remember the "Batman's Bad Day" video? Here's the silly sequel...

   

These "Batman-the-sad-sack-mortal-in-a-world-of-superheroes" spoofs never get old. Or do they? Hmmm.

Seen any good fan videos lately? Leave a link in the comments section, and I'll put the best ones up.

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

<< Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Come out of the cave! Batman is addicted to videogames 

If you read DC Comics in the 1960s and '70s you were probably looking at images drawn by Carmine Infantino or influenced by him. Just as Jack Kirby was the signature force at rival Marvel Comics, Infantino was an inescapable presence at DC, where the Space Age brought a new science-based, cerebral tone that fit his angular style and sleek, kinetic flair.

Infantino was so adept at creating striking images that, after Marvel's failed 1967 attempt to steal him away, the veteran went on to become DC's artistic director ... then editorial director ... and then publisher. One of his first moves in the top post: luring Kirby away from the House of Ideas and onto the DC roster. Don't think for a minute that talent doesn't recognize talent.       

Infantino is celebrating his 84th birthday today and here at the mighty Hero Complex we thought that would be a wonderful excuse to dip into the vault and reflect on his singular style. Infantino's career stretched out six decades but it was his Silver Age work on Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash, where his elegant lines and eye-catching composition made for a special kind of magic.       

      
   

--Geoff Boucher

David S. Goyer on Green Lantern and the Flash as film franchises

Shhhh...Grant Morrison is "deeply involved" in "The Flash" film

For you inner Boy Wonder: Top 10 vintage Batman toys

Adam West, back in the Batmobile

VIDEO: Batman and Superman fight...to the death!

Silver Age memories: Fred Hembeck reeling in the years

Illustration: The Flash. Credit: Alex Ross / DC Comics  

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Mr. T talks smack to Superman

VIDEO: "Watchmen," now Saturday morning safe

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

No. 1 sci-fi woman of all time? Ripley, believe it or not

I'm a big fan of lists, so is Jevon Phillips, a star contributor here at Hero Complex. Here's his take on a recent tally of the women of sci-fi....or is that sigh-fi? -- G.B.

As usual, there's a lot to dispute about anyone having a top so-and-so list, but Totalscifionline.com's 25 women who shook up sci-fi isn't too startling. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Star Trek" are the only franchises with multiple entries on the list (and rightfully so). Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley of "Alien" fame was named First Lady of Sci-Fi.

Of course, there were parameters, which the site laid out like so:

We've limited ourselves to TV and film - SF and fantasy literature probably warrants a further list all of its own - and in those instances where multiple actresses have portrayed a character, we’ve written who we believe gave the most definitive performance in brackets. No doubt there are many characters you feel we’ve left off.

Yeah, yeah -- and the site does include a more in-depth examination of each choice. There will be debate over ones who didn't make it. I really like River Tam on "Firefly" -- but it was short-lived -- and the women of "Cleopatra 2525" and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in "The Matrix" and ... well, let's stop there.  And there may be some on the list who deserve to be higher. Wonder Woman and Xena, 22 and 23? Hey, I like Leeloo and Claire bear, but not over those two icons.

Again, it can be debated (Lois Lane! "Bionic Woman!") until we're all breathless, but give the site credit for taking on the task. Here's their final list. Let the comments flow.

The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi:

1) Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien" series)

2) Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

3) Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica")

4) Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson, "The X-Files")

5) Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, "Terminator," "T2")

6) Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, "Star Wars" series)

7) Rose Tyler (Billie Piper, "Doctor Who")

8) Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping, "Stargate SG-1")

9) Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols, "Star Trek")

10) Leeloo (Milla Jovovich, "The Fifth Element")

11) Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, "Heroes")

12) Storm (Halle Berry, "X-Men")

13) Pris (Daryl Hannah, "Blade Runner")

14) Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer, "Batman Returns")

15) Barbarella (Jane Fonda, "Barbarella")

16) Sarah-Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen, "The Sarah-Jane Adventures" / "Doctor Who")

17) Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox, "Transformers")

18) Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian, "Babylon 5")

19) Number Six (Tricia Helfer, "Battlestar Galactica")

20) Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew, "Star Trek: Voyager")

21) Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer")

22) Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter, "Wonder Woman")

23) Xena (Lucy Lawless, Xena: "Warrior Princess")

24) Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, "Alias")

25) Marina (Stingray)

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo credits: "Aliens" - 20th Century Fox. "Star Wars" - Lucasfilm Ltd. "X-Men" - 20th Century Fox.  "Xena Warrior Princess" - Reuters.

RECENT AND RELATED

Beyonce wants to lasso the role of Wonder Woman

Princess Leia strikes back at 'Star Wars' and George Lucas

A Whedon-less Buffyverse continues

Starbuck speaks! Katee Sackhoff on the final days of 'Battlestar Galactica'

Lights, shining on Wonder Woman

Dan Akyroyd says Sigourney Weaver ready for "Ghosbusters 3"

Remember the "Batman's Bad Day" video? Here's the silly sequel...

   

These "Batman-the-sad-sack-mortal-in-a-world-of-superheroes" spoofs never get old. Or do they? Hmmm.

Seen any good fan videos lately? Leave a link in the comments section, and I'll put the best ones up.

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

<< Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Come out of the cave! Batman is addicted to videogames 

If you read DC Comics in the 1960s and '70s you were probably looking at images drawn by Carmine Infantino or influenced by him. Just as Jack Kirby was the signature force at rival Marvel Comics, Infantino was an inescapable presence at DC, where the Space Age brought a new science-based, cerebral tone that fit his angular style and sleek, kinetic flair.

Infantino was so adept at creating striking images that, after Marvel's failed 1967 attempt to steal him away, the veteran went on to become DC's artistic director ... then editorial director ... and then publisher. One of his first moves in the top post: luring Kirby away from the House of Ideas and onto the DC roster. Don't think for a minute that talent doesn't recognize talent.       

Infantino is celebrating his 84th birthday today and here at the mighty Hero Complex we thought that would be a wonderful excuse to dip into the vault and reflect on his singular style. Infantino's career stretched out six decades but it was his Silver Age work on Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash, where his elegant lines and eye-catching composition made for a special kind of magic.       

      
   

--Geoff Boucher

David S. Goyer on Green Lantern and the Flash as film franchises

Shhhh...Grant Morrison is "deeply involved" in "The Flash" film

For you inner Boy Wonder: Top 10 vintage Batman toys

Adam West, back in the Batmobile

VIDEO: Batman and Superman fight...to the death!

Silver Age memories: Fred Hembeck reeling in the years

Illustration: The Flash. Credit: Alex Ross / DC Comics  

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Mr. T talks smack to Superman

VIDEO: "Watchmen," now Saturday morning safe

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Batman's bad day, continued...

Remember the "Batman's Bad Day" video? Here's the silly sequel...

   

These "Batman-the-sad-sack-mortal-in-a-world-of-superheroes" spoofs never get old. Or do they? Hmmm.

Seen any good fan videos lately? Leave a link in the comments section, and I'll put the best ones up.

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

<< Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Come out of the cave! Batman is addicted to videogames 

If you read DC Comics in the 1960s and '70s you were probably looking at images drawn by Carmine Infantino or influenced by him. Just as Jack Kirby was the signature force at rival Marvel Comics, Infantino was an inescapable presence at DC, where the Space Age brought a new science-based, cerebral tone that fit his angular style and sleek, kinetic flair.

Infantino was so adept at creating striking images that, after Marvel's failed 1967 attempt to steal him away, the veteran went on to become DC's artistic director ... then editorial director ... and then publisher. One of his first moves in the top post: luring Kirby away from the House of Ideas and onto the DC roster. Don't think for a minute that talent doesn't recognize talent.       

Infantino is celebrating his 84th birthday today and here at the mighty Hero Complex we thought that would be a wonderful excuse to dip into the vault and reflect on his singular style. Infantino's career stretched out six decades but it was his Silver Age work on Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash, where his elegant lines and eye-catching composition made for a special kind of magic.       

      
   

--Geoff Boucher

David S. Goyer on Green Lantern and the Flash as film franchises

Shhhh...Grant Morrison is "deeply involved" in "The Flash" film

For you inner Boy Wonder: Top 10 vintage Batman toys

Adam West, back in the Batmobile

VIDEO: Batman and Superman fight...to the death!

Silver Age memories: Fred Hembeck reeling in the years

Illustration: The Flash. Credit: Alex Ross / DC Comics  

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Mr. T talks smack to Superman

VIDEO: "Watchmen," now Saturday morning safe

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Happy birthday to Carmine Infantino, the flashiest artist of the Silver Age

If you read DC Comics in the 1960s and '70s you were probably looking at images drawn by Carmine Infantino or influenced by him. Just as Jack Kirby was the signature force at rival Marvel Comics, Infantino was an inescapable presence at DC, where the Space Age brought a new science-based, cerebral tone that fit his angular style and sleek, kinetic flair.

Infantino was so adept at creating striking images that, after Marvel's failed 1967 attempt to steal him away, the veteran went on to become DC's artistic director ... then editorial director ... and then publisher. One of his first moves in the top post: luring Kirby away from the House of Ideas and onto the DC roster. Don't think for a minute that talent doesn't recognize talent.       

Infantino is celebrating his 84th birthday today and here at the mighty Hero Complex we thought that would be a wonderful excuse to dip into the vault and reflect on his singular style. Infantino's career stretched out six decades but it was his Silver Age work on Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash, where his elegant lines and eye-catching composition made for a special kind of magic.       

      
   

--Geoff Boucher

David S. Goyer on Green Lantern and the Flash as film franchises

Shhhh...Grant Morrison is "deeply involved" in "The Flash" film

For you inner Boy Wonder: Top 10 vintage Batman toys

Adam West, back in the Batmobile

VIDEO: Batman and Superman fight...to the death!

Silver Age memories: Fred Hembeck reeling in the years

Illustration: The Flash. Credit: Alex Ross / DC Comics  

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Mr. T talks smack to Superman

VIDEO: "Watchmen," now Saturday morning safe

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Batman's got game

Video game addiction is a serious problem in America....even in Gotham City.

-- Geoff Boucher

MORE RANDOM SILLINESS

VIDEO: Batman vs. Superman...to the death 

Top 10 vintage Batman toys...including a somewhat lewd watergun

VIDEO: "SNL" flashback, superhero party circa 1979

VIDEO: Mr. T talks smack to Superman

VIDEO: "Watchmen," now Saturday morning safe

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Top 10 vintage Batman toys, for your inner Boy Wonder

 Today we have a special treat for you here on the Hero Complex. We've been impressed with the serious fanboy obsessiveness of the Bat Blog, a colorful corner of the Internet devoted to the Caped Crusader and the mountain of collectibles that bear his pointy-eared visage. So today we venture into the Batcave and turn the Complex over to collector expert Tommy from Bat-Blog, for a guest column: The 10 coolest vintage Batman toys. It's a great list -- although we're not quite sure what's going with that water gun...

10. 1960s Batman Figure Water Gun

This vintage Batman toy is a total blast. It's a 1966 Batman plastic toy water gun, released the same year that Adam West debuted in Batman's cape and cowl on television and also hit theaters with the tie-in film.

This item was created in a way more innocent time and I bet they never gave any thought at all about where they had placed the trigger for this toy. For that matter, they probably didn't even care about where the water plug was either.

As you can imagine, Batman collectors really love this item for its kitsch appeal and because it's really funny.

9. Battery-Operated Bump-N-Go Batmobile

It would be totally impossible to do any Batman toy list without mentioning the super-famous Batmobile. I mean, come on, that's one of the coolest pieces of bat-gear.

This toy was one of those battery-operated Bump-N-Go Cars. You flip the switch and this thing went nuts! It had sound effects and lights that blinked ... kids loved it.

Today, it's a really great display piece and a fave of Batman collectors.

8. Chad Valley Give-A-Show Bat-Projector

You might remember these Give-A-Show toys from your childhood. I recall as a little kid having the one with Popeye, and I really loved it.

But this one was produced in Great Britain and is extremely hard to find here in the U.S. Heck, it's even hard to find in the U.K.!

I also included it on the list because the vintage-style graphics are so distinctive and eye-catching.

7. Batman Bicycle Ornament

This is the 1966 official Batman bicycle ornament.

It was a hollow plastic figure of Batman that clamped on to your handlebars, and it had a spring that made the caped crusader go berserk as you cruised your neighborhood.

You know, there's something I've always loved about toys from this era and it goes beyond the actual product. At the time, the box-art often showed children using the product and really, really grinning.

I mean, this kid looks pretty darn happy with the product right here.

6. Japanese Tin Toy Batmobile

Another Batmobile makes the list! 

This one is a Japanese friction-driven tin toy.

Now, why is this Batmobile "more cool" than the previous one?  Well, from a toy collector's point-of-view, it's a lot harder to find because it was "Sold Only in Japan." 

Plus, it's a unique variation. And OK, it's a sports car!

5 - Captain Action Doll Batman Costume

In 1966, to compete with Hasbro's G.I. JOE, the Ideal Toy Company created CAPTAIN ACTION.

The accessorized approach was very similar, but instead of being a military man, this captain could do his heroic duty in the costumes of various crime fighters and adventure stars.

There was Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and many more. Of course, our favorite Caped Crusader was the most popular!

  4. Batman and Robin Friction Toy Cars by MARX

These wonderful toys from the past were made by the MARX Toy Co.

The cars are made of tin litho and the heads of Batman and Robin are vinyl rubber.

Nobody really knows why this pair is so extremely rare but expect to pay a few hundred dollars for them.

That is, if you can find them!

3. Japanese Batman Ray Gun

OK, I really don't need to explain why this item is so awesome ... just check out the picture.

First, it's a tin toy ray gun, which is always cool. Second, the graphics have Japanese lettering, very beautiful.

Plus, did I mention Japan?

Japan was among many countries that got caught up in the whole Batman TV show craze. In fact, there's an entire sub-culture of the toy collecting community that is totally devoted to these treasures.

And now the final two...

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

'Joker' creator Jerry Robinson reflects on Gotham and the golden age

My interview with Jerry Robinson will run in this Sunday's Calendar section in the Los Angeles Times; here's an early look at it for you Hero Complex readers. This version is also longer than the one that will appear in print.  

Jerry Robinson, an essential figure in the early history of Batman and the American comic book, has many of his vintage ink treasures on display right now at the Skirball Cultural Center, among them his original 1940 sketch of the Joker, the cackling clown who today rivals Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter in popcorn-movie villainy. But, in Robinson’s long and wandering career as an illustrator, this new, sleek installation is hardly the most important art show — that distinction belongs to a one-man exhibit he staged 70 years ago on a tennis court in the Catskills.

Robinson was fresh from high school graduation in Trenton, N.J., and saving his nickels for college, but his mother was worried about his health; he had been peddling (and pedaling) for weeks as a bicycle ice-cream salesman, and the wiry teen was under 90 pounds. At her insistence, he splurged on a visit to a leafy resort and arrived on its tennis court wearing a white painter’s jacket that he had decorated with his cartoons, the same sort that had made him a popular contributor to his school paper.

“That was a fad then, kids would get these linen jackets with all the pockets and personalize them with all this razzmatazz,” he recalled. “I was wearing mine as a warm-up jacket and someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked, ‘Hey, who drew that stuff?’ It was Bob Kane, who had just finished the first issue of Batman [which was "Detective Comics" No. 27]. I didn’t even know what that was. He showed me the issue that was on sale there at the local village. I wasn’t very impressed.”

Robinson, however, was impressed with Kane’s offer of a drawing-table job in New York. The teenager had been accepted at three universities and had planned on Syracuse, but after the serendipitous meeting, he phoned Columbia in the city and said he was on the way. Just to complete the giddy Frank Capra-esque sweep of the story, Robinson was spared a bus ride when a resort guest, the celebrated tenor Jan Peerce, offered him a lift.

“I went straight from the resort to the city and I had never been to New York before and there I am arriving in a fancy car with a driver and sitting next to a man who would be a star at the Met,” he recalled. “It was the beginning of everything for me.”

Robinson shook his head and smiled. Born on New Year’s Day, 1922, the artist still has the lean physique, tan and alert eyes of a lifelong tennis player. He lives in Manhattan but, on a recent afternoon, he was visiting the Skirball to check on the exhibit of his collection of original drawings from the golden age of comics, an archive that, quite literally, is a lesson in the potential of trash to reach museum walls.

In the years after he met Kane, Robinson worked on “Batman” and other comics and made a habit of rescuing the drawings by his peers that routinely ended up in the garbage. Those poster-sized pages — many worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — make up the heart of the Skirball exhibit that is indelicately titled “ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950.” The exhibit, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, runs through Aug. 9.

Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Joe Shuster, Mac Raboy, Lou Fine and Robinson are some of the artists featured, a circle of young Jewish artists who became the basis for the ink-stained dreamers in Michael Chabon’s wistful, Pulitzer-winning novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” The Jewish heritage of those creators makes the exhibit a natural for the Skirball, said Robinson, who is now working on a book about Jewish traditions echoing in classic comics art.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Paul Dini will be the Hero Complex guest at Festival of Books

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is underway and I'm headed over to Westwood shortly for all the excitement. It's a gorgeous day here in Southern California (big surprise) and the festival is one of the real sparkling events here every year so I'm looking forward to meandering the UCLA campus and meeting some authors and, hopefully, some of you readers as well.

I told you the other day about two stage discussions I'll be handling and now I have good news about a third: On Sunday at 3 p.m., I'll be joined on stage at the Los Angeles Times Pavilion by Paul Dini, one of the real nice guys in the entertainment industry and a man who has had success in animation, comics, sci-fi television and just about every other area of interest for Hero Complex readers.

I became a fan of his work with the wonderful "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Superman: The Animated Series," which, to this day, may be the most consistently satisfying incarnations of both those characters beyond the printed page. I'm not the only one who admires his labors: He has won the Eisner and Harvey awards and has a shelf full of Emmys.

I'll be chatting with him about his own projects, his collaborations with people including George Lucas and Kevin Smith, his stint with "Lost"  and his thoughts on this dazzling era we live in when, for better or worse, fanboy tastes seem to rule in Hollywood and beyond. The pavilion is free, as is the entire festival, so hope to see you there.

-- Geoff Boucher

Credit: Batman image courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros.

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips

Harley in 'Arkham', Chris Evans in 'Losers' and Hugh Jackman on free comics in Everyday Hero headlines

Fan favorite. Harley Quinn, or Dr. Harleen Quinzel, has never really been the main, go-to villain when fighting against The Dark Knight. But in Eidos' "Batman: Arkham Asylum," the squeaky-voiced Joker sidekick gets a new uniform and the spotlight.

Not that we do a lot of video game coverage on Hero Complex, but this tidbit looks interesting.

Harley, previous reports of back-breaker Bane and the Joker's orchestrations could make this an awesome game just for the storytelling experience alone!

* * * * * *

Chris Evans wants to be a Loser. "The Fantastic Four" and "Push" actor is apparently in talks to play Jensen, the tech guru on the special forces elite team that is the subject of the DC Comics/Vertigo comic "The Losers." Johnny Storm is on a comic-book role roll. Keep it up! [Mania.com]

* * * * * *

They're free comics, bub. In a couple of weeks, Free Comic Book Day arrives (May 2).  With a new video, Hugh Jackman is doing his part to make sure everyone knows. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is the day after his "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie hits the screens, but Hugh always seems so sincere!

And for those of you who want to know what you'll be picking up when you head to your local comic book store, there is a list online of all that'll be available, including the first-ever all-new title for a Free Comic Book Day: DC's Blackest Night #0, a prelude to their huge Blackest Night / Green Lantern event launching later this year.

-- Jevon Phillips