CRIVENS! COMICS & STUFF!: GERRY ANDERSON'S BATMAN..?

Monday, 20 September 2010

GERRY ANDERSON'S BATMAN..?

"Where's my swimming trunks?"

You're looking at a LOUIS MARX TOYS' TWISTABLE BATMAN, which I assume was readily available in all good toy shops at the height of the 'Bat-craze' back in the mid-1960s. (I owned several in my time, all purchased (on different occasions) from a super little shop known as NURSERYLAND. "Everything for Baby" it boasted, but it also sported quite a wide range of toys for kids of all ages.)

He was produced without trunks, but that apart, was a fantastic fun figure - looking for all the world like a GERRY ANDERSON puppet. Is that STEVE ZODIAC under the Bat cape and cowl? Sure looks like him to me - what about the rest of you?

Apparently, pristine examples of this toy can fetch up to £700 (according to a dealer who's well-known for charging about three times that of everyone else), but I managed to pick up mine for a mere £30. It still had the original cape, although it was torn and tatty, but was missing the belt, Bat emblem and Bat-a-rang. I made a new cape using the original as a template, and recreated the other missing items, which - although not original - suffice for the purpose of display.

All in all, a nice little acquisition. Anyone got a spare Bat-a-rang and Utility belt they can sell me? If so, get in touch.

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About the artist:

From 1985 to 2000 A.D. (little joke there), I contributed to a variety of high profile comics and magazines for various companies.

For IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT, I freelanced as a lettering and logo artist on various weekly comics and monthly magazines, and also as a resize comic artist and spot illustrator on pocket books, summer specials and annuals.

For MARVEL U.K., BLACK LIBRARY, REDAN and USBORNE BOOKS, I again freelanced as a lettering artist, also working as a restoration artist for MARVEL U.S., restoring and re-creating certain pages of JACK KIRBY art for their MARVEL MASTERWORKS editions.

I also lettered the MARVELMAN sample pages submitted to MARVEL U.S. when they were considering acquiring the character, which - as we all now know - they DID.

Supplied comic strips, cartoons and illustrated advertisements for local business campaigns and newspaper publication on a professional basis since the age of 16. Did my first paid art job for publication at 14 or 15 for Lanarkshire Education Board.

Have also made TV appearances as a collector of memorabilia.

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Just some of the titles I worked on are:

2000 A.D. * JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE * DICEMAN * SONIC The COMIC * JUDGE DREDD, LAWMAN Of The FUTURE * CRISIS * REVOLVER * EAGLE * TIGER * BATTLE ACTION-FORCE * BUSTER * WHIZZER & CHIPS * WHOOPEE * NIPPER * SCHOOL FUN * ACE VENTURA, PET DETECTIVE * The REAL GHOSTBUSTERS * DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE * COUNT DUCKULA * RUGRATS * The TRANSFORMERS * DEATH'S HEAD * THUNDERCATS * GALAXY RANGERS * DRAGON'S CLAWS * SINDY * MARVEL MASTERWORKS * The TROLLS * LOADED * INFERNO * WARHAMMER * ROSE BLACK.

Copyright Notice:

Images remain the property of their respective copyright owners and are used here only for the purpose of review, promotion, and nostalgia.

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In the case of images culled from my own collection where copyright of an item isn't mine, I impose no copying restrictions on fellow bloggers.

(Although, if you don't allow copying on your own site, then you really shouldn't be copying from others, should you?)

And while you can credit this blog if you like, it's not mandatory. Who has time to make notes of every casually visited site during an idle browse of the Internet?

In the case of anyone copying images of my own artwork and calligraphy, I affirm my right to be identified as the creator, and any such copying should not be for the purpose of monetary or material gain. (Unless it's mine.)

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Please also note that this blog is not sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to, any organisation, business, or group, and is wholly independent.