In the wake of Adam West's sad passing I have been reminiscing with Andy B a little.
We thought it might be the right time to talk about the importance of Batman and bat toys for our generation and probably every generation since - and maybe the one before us Baby Boomers.
Like Superman Batman has been around as long as sliced bread.
Adam West's Batman, the definative caped crusader, spawned hundreds of toys, games, puzzles, books, comics and records to name but a few parts of the bats merchandise machine in the Sixties.
There are also thousands of devoted Batman fans and collectors today and the scores of blogs and websites on the net reflect this. With each new film and comic new fans join the bat-talion every year.
After the excitement of watching Batman on TV first time round in the Sixties and enjoying the dark knight's superb die-cast Batmobiles I once again returned to the warmth of the bat-cave as an adult along with several million others who gawped at Michael Keaton's new Batman in 1989.
Keaton was so significant for me.
His turn as Bats in Tim Burton's gothic homage re-ignited the Gotham mythos and without doubt sparked my own interest in vintage toys. The slew of action figures and vehicles filling the shops in 89/90 was the first time I had noticed the awesome pulling-power of film-related merchandising since I was a kid.
I wuz hooked.
I filled the Nineties with anything batty I could get in the UK.
The first thing I ever bought on Ebay was bat related. It was the year 2000, Ebay had just landed in the UK and I was as excited as hell to see so many amazing vintage toys allover the world like candy in an international sweet shop!
Being fascinated by early action figues back then and having read about one particular Bat toy called the JLA set of figures by Ideal I sought it out, found a set and made a bid.
I won and eh voila!
Pictured is what I got in the post from America, which was a revelation in itself. Ebay worked and worked across the world!
I got everything above except the bat-plane and I adored my first ever Ebay purchase more than anything else I owned.
I went on to add the bat-plane later and had plans to locate everything else in the set but realised that only Bruce Wayne himself could afford it all so I hung up my bat-gloves and enjoyed what I had.
I went on over the next decade to find Mego batmobiles, Remco Energised Batmans, the battery-operated Bat Console, the Animated Series Batmobile and countless more collectables from Gotham City.
So, thanks Adam West for all the bat memories, Thanks so much.
Rest in peace Dark Dark Knight.
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Do you have any Batman related toys and collectables?
Did you watch the TV series?
Yup, watched the TV series and was my neighbourhood's resident Batman. (See my post 'When Batman Wore Wellington Boots' - if you haven't already.) Got the Corgi Batmobile and Batcopter, the Husky Batmobile, the Aurora Batman kit, the Marx Twisty Batman, a Plastoid Batman badge, the Topps cards, '60s colouring books, comics, books, etc., and others I've forgotten for the moment. Happy days.
ReplyDeleteYou had the lot Kid! You were the Bat Kid! Yep, those Corgi's were classics and I could out-riddle the Riddler about the different features of the die-cast Batmobile: the small red phone, the rear missiles and that uber-cool wire-cutter saw at the front. I recall the Hsky version but for some reason I'm getting it mixed up with Corgi Juniors version in my head. All I can see of the Husky is the plastic silver chromed base. And yes, the Plastoid badge. I still have that somewhere! I shall read you bat wellies post tonight over a cold beer whilst hanging upside down from the ceiling.
DeleteGreat to see this well deserved tribute to Adam West, Woodsy. Yep, his Batman enthralled me as a nipper, and still captures my imagination to this day. I've a few Batman items which mean a great deal to me, including a 1977 AHI battery operated blue plastic Batplane and a few other bits and pieces. By the way, I really like your JLA set pictured above and Kid's Marx twisty Batman... both are brilliant vintage Batman treasures in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tone. Just a small Goodbye to Adam. Doesn't do him justice I know but I'm sure there are countless farewells to Batman online and in the news. That AHI Batplane sounds brilliant. Any chance of a snap? I once bought a short stubby plastic friction Batplane, which I enjoyed having until I sold it and somewhere in the attic is the vintage Talking batmobile in a bag in bits, another unfinished project from my toy stall days. Maybe its time that small record inside it was played once again, it may even be Adam's actual voice! Holy Vinyl!
DeleteDoesn't matter how big the blogs goodbye to Adam is, Woodsy... I think you've given a great personal saluted to a (super) hero of our generation... an actor who made a massive impact to Batfans and collectors alike. Yep, of course I'll take a couple of snaps of the AHI Batplane... be a pleasure. Never had the talking Batmobile, but it sounds fab :)
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