Hiding from the sun (continued)

It's a crazy place, this Hawaii,

especially for tattooed weirdies trying to avoid the sun (like me).

Yesterday we got driven around Maui in the back of an old bio-diesel Mercedes by the Cucch and Rebecca, and it was so amazing.

We hit black sand beaches, red sand beaches, a billion waterfalls,

caves, spring fed pools, and other other-worldly views.

All of this on a 12 hour, too-close-for-comfort,

driving-on-the-side-of-some-cliffs kind of adventure.

Highway to Hana.

It's even better when someone else is driving,

and you can hang out the sunroof.

Video - BATMAN RETURNS Michael Keaton Mentos TV Commercial

OK, This Fake MENTOS CANDY "BATMAN RETURNS Movie Parody" TV Commercial is kinda corny, but it is nice to see Michael Keaton again. Plus, the editing is actually pretty decent.

Celebrating BATMAN-INSPIRED CREATIVITY, Oh Yeah!

Here are some random images I have come across while surfing the web ( Yes, I have NO life ) that are both FUN and Batman-Related! The 1st photo is a beautifully made Custom CATWOMAN My Little Pony Figure done by an Artist named Mari Kasurinen. Of course, this is the version from the older BATMAN RETURNS Movie and not the NEW "Anne Hathaway" from "The Dark Knight Rises". To see more amazing Custom Toys just click HERE!

Next up is a Watercolor Painting that totally cracks me up! Here are 2 characters from "The Imaginary World" of a Cartoonist named Dan Goodsell. He has a comic strip called "Mr. Toast" and these are his 2 friends, JOE THE EGG and SHAKY BACON dressed-up as the Dynamic Duo! Dan's artwork is a lot of fun and once you start reading it you'll be totally hooked, check this out, click HERE!

OK, The last photo is one I came across on a Cosplay Website. Somebody made a very clever CLAYFACE Costume from the "Batman: The Animated Series" TV Cartoon. This is a character you never see done. I guess because it would be both a nightmare to create and to wear, ha! But you gotta give this person credit, he did an extremely amazing job!

YAMAHA CUSTOM 1966 BATMAN TV Show BAT-CYCLE For Sale in Canada

Check out these great photos from a Classified Ad in Canada! It appears that somebody there is selling their Custom 1966 Yamaha BATMAN TV SHOW BAT-CYCLE Motorcycle. The asking price is only around 15-Thousand, which seems pretty fair to me considering how much a brand-new motorcycle costs. Plus, this one is both "Vintage" and "Totally Bad Ass", ha ha! For more information be sure to click HERE. Oh yeah, one last thing, my Birthday is in January, on the 19th. So if you need my mailing address to send this to me then please let me know. ( Thanks Clark )

Gary's Amazing HARLEY QUINN and THE JOKER Tattoo Art Photos

We love it when Bat-Blog Fans share pictures with us and here's a great example! This is a photo from a guy named Gary who lives in Spain. He has 2 Batman-related Tattoos of The JOKER and HARLEY QUINN! The Joker, of course, is the iconic cover art done by Brian Bolland for the BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE Graphic Novel. The Classic "Joker snapping a photo" image... Awesome! Next, on the other side of his arm, is a graphic of Harley Quinn. These are both great choices and the Tattoo Artist did a very wonderful job here. Thanks for sharing these Gary, very cool!

VINTAGE BATMAN COLLECTIBLES - Chewing Gum and Candy!

For new readers, the BAT-BLOG.COM is mainly about the joys of being a Collector of the Toys and other fun Bat-Memorabilia, both new and vintage. Here are some examples of older items that are sort of "Candy or Chewing Gum" related. The 1st photo is probably the rarest of all the ones shown here, it's a Package for 1966 BATMAN CANDY STICKS from England. I totally love the graphics on this thing!

Next up is another UK Candy item except they're a little more new. These were also Candy Sticks but featured art from BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES. They were made by the Thorneycroft Candy Company, which British people would probably be familiar with.

Then we have a photo of some individually-wrapped JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA Tattoo Bubble Gum! These were made in the USA by the Fleer Candy Co. between 1969 and 1970. When you open the tiny wax wrapper there's a separate piece of paper with one of those water-based tattoos on it. I actually have one of these, with BATMAN... unopened!

OK, last but not least, is a photo a Friend sent me awhile back because he knew it would torture me, ha! Shown here is a completely full PEZ CANDY DISPENSER Store Display Box!! This is from the mid 1970's and oh my god, they were only 59 cents, ha! We got the Penguin, Joker, Batgirl, batman, and Wonder Woman. Oh yeah, these were also the "rubber head" versions which are way harder to find.

Listen, the BAT-BLOG is about sharing the love of collecting old Bat-Toys and even the new stuff. So, if you have some pics of super-rare items or if you come across some totally brand-new merchandise then please let us know, thanks!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie Preview TRAILER CATS Style!

OK, I wish I would have come up with this idea. There are a ton of websites that present brand-new movie trailers but there is only one that has taken a very unique spin on it. They're called TRAILER CATS! They take regular trailers and spice them up a little bit, ha! Here's one for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman movie. The only thing that confuses me is why they made CATWOMAN ( Anne Hathaway ) a Dog?! But it's pretty funny, check it out!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Batman Movie Wallpaper Backgrounds

Hey Kiddos, it's Wednesday. You know what that means, it's "Wacky Wallpaper Wednesday"! Yes, it's time once again to post some Free BATMAN Wallpapers. Since there really hasn't been any hype lately from Warner Bros about THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Movie I thought I'd post a few inspired by the film. I gotta say, it's been pretty hard finding decent photos of Catwoman ( Anne Hathaway is still hiding, ha! ) so I guess the focus will be on the BATMAN and BANE characters. Here we go!

On vacation.

Hawaii, kids.

It's a love/hate relationship.

I love the ocean, but hate the beach.

I love islands, but hate the people that flock to them.

Meryl has family living down here for a year,

and she had never been before.

And she's also moving out to Oregon just for me,

so......Hawaii for the holidays!

You know I don't even own a pair of shorts,

but so far we're doing well.

Day two and I already have two different lighthouse visits.

This first photo is at the top of a mountain Meryl and I climbed to get to Makapuu Point Light the really hard way.

There's a two mile paved path winding around to the lighthouse,

or an unmarked, not-at-all-legitimate super steep climb up to the top and then over.

It got dark before we even hit the top,

it was scary windy,

and some Hawaiian dude kinda told us we were screwed.

But we did it,

and it was so rad.

Here's a view of of the Makapu Point Light from partially up our hike.

At our destination we met this couple who were both biologists working in Hawaii.

We bonded over our shared love of dead birds

(i was wearing a 'dead birds are sexy' shirt)

and they brought us out to dinner and drove us home.

And since their jobs include working with sick and dying birds,

we're about to have some amazing additions to the I love dead birds blog.

So awesome.

This morning I woke up early

(which isn't hard to do with a four hour time difference)

and took a bike ride with Meryl's mom, Colleen,

out to Diamond Head Lighthouse.

Then a few hours later,

Meryl, her sisters, and I hiked the Diamond Head crater,

and got to see the lighthouse from above.

We then ate lunch at the top in a coastal artillery bunker built in 1908.

Tomorrow we fly to Maui,

and get to see some stuff out there for a while.

Rebecca and the Cucch are living on that island these days,

so we'll have some hang out time with them.

And New Years happens while we're there.

Luckily, I was prepared,

and shipped those 30 Japanese floating lanterns to myself.

I don't know who else will be there,

but I will be saying my goodbyes to 2011 in style,

and making sure 2012 gets kicked off right.

BOOK REVIEW - Gene Colan's TALES OF THE BATMAN Graphic Novel VOLUME 1

THE COMICS JOURNAL just published a very nice review of the recent DC Comics Graphic Novel titled "TALES OF THE BATMAN by Gene Colan Volume 1". Sadly, Gene Colan died last year ( June 23rd ) so the timing on this book is well received and could be considered a tribute. This HC Book compiles the first two year's worth of stories from Gene Colan’s five-year run as BATMAN’s Lead Artist ( Pencils ), which began in 1981. I grew-up reading a lot of his work, or I guess I should say, "looking at his work", and have always enjoyed it. Here's a link to the THE COMICS JOURNAL Review. Also, if you're interested in buying this Hardback Book CLICK HERE for a good sale price that is 25% off retail.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Batman Film Inspires Some Creativity

Here are a few examples of artwork have have been inspired by the next Batman movie, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. The film won't be released for another 205 Days, 8 Hours, and 42 Minutes but some people just can't wait, ha! The 1st two images were created by our Buddy Sean Hartter. He likes to create these parody vintage movie posters that ask, "What If?". Like, What if TDKR was produced in another time period? So, he created this parody movie poster. I like the idea of Kelly LeBrock being Catwoman ( what ever happened to her? ). Then, check out the next graphic, Sean drew this great portrait of BANE in his own crude minimal style ( the colors are awesome ).

Next up, is another parody but on a whole other level. This was created by our Friend "Bacon" and is a combination of the classic horror film, "Night of The Living Dead". Batman is a Zombie in a Graveyard! Oh, by the way, this image is presented here as a WALLPAPER BACKGROUND so please be sure to enjoy it in that way.

A special THANK YOU goes out to both Hartter & Bacon for sharing their fun artwork. Thanks guys, these are really great!

Real-Life Batman DARK KNIGHT RISES in Taipei City, Taiwan!

Here's a really great Batman-related TV News Story sent to us by our Good Friend Jerry, who lives in Taipei City ( Taiwan ). If you visit this LINK
you can view a video that tells the story about a Serious Guy in Taipei City who is a real-life BATMAN, fighting crime and everything! It appears he takes his "job" quite seriously. He actually dresses up as the Dark Knight & drives around looking for trouble, ha! Now, English-speaking readers will be unable to understand the language in this TV News broadcast, but it's still great to see! ( Link up above in yellow ). Thank You Jerry, Peace!

Xavier's BATMAN ART PAINTING and BAT-BLOG TRIBUTE

Here are 2 cool pieces of BATMAN Fan Art that I'm proud of because they were sent in by a longtime Bat-Blog Fan & Good Friend named Xavier. If I did my math right he's now 11 years old and in the 6th grade. First he painted this awesome BATMAN Painting, done in an abstract style. Then, he drew a Tribute to the Bat-Blog website... How cool is that?!! It has a very interesting PUNK design to it, I love it! Thanks Xavier, YOU ROCK, Sir! Xavier writes a blog about his love of comic books called "Super Creations", click HERE to check it out!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Movie Soundtrack Composer HANS ZIMMER Teases About New CATWOMAN Theme Song

MTV recently interviewed Hans Zimmer, the Music Composer for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Batman Film about what the Soundtrack will be and if Catwoman will have her own theme song. He basically said something like, "Yes, Anne Hathaway will have her own song but I have not wrote it yet". He also teases about other interesting details but they're kind of vague.

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

Last day of Fall (and Maple Grove).

Oh man.

I'm done with Identity Tattoo for a little while.

Don't expect to see me back there till April.

It's been an awesome 4.5 years,

and I look forward to more fun when I get back.

But for the next few months,

I'm very excited to be working out at Jeff Gogue's shop in Oregon.

My last day there was spent working on Manda's strange animal sleeve.

We colored in a lot of poppies around an antlered squirrel,

did some background,

and tried to tie everything together.

Up top is the (antlered) blue footed booby,

and the sheepgoat under that,

and then some squirrels playing in a poppy field.

(i didn't do the blue armband thing)

It was also Handsome Adam's last day,

and he's leaving for the west coast, too.

So after packing and cleaning up,

we smashed our coffee mugs and released a couple floating lanterns.

Adam's such a good dude,

and it's been a pleasure working with him for the past year.

So it's just Todd and Ben at the shop for a few months.

Do me a favor, and check up on them every once in a while.

Stop in and be loud for a minute,

just so they don't forget about me.

I'm afraid they might get soft while I'm away.

(i can almost hear Maple Grove collectively breathing a sigh of relief)

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - Movie BATMAN and BANE Wallpapers!

Warner Bros just released a few brand-new promotional photos from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES movie so I thought I'd celebrate by making a few BATMAN and BANE Wallpaper Backgrounds, enjoy!

Random BATMAN Humor Photos and Comic Strip

OK, I guess I'm being pretty lazy this morning with this "image dump" post, but I'm soooo tired! But these pics are really great and totally worth checking out so shut-up, ha ha! The 1st one is from "The Dark Knight" movie and the Joker is telling Batman a very mean knock-knock joke, OUCH!



Next up is a hilarious parody t-shirt that a friend of our found online. The shirt uses a special glow-in-the-dark ink, pretty clever.



Oh yeah, I saved the best for last! I say that because I love vintage photos and this one has a very cool history. This photo was from an event held in Northern Italy back in the 1970's. I have no idea what the celebration was for, but all these small children wearing awesome Batman Bat-Suit Costumes is just completely charming & wonderful! ( Thanks to everybody who submitted these pics: Saul, Jennifer, Jamie, & Robert )