Batman Says "Merry Christmas!" 1975 Albert Bigley Comic Art! DC Comics?

Here's a yummy yuletide greeting (drawn in 1975 by a ten-year-old me), from Batman himself! Inspired by a reprinting (in that year's oversized DC Comics Christmas tabloid) of Neal Adams' classic 1970 tale, "Silent Night of the Batman," here is the Christmas-cloaked Caped Crusader, now sporting a special message on that very cape! I recall this being displayed proudly (thanks, Mom!) on our basement door that year! Click below to enlarge!

BAT-BONUS! Click below to enlarge both the cover (by the incomparable Nick Cardy) to the hallowed holiday comic, and the interior art that inspired the above awesome illustration!

The "Lone Rager" Rides Again! "Blaammm!" 1975 Albert Bigley Art!

That's right! Here's yet another blast from my past! For about 13 minutes, I sorta dug the Lone Ranger character, due to his similarities to superheroes (he wore a mask, right?), and his mini-comeback during the mid-70s (heralded with a line of toys, models, and action figures). Below is my 1975 attempt at an action-packed pencil drawing of the masked lawman, complete with sound effects, logo ('the Lone RAGER?!") and "detailed" background! Hey! I was ten years old, OK? Click to enlarge, and keep your silver bullets untarnished!

Can ya tell I had a hard time getting his hat just right? I also apparently spent
 a ton of time struggling with his nose, hands, and, uhm, crotch.

Batman vs. The Joker! 1975 Albert Bigley Original Comic Art! "BASHH!!!!" DC Comics?!

Another titanic blast from my past! Let's look to 1975, and this huge (around 11 by 17) illo, featuring a super-violent scene of Batman socking it to the evil Joker! In fact, the Caped Crusader slugs the crime clown so mightily, it seems to lift the villain (and his car) right off the ground! And, how about that detailed background, full of innocent gawkers, impotent policemen, and Batman-boosting billboards? What do you expect from a 10-year-old me?! Click to enlarge!

BONUS! Click below to see some of my inspirations for the above dynamic drawing! This line of panoramic puzzles came out in the mid-70s, all spotlighting large horizontal renderings!

WONDER WOMAN vs. the Nazis! 1975 Albert Bigley Original Art! DC Comics?!

Another bombastic blast from the past! Dig this 1975 Wonder Woman pencil drawing by me, age 10, from 1975! Obviously inspired by the then-new ABC-TV movie, THE NEW ORIGINAL WONDER WOMAN, here is the Amazing (and quite mannish) Amazon fighting high-flying Nazi felons (using her famed "Bullets and Bracelets" gimmick) in a World War Two setting! Click to enlarge!

Note the personalization in the upper left corner! Looks like I meant to give
this to my next-door neighbor of the time! But, since I still have it, that means
she somehow never took ownership of this dynamic drawing! Why she didn't
accept this fabulous masterpiece of modern art remains a mystery!


BONUS! Below is the custom logo used for the long-running ABC/CBS WONDER WOMAN TV series! You can tell it was what I had in mind (going only by memory in those pre-VCR or DVR days) when placing my own hand-drawn logo into the drawing above!

Batman vs. The Joker! 1975 Albert Bigley Art! "Go Robin!" DC Comics?!

Enough with the e-mails and calls! I give in! Here is yet another fabulous (?) blast from my past to your present (huh?)! Dig this bombastic 1975 illo by a 10-year-old me, depicting mucho mile-high mayhem! It's Batman and Robin, launching into furious action against the Joker and his multiple minions! But--Is Batman crashing thru that tiny window in the background? What is the Joker perched upon? Why are so many people missing their legs? Why is the foreground thug shooting at the bad guys? Click to enlarge, Bat-fans!

BONUS! Look below to see my inspiration for Batman's above pose! This is the bulky box that housed the 1974 Mego "Batcave" playset, a gift I received the previous Christmas, so...

BONUS BONUS! Or, was this (below) my inspiration? Here is a panel from 1968's WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #180, drawn by Ross Andru! I had this as a back-issue then, so...Or was this '68 pose the inspiration for the '74 Mego artist, which I saw, and...Yeah. 

CAPTAIN AMERICA! 1975 Albert Bigley Comic Art! Marvel Comics?!

Just unearthed! Here is my version of that legend of World War Two, Captain America! Here is Cap, coming at ya in a dramatic action pose, complete with logo, and (very odd) background! Not bad for a 10 year old me, even tho it looks like I lost interest about half way thru the coloring process! Does this image look kinda familiar to ya? Well, it should! Click here to see just how influential this drawing has been to me, and many others! Click image below to enlarge!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane--It's SUPERMAN! 1966 Broadway Musical--On TV in 1975?! DC Comics!

Sure, we now live in a world awash with tons of multi-media versions of the famed superheroes, from big-screen films, TV shows, video games, and even musicals! But--didja know that a sensational Superman musical was mounted during the dizzying era of the 1966 BATMAN TV show? An ambitious Broadway play called IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN made waves during that "pop art" period, and it featured a host of great actors/singers involved in a high-camp extravaganza that looked to ride the coattails of the unbelievably popular live-action capers of his fellow Caped Crusader! The Supes show was re-staged in 1975, and ran as a late-night filler, starring David Wilson as the Man of Steel! Click below to take in all of the info about both the Broadway show and the TV version! 

Like most large plays and musicals, the Playbill guide for this show was gayly 
festooned with caricatures by the amazing Al Hirschfeld! Note that the play 
co-starred Jack Cassidy (David Cassidy's dad), and Linda Lavin (later to helm 
ALICE for CBS)!The above comes from the rare 1973 DC tabloid, AMAZING 
WORLD OF SUPERMAN!

I somehow missed all of this in 1975, only mere months before the debut (also 
on ABC) of two new WONDER WOMAN live-action specials! Could it have 
been the late hour in which ABC had slotted this presentation? This 
TV version also starred David Wayne ("The Mad Hatter" from BATMAN),
and Loretta Swit (from M.A.S.H.)!



You asked for it--here it is! See the 1975 broadcast of this little gem now! Just click here!

Batgirl and Robin! 1975 Albert Bigley Original Comic Art! DC Comics?!

This time, I present a fabulous (?) full-color image, drawn by me at age 10, in 1975! Inspired by their titanic team-ups in the then-new BATMAN FAMILY comics, here is the "Dynamite Duo" themselves, Batgirl and Robin! The teaming of these two in comics was kinda exciting, as Robin had left behind his Batman-sidekick status years earlier, and (even to my young eyes) Batgirl was much easier on the eyes than her male inspiration! I had a lot to learn about male and female anatomy when I created this drawing (in colored pencils, yet), as an oddly-proportioned Batgirl appears to swoop in and lob a smoke-bomb at a gigantic dragon, thus saving the Teen Wonder! Click to enlarge!

Notice my attempt to add some sorta background, with a wrecked 
building and street, and a bystander running for cover!

BONUS: Below is the official early-70s "Batgirl" logo, created by artist Don Heck! I doubtless used this as my inspiration for the above logo seen on my 1975 "masterpiece!"

Batgirl and Robin! 1975 Albert Bigley Original Comic Art! DC Comics!

Heh. Dig this 1975 color illo of Batgirl and Robin,the Teen Wonder! Drawn by me, age 10, here are the famous BATMAN characters as never seen before! You can say THAT again. I was obviously cribbing the work of Mike Grell from the first issue of BATMAN FAMILY, and I'm trying not to focus on Robin's "hair helmet," and Batgirl's odd--uh--physique. I recall my Mom and Dad chuckling lightly at Batgirl's depiction once eyeballing this little gem. Click if you're a masochist!

1975 Al Bigley BATMAN Original "Cover" Art! DC Comics? Robin?

In my never-ending youthful obsession with creating pitch-perfect comic book covers (complete with price, CCA seal, etc.), here is a custom cover, done by me (age 10) around 1975, of a BATMAN scene, rife with danger, terror, and poor drawing! I obviously had seen a cover repro of BATMAN # 232, and based it on that, but I think the Neal Adams-drawn original takes the cake over my attempt! Can you spot the crucial error on MY cover? Click to enlarge!

Bat Beheading!

Here is a wonderful illo of Batman fighting a cheap thug.

Done around 1975, and lifted from an Irv Novick-drawn BATMAN comic of the day, here is Batman almost knocking the block off some poor crook's shoulders!

Both figures look to be made out of rag-stuffed cloth, and Batman's beanbag head is sinking into his torso, but....

And, where is my ever-present signature, then sometimes larger than any other element on the page?

On second thought, this may have been lifted from one of the few 70s Walt Simonson BATMAN or DETECTIVE issues...

"Get Us Out From Under..."

"Wonder Woman!"

Yes, done the day after the 1975 TV premiere of "The New, Original Wonder Woman," this was my attempt to capture the events of that TV epic. One of the few masterpieces of my youth that HAD to be colored, it was so darned special.

Yep, any 10-year old  reared on superhero comics starts out drawing females as guys with chest bumps, and I was no exception. Wondy looks like a linebacker! Dig that poor face-down dude to the left! Ouch! Looks like WW invaded a torture S/M den and trashed it! 

If you look closely, you can also see the famous "invisible jet" in the window..

I also added the graphic "popping stars" motif, from the comics-like graphics of the film...complete with logo..Maybe I thought this could be a "movie poster" type of illustration?

But, what great legs, huh?

New Look for Robin!

Don't want you to think I'm picking on poor old Robin these days, but here is a 1975 drawing I did for DC Comics!

Well, sorta.

Anybody recall DC's mid-70s "New Look for Robin" reader contests back then? They'd run fan's drawings of new costume ideas for the former Boy Wonder in the pages of their late, great, content-stuffed  BATMAN SUPER SPECTACULAR issues. I think future pros like Norm Breyfogle even got his drawing published then.

Anyway, this was my entry. Don't think I ever sent it in. 

That might be a good thing.

Although I loved the classic Robin get-up, and agreed the short pants wouldn't go in the real world, I saw this as a chance to get my name and work in print.

Dig that angular left shoulder. I was doing the "Bruce Timm" thing 20 years early!

I also love the repeating "Rs" on Robin's gloves. Years before the "love"and "hate" hand tattoos...Do they leave the insignia embedded on his foe's chins?

I'm sure I saw the "Earth 2 Robin" outfit by then. This seems to be very much based on that costume in many ways.

But, red and blue together?

No.

Batman!

Lets' get back to the character that started it all for me--Batman!

A pal once looked at some of these early drawings of mine and commented on how violent they were. Batman and Robin were always depicted hitting, punching, slugging, crushing, gouging, kneeing, clubbing, tripping, or kicking their foes.  And why not? That's what they did, right? Both in the comics and on reruns of their 1966 live-action show, the DYNAMIC duo kept in constant motion! If you draw Tarzan, you depict him swinging on a jungle vine, no?

But, yes, these do seem awful extreme to be a child's drawings.

I was learning to use such comics art conventions as impact bursts, jiggle lines, speed lines, etc. Still pushing that extreme depth, with overlapping, foreshortening, and size relationships really accented.

I figure this illo comes from 1975 or so, from a Silver Age Carmine Infantino-drawn Batman reprint in the back pages of the dearly departed mag BATMAN FAMILY. Always dug the villain Cluemaster, Riddler rip-off or not.

Have NO idea what that black mass is I put behind Robin., Shadow? The inside of his cape?

Notice, too, how one of the foes Robin is manhandling and generally abusing is the Joker.

Speaking of details-I recall HAVING to put those exact TWO stripes n Robin's sleeves back then. Every time. My slavish attention to costume detail.

I also seemed to be influenced by the Mego Robin head sculpt then. That blockhead look, cowlick hair, large black mask...