Batman vs. Dracula?! The Custom Aurora Kit You Never Saw! DC Comics!

Fresh from the pages of SHADOWLAND magazine, here is one fan's very creative imagining of a meeting between those two cape-wearing creatures of the night--Batman and Dracula! This feverish fan (using the moniker "Davey Horror") used both classic 60s Aurora model kits to produce a dynamic diorama that joins these two terrors in blistering battle! He was also inspired by the famed 1976 issue of DETECTIVE COMICS #455, from 1976, an incredible issue that depicted Batman meeting a voracious vampire (whom artist Mike Grell modeled on horror actor Christopher Lee)! A great job all around! Click images below to enlarge!

BONUS! Click below to see another custom Batman Aurora kit, from the same mind-blowing magazine!

This talented customizer created his own "Golden Age" Batman kit, using the
early black-and-gray costume color scheme, the plain "moon-less" bat
chest logo, and overall subdued color scheme!


BONUS BONUS! Glance below to see yet another colossal custom kit, using the same basic Aurora Batman kit! 

Of course, this diorama re-creates the famed "Batman vs the shark" scene from the
1966 BATMAN theatrical movie, with Adam West as the Caped Crime-Buster!

Ring Around the Rhino! 1976 Albert Bigley Artwork! Marvel Comics?!

Another great one (?) from my archives! Here is my "fact sheet" on the famed Spider-Man foe, the Rhino! Drawn by me in 1976, at age 11, this was to be the start of a massive fact file on such sinister and sordid super-villains! But, alas, this (and a few other drawings) was as far as I got, before being distracted by other awesome (and unfinished) artistic matters that also involved cramming my artwork into an electric typewriter! The brain-teasing question still remains--for whom exactly was such a voluminous file intended? Click below to enlarge, art lovers!

Have fun counting all the typos and misspellings above! Long-time fans will note that
my synopsis of Rhino's life and times above bear no relation to his actual origins in
the comics! I had no access to his first appearance then, and made up my own story!

1966 "Adam West" Batman Action Figure! Custom Mego Toy and Packaging! DC Comics!

Sure, feverish fans everywhere are abuzz about the nerve-numbing news! Thanks to a 2012 contractual break-thru, next year we'll all see a wave of toys and figures inspired by the famed 1966 BATMAN TV show! But until we do, take a lingering look at a custom figure I made around 1998, immortalizing the lively likeness of actor Adam West as the Caped Crusader!  This 8-inch figure was made from Mego's original 70s "painted-on cowl" Batman (and suit)! Add high-gloss paint and fabric (used for gloves, cape, and trunks), a utility belt made from Foamcore, and you've got a great 1966 Batman! Click images below to enlarge!

The utility belt was detailed with fine marker, adding the appearance of pouches
and snaps! The chest insignia was made as a computer printout on sticky-backed
paper, then carefully applied!

Below: Click to enlarge these images of the custom packaging made to house this one-of-a-kind figure!

Above: My original late-90s card, using available images of "Batman" in this
dramatic pose! I added the dark background, including cityscape,
moon, and text elements via PhotoShop, then printed out.
Not bad, but not quite what I had in mind...

Above: Now this is more like it! Using a great recent painting
provided by Christopher Franchi, I was able to replace
the older figure with this crisp newer one, making for a much
bolder card graphic! I had to re-work the background for the new
image, and added all-new text elements and logos!



Below: Click to enlarge these images of the figure with his all-new custom packaging!

The figure is housed in a clear, re-closable plastic shell that mimics
the original 70s Mego "bubble card" figure displays!

Spider-Man Unmasked?! 1976 Albert Bigley Comic Art?! Marvel?!

Look at what my vast team of researchers has just unearthed! Here's another one of my meticulous comic cover re-creations, drawn by me at age 11, in 1976! My love for the fabulous artwork of John Romita, Sr. was, even then, firmly entrenched in my heart and mind, and you can sure see that in this drawing! Using the cover to this Spider-Man reprint as my guide, I just had to imitate the way JRSR drew Spidey, Peter Parker, his pals, and even their snazzy (tho very dated by '76) clothing! Romita excelled not only with high-flying superhero action, but in drawing "real people," folds, locales, and backgrounds! Everything drawn by him seemed wonderfully perfect! Click to below to enlarge!

Note how often I erased and re-drew Spidey's "sad" eyes, and the clothing
on the characters! I also couldn't resist changing (gasp) Stan Lee's snazzy
cover dialog! I also recall hating drawing on graph paper!
But, when that was all ya had...

FANTASTIC FOUR?! 1976 Albert Bigley Art! Human Torch! Marvel Comics?!

Presenting yet another attempt, by me, to draw the ever-fabulous Fantastic Four! Sure, this ain't bad for an 11-year old in 1976, but how wobbly can ya get? Where is the Thing's thumb? To what is Mr. Fantastic anchored? What's the deal with the Human Torch's sqishy hands? And--is that the Invisible Girl or the Invisible Man?! Sheesh! Click to enlarge!

I was going for a 3-D feeling of depth here, hence the quartet stepping out of (and overlapping) their "frame..."

Spider-Man vs. The Sandman! Huge 1976 Albert Bigley Comic Art! Marvel Comics?!

Dig this huge (11 by 17 inches!) pencil drawing I did at age 11, in 1976! Here we have a harried Spidey facing off against the sinister Sandman! Looks familiar, does it? That's right, I lifted it unashamedly from the cover of the then-spanking-new AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #154! I simply wanted a large poster of this cover, another stellar example of the art of the incredible John Romita Sr., and it was up to me to make that poster a reality! This gem even has tape on it, from when I had displayed it! Click to enlarge!

You can tell I really struggled with the heads and faces, wanting to capture
Romita's perfect renditions fully!  He's still the Spider-Man artist to me!

BONUS! Look below to see the actual 1976 cover that inspired my own incredible (?) re-creation!

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!