ZOWIE! Hot Wheels Batmobile Custom Packages! Batman! Robin! Riddler! Adam West!

One of the major recent events for Bat-fans has been the detangling of the many rights issues pertaining to the 1966 BATMAN TV series! The first salvo that signified that the years-long legal thicket was being cleared, was the release of all new die-cast "TV Batmobile" toy cars, from the collector-friendly Hot Wheels folks! Originally designed for the ABC-TV show by car customizer George Barris, this iconic vehicle was eagerly snatched up by fans far and wide, then and now! But, the recently-released beautiful Batmobile came delivered in some very un-beautiful packaging! The remedy? My own custom packages on which to display the Dynamic Duo's die-cast deity! Feast your eyes on my own eye-popping presentations below! Click images to enlarge!

Above: An example of the deadly-dull packaging in which
the long-awaited Batmobiles were presented!

Above: I used the captivating cover to 1968's BATMAN #200 (by Neal Adams) as the
basis for this one pop-art package! Add a re-closeable "clamshell," and a dynamic
 display is ready!

Above: I always loved this image of actor Adam West as the Caped Crusader, and
here it is (along with added logos and graphics) used as a custom card!

Above: No other 60s BATMAN cover screams "Silver Age" quite like this
one, and it even features a main Bat-foe, the Riddler! Using elements
from the cover of BATMAN #179 (from 1966), this great
Gil Kane/Murphy Anderson art works like gangbusters!

Above: Another great Adam West BATMAN pose, this time I used an "alternate image" from
the famed 1966 TV GUIDE cover photo shoot from the show! Here is another use of
this wonderful action shot!

Above: The first image I ever saw from the BATMAN TV show (even before ever 
viewing the actual program) was the wonderful View-Master set of 3-D reels. 
The above custom Hot Wheels package uses much of the same memorable 
graphics, but with added logos and new formatting!

Above: Using the cover to a sensational '67 coloring book, here is a fabulous
custom Batmobile display! Sure, that's actually the Batboat the Dynamic Duo
is piloting there, but...

BAT-BONUS! Click below to glare at the colorful custom Batmobile collection on display!

Get a closer look at some of those custom action figures here!

BONUS BAT-BONUS! Click here to see the ultimate custom Hot Wheels collectible!

1966 INCREDIBLE HULK Aurora Model Kit--Revisited! Marvel Comics Molded Madness!

Here is a real blast from the past! This is the re-issue of the famed 1966 Incredible Hulk model kit, from the folks at Polar Lights! Offered to a panting public in 2003, these fabulous re-released kits not only included the Jade Giant, but also Spider-Man, and the star-spangled superhero himself, Captain America! All three kits were re-crafted in a larger scale (1/8) size from their original 1966 counterparts! Click images below to enlarge!

After assembling the kit, and sanding away seams, I went to work
on the paints, using lots of dry-brushing and over and under-
sprays to get a great shading effect!

I wanted Hulk's "desert floor" base to look a bit more like city
 rubble, so I used lots of over-sprays and dry-brushing to get the
desired effect! I even added real sand and gravel to portions
of the base!

I added some gloss to Hulk's hair, eyes, teeth and lips, keeping
his clothing to a dull, matte look...

I also added a bit of cloth to represent a torn shirt! The final
touches involved some fine linework on the eyes,
teeth gaps, nose, ears, and hands!

The kit, which originally appeared in 1966 and 1974 (as part of
the "Comic Scenes" line) from Aurora, is a fine representation of
the Silver Age Hulk, as drawn by Jack Kirby and others!

Above: The colossal kit, now residing at the center of
my own "Hulk collection!"

Above: My 1974 "Comic Scenes" kit box, signed by
70s HULK artist supreme, "Happy" Herb Trimpe!

Above: The 2003 trade advertisement that heralded
the re-release of these two captivatin' kits!

BONUS! Click below to view the actual box art for the model kit's original 1966 release!

Art by Neal Adams!

2015 NC Comicon! Colossal Costumed Cosplay Cut-Ups! Captain America (and Marvel)!

Back from another claustrophobia-causing convention, this time the famed NC Comicon, in Durham, North Carolina! Click each pic below to enlarge!

Above: Ready to go! New shield! New helmet! Same old pants.

Above: Buster wants to be "Canine Captain America!" Uhm...

Above: Hard to miss! This must be the place…

Above: Ready to hit the con floor! 

Above: Wolverine and Rogue are always happy
to get a 3-hour lecture on con etiquette!

Above: "Did I leave my keys at home?"

Above: Me, with a great "Wednesday Addams" cosplayer!

Above: There should be a law against putting that many mirrors in an elevator!

Above: Amazing gender-twisting versions of Loki and Thor!

Above: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! I'm joined by Hulk and Iron Man! At last!

Above: It's my frenemy, Winter Soldier!

Above three images: SHAZAM! A fabulous Captain Marvel cosplayer! Dig that detail!

Above: I know I've seen this guy before somewhere...

Above two images: Flash meets Flash! The race is on! 

Above: I meet Sharon Carter! "Agent 13" to
those of us in the spy biz. Shhhhh!

Above: Captain Kirk and Spider-Man enjoy the generous buffet spread!

Above: I give famed Neal Adams an earful! "So, BATMAN: ODYSSEY. Really?"

Above: Cosplayers gather for one of many group shots taken during the 3-day event!

Above: Good ol' Nick Fury drops by!

Above two images: Evil Ultron makes the scene!
"Bring me the (shell)head of Iron Man!"

Above: Steve Rogers and me! "Before and after?"
He even carried his own 4-F papers!

Above: Famed fandom friend Robert Clyde Allen stops to chat!

Above: "Mine's bigger than yours…"

Above three images: Unmasked at last! 
"Alas, poor Cappy, I knew him, Horatio..."

Above three images: This amazing family came to the
show as the 60s X-Men and sinister sentinel! What fun!

Above: Me and my miss, flanked by two diabolical Daleks!

Above: "You can text all ya want, honey, but I'll stick
to my Silver Age GREEN LANTERN comics!"

Above: A DR. WHO foursome!

Above: What? Yet another Winter Soldier?!

Above: The charity-minded Excelsior League lines up for even more photo shoots...

Above: That tiny-titan Captain America did
not want a thing to do with me! At first….

Above: Reverse Flash and Green Arrow attacking me? And, to
throw a tiny Bucky doll at me? The fiends! have they no decency?

Above: "Say, aren't you Batman?"

Above three images: Meeting with the great Steve Barr (who runs the
marvelous charity that provides art supplies and "chalk talk" visits
to kids in hospitals), and his once-hospital bound young friend, Paris! 

Above: A nicely-staged pro pic, and...

…the taking and arranging of the above power-packed pic!

Above: Another guy who looks oddly familiar! And, we're
each getting "photo-bombed" by some real oddballs!

Above: Rocked by the Shocker! When have you ever seen this Spider-Man villain cosplayed?

Above: "What a ridiculous costume!"

Above: About sums it up! Sunday rolled around, and this was 
how everyone felt! Thanks to Allyson Bigley, Taylor Handy, and O'Brien Howard 
for contributing many of the above pics!

Above: Just had to include this panel from a 1975 IRON MAN
comic. "The more things change, the more they stay the same…"