R.I.P. Michael Gough 1917 - 2011 ( Alfred, Batman Movies )

I have some very sad news to share. The Actor Michael Gough has passed away at the age of 94. Of course as Batman Fans we all know & love him as Alfred Pennyworth, the Butler to both Bruce Wayne & Batman. He appeared in 4 Batman films: 1989 Batman, 1992 Batman Returns, 1995 Batman Forever, and 1997's Batman & Robin. He played the character with Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney. He is best known for this role but he also had a very long career, appearing in over 150 films. On a personal level, I have always had a lot of respect for this Actor. He played the "Alfred" role perfectly. He was very dignified, proper, and had a great sense of humor. I always enjoyed how he played the character in a "loving, caring" way.

As sort of a tribute to Michael Gough I have posted a few videos. One is a short documentary that covered his Alfred character in the "Batman Returns" movie. The 2nd clip is an appearance he made in one of his many Batman/OnStar TV Commercials. He was a great Actor & will be missed.

Heath Ledger Exhibition Planned in Perth, Australia

An exhibition about "The Life of Heath Ledger", with displays including the diary he kept while developing his character The Joker in the movie The Dark Knight, is being planned by the WA Museum. The Oscar he won after he died, The Joker's costume and a painting of Heath Ledger by Melbourne artist Vincent Fantauzzo ( shown above ) will feature in the exhibition. This is due to open in 2012. Please stay tuned to the Bat-Blog and as soon as we have more information we'll let you know.

Batman Wallpaper - THE JOKER - Heath Ledger Tribute ( Costume )

I got an email tonight from a Bat-Blog Fan named Damon. He sent us some photos of a few Batman-themed costumes he has had in the past where he dressed-up like the JOKER from The Dark Knight movie ( Heath Ledger version ). The costume looks great & the make-up effects are out of this world! This would be the perfect Halloween Costume, it's very well done. He also sent us some pics of his 1989 Batman film costume & some of his tattoos too. I plan to feature those later, but for right now I thought I would share this one picture that I used to make this desktop background. I mean, ya gotta admit that this image makes a great Joker Wallpaper! ( Thanks Damon, Please look for the other pics later )

1966 BATMAN TV Show Tribute Artwork by Steve Willaredt

A friend turned me on to this website the other day Called BATTLE ROYALE WITH CHEEZE & I have to admit that I'm very impressed with it so far. Basically, it's the online artwork portfolio of a Graphic Artist named Steve Willaredt and it looks like he has been doing a tribute to the old 1960's BATMAN TV Series. He's doing some very funny caricatures of the characters from the show & they really look like the actual actors. In fact, the art is pretty cool! As an example I'm showing just a few here but please be sure to visit his site to see the rest, click HERE!

Art - Chris Mason's ADAM WEST TRIBUTE Painting

Our good buddy Chris Mason recently did an amazing painting of Adam West as Batman, sort of like a "tribute". I mean, Adam West is a total ICON! Don't believe me? Well, Check out the 2nd photo showing Adam West's STAR at the "Walk of Stars" in Palm Springs...that's proof right there! If you read it, it says, ICON, ha! ( Thanks to Chris for allowing me to post this wonderful artwork ).

R.I.P. Dick Giordano, 1932-2010

Yesterday was a very sad day for many comic book fans. A legend, an icon actually, passed away. Of course I'm talking about Dick Giordano. Mr. Giordano worked in the comic book industry most of his life. He was an incredible artist & was quite prolific. As a very young comic book fan & collector I was always drawn to his artwork. He drew many of the comic book characters that I really loved. I ALWAYS recognized his art, almost right away. He had a very unique style. It was very realistic, especially his background scenes, & always interesting. His line work was sort of fast & fluid, but he always attached a great amount of detail in a way that seemed effortless. He also created a lot of stock art that was used on paperback books, calendars, products, & other bits of marketing. So, even if you didn't read the comics he drew his art seemed to be everywhere! It saddens me to say that I never got to meet him. I know a lot of people who did & every single person has told me that he was totally great to be around, that he was very down to earth, kind to a fault, & very funny. I'll always be a fan of his work and, with his passing, I even sort of feel like I have lost a part of my childhood. So, I want to thank him personally for all of his great work & for his friends & family I hope they find some peace very soon. He will be missed by many many people. R.I.P Dick Giordano, 1932 - 2010. As sort a side note I would like to tell people that the picture down below is a "Tribute Wallpaper" I made last night. Please feel free to use it to remember this great man, thanks.

DICK SPRANG TRIBUTE - Golden Age Batman Comic Book Artist

This is pretty cool! In a small Government Building in the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah there is a small plaque hanging on the wall that is a Tribute To Dick Sprang. Of course he was one of the original comic book artists of the Golden Age of comics!! Here at the Bat-Blog we totally love his artwork, he's really great! This weird piece of Bat-History was discovered by our friend Wayne Smith, who stumbled upon it while on vacation! Take a look at his photo & read what the message says, it's pretty interesting! ( Thanks for the pic Wayne )

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! - Funny Parody Comic Book Cover

BATMAN AND THE FARSIDERS! Yes, you read the title correctly. Here's a totally hilarious parody comic book cover done by our new friend ( & great Graphic Artist ) Jim Mohan. It makes fun of the old 1980's BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS #1 Comic Book Cover by replacing a few superheroes with characters from Gary Larson's famous comic strip, THE FAR SIDE. It's also sort of a tribute to the original artist & creator Jim Aparo. The artwork is awesome & it is really really funny! ( Thanks Jim )