Hello again! Another objective I have for the site this year is to go back and finish reviewing many of the Batman toy lines- Kenner, Mattel, DC Collectibles, etc. The first one I'd like to tackle is the one I have done the least of actually. :) We only managed to review 3 of the DC Collectibles Batman The Animated Series releases! I want to change that... so starting now, I plan to review EVERY release in the DC Collectibles Animated Universe lines. My goal is to start at release #01 and work my way through the entire line. The format will be a bit different. First- It will be just me doing the reviews. The boys (I mean "young men") are sometimes busier than I am, so getting all 3 of us together for a review is problematic. Second, I am foregoing doing the pictures as they are a time-eater. So it will be just a short video review of each release. And since I am starting at #1, this means I will be re-reviewing the three we already tackled so that all the reviews match in format (but don't worry, those original reviews will still be here too). To get my juices flowing, I decided to start with the Superman The Animated Series Superman & Lois Lane 2-pack, as this is the only release under the STAS branding. Enjoy! And please head over and subscribe to my youtube channel to follow along with the reviews!
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Special Feature:
Batman The Animated Series
Unproduced Kenner "Joker House" Mockup Playset
Hey all! James here... I know I haven't been as active on here lately- but I am hoping to rectify that this year. A lot of the new content will focus on "Batman The Animated Series" (toy reviews, updates to the Style Guides, magazine articles, etc), since I have always felt it goes with the Burton Batman franchise like peanut butter and jelly. But of course you can still expect to see some Batman '89, Batman Returns, and Robin Relics posts as well!
Today's post is obviously focused on BTAS. :) A couple of decades ago, I acquired this mock-up Joker House playset from a former employee of Kenner Toys. At the time, I didn't have my own website to feature it at, so my pal Jason Geyer volunteered to feature it at his site- Toy Otter. As things go with old articles on sites, the Joker House feature was lost to time... Thankfully, Jason saves everything. :) So now this lost treasure has a new home here at 1989Batman.com! Huge thanks to Jason for saving these circa 2001 digital pics as I gifted the playset to a friend long ago (and it has now changed hands to I-don't-know-who). Here is Jason's original text that accompanied these pictures:
Well, we all know that in the toy industry, what you see is not altogether everything that was planned. Many, many designs, concepts, artwork and sculpts never make it into the public eye. Case in point is this wonderful prototype of a "Joker's House Playset", originally designed to fit into the Batman: The Animated Series line from Kenner. A nifty item, the whole thing is based on skewed angles and distorted images.
Made out of plastic, styrene, cardboard, and whatever else the designers could get their hands on, this playset has many different action features, a nice colorful palette, and would have been a welcome addition to the B:TAS line, especially as the villains rarely get any kind of consideration. Unfortuantely, with all of the product on the market at the time, it was felt that this piece would be crowded out, and not sell well. The fate of many of these unreleased prototypes is usually a short trip to the dumpster, but this one was rescued at the last minute. Who knows what else has been disposed of over the years? It's a tragedy that while Star Wars collectors have been meticulous about finding unproduced items, the superhero community isn't quite as lucky.
Today's post is obviously focused on BTAS. :) A couple of decades ago, I acquired this mock-up Joker House playset from a former employee of Kenner Toys. At the time, I didn't have my own website to feature it at, so my pal Jason Geyer volunteered to feature it at his site- Toy Otter. As things go with old articles on sites, the Joker House feature was lost to time... Thankfully, Jason saves everything. :) So now this lost treasure has a new home here at 1989Batman.com! Huge thanks to Jason for saving these circa 2001 digital pics as I gifted the playset to a friend long ago (and it has now changed hands to I-don't-know-who). Here is Jason's original text that accompanied these pictures:
Well, we all know that in the toy industry, what you see is not altogether everything that was planned. Many, many designs, concepts, artwork and sculpts never make it into the public eye. Case in point is this wonderful prototype of a "Joker's House Playset", originally designed to fit into the Batman: The Animated Series line from Kenner. A nifty item, the whole thing is based on skewed angles and distorted images.
Made out of plastic, styrene, cardboard, and whatever else the designers could get their hands on, this playset has many different action features, a nice colorful palette, and would have been a welcome addition to the B:TAS line, especially as the villains rarely get any kind of consideration. Unfortuantely, with all of the product on the market at the time, it was felt that this piece would be crowded out, and not sell well. The fate of many of these unreleased prototypes is usually a short trip to the dumpster, but this one was rescued at the last minute. Who knows what else has been disposed of over the years? It's a tragedy that while Star Wars collectors have been meticulous about finding unproduced items, the superhero community isn't quite as lucky.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Special Feature:
The Batman Returns Audio/ Video Press Kit
Part 2- "Select Sound Bites"
Part 2 of the Batman Returns Electronic Press Kit Uploads! Just as they did with Batman '89, Warner Brothers created an audio/ video press kit cassette for distribution to major network & TV programs to promote the release of Batman Returns. The cassette included a featurette, cast & crew interviews, trailers & film clip segments, and B-Roll footage. Networks & TV production companies would select the segments they wished to use & edit them into their programs. The tape was never intended for public viewing.While most of the content included is now available, the full interview segments and complete b-roll footage I believe are still unique to the press kit. Presented here is the selected sound bite segment. These pieces would have been used by local news affiliates by having the standard questions asked by their staff then editing in the answers.
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Special Feature:
The Batman Returns Audio/ Video Press Kit
Part 1- "B-Roll Footage"
Just as they did with Batman '89, Warner Brothers created an audio/ video press kit cassette for distribution to major network & TV programs to promote the release of Batman Returns. The cassette included a featurette, cast & crew interviews, trailers & film clip segments, and B-Roll footage. Networks & TV production companies would select the segments they wished to use & edit them into their programs. The tape was never intended for public viewing.While most of the content included is now available, the full interview segments and complete b-roll footage I believe are still unique to the press kit. Presented here is the B-roll segment. Enjoy!
Sunday, June 23, 2019
New Merchandise:
Mezco Designer Series
Deluxe Batman (1989)
MDS Deluxe Batman (1989)
“I’m Batman."
Straight from Tim Burton’s 1989 ground breaking film, Batman joins the Mezco Designer Series!
The MDS Deluxe Batman (1989) features an all-new movable eye function. Now there is no where for the Joker and his henchmen to hide!
Equipped complete with his trusty Batarang and grappling gun, as well as 6 interchangeable hands, the MDS Batman includes a posable leather-like cape so he can recreate many dynamic poses from the film.
Batman stands approximately 6” tall and features 12 points of articulation.
MDS Deluxe Batman (1989) comes packaged in a window box, perfect for display.
Order here: MDS Deluxe Batman
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