Announced at this year’s Toy Fair Funko’s new line of Batman action figures from the 1966 TV series will be making their way to stores this summer with Entertainment Earth beginning to take pre-orders now. These figures are from Funko’s classic Kenner-style retro line, the perfect styling for the campy show.
The best in the line is this showcase set featuring the Batmobile, boxed with the Batman and Robin figures:
Pre-order the Batmobile set now here. The line also includes Batgirl in Yvonne Craig’s purple costume (above), plus Catwoman (played in the series by Eartha Kitt, Julie Newmar, and Lee Meriwether), two Mr. Freeze versions (played in the series by George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach), King Tut (played by Victor Buono), and Bookworm (Roddy McDowell).
The national Comic Con promoter Wizard World is bringing a banner slate of celebrities and comic creators to the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines this weekend as Iowa sees its second Wizard World show, one of the best conventions in the Midwest. Check out our coverage of the inaugural Wizard World Des Moines here at borg.com last year. Celebrity headliners include The Lord of The Rings’ Billy Boyd, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Chloe Bennet, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow star Casper Crump, The Killing Joke’s Batman, Kevin Conroy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon, WWE’s Sasha Banks, Once Upon a Time stars Rebecca Mader, Sean Maguire, and Robbie Kay, The Walking Dead’s Austin Nichols, and Hercules from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys himself, Kevin Sorbo.
As with last year’s roster of well-known comic book creators, Wizard World will feature another pantheon of comic book world greats, including Tom Cook (He-Man, Superfriends), Michael Golden (Batman, Spider-Man), Clinton Hobart (Disney), James O’Barr (The Crow), Barbara Slate (Betty and Veronica), Peter David (All-New X-Factor), Colleen Doran (Sandman; A Distant Soil, The Vampire Diaries), Arthur Suydam (Army of Darkness) and many others. Returning to Wizard World this year are Iowa’s own fan favorites Phil Hester (Green Arrow, The Flash) and Ant Lucia (DC’s Bombshells).
Wizard World comic and gaming con events expect to bring together again thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture, movies, graphic novels, cosplay, comics, television, sci-fi, toys, video gaming, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Wizard World Des Moines show hours are Friday, May 13, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, May 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
In a recent survey of a sci-fi collecting community, I was surprised at how many people had classic cars as a hobby prior to expanding into the sci-fi universe of collecting. Who hasn’t dropped hints to their significant other to try to get their classic Ford or Chevy on Chip Foose’s Overhaulin’ show on the Discovery Channel? Foose has designed vehicles for major motion pictures such as Blade Runner, Gone in 60 Seconds, and RoboCop, and he’s rebuilding cars for nominees on his show. What’s cooler than that? And who doesn’t wish they had Jay Leno’s garage full of classic cars, and his resources to rebuild them?
Decades ago I dreamed of taking an old classic ’57 Chevy Bel Air and rebuilding it into a street rod. So I did it–via a 1:25 scale plastic model kit, first building the model on the box, then sanding it into a rusted mess, then building it back up into a competition orange rod. Lots cheaper than doing it with the real thing. Finding myself wandering a local hobby shop this weekend I noticed several new retro entries in the model car kit category that I hadn’t seen before. I wish I had time to make them all. So check these out, and if you have a car enthusiast, young or old, on this year’s gift giving list, keep these in mind.
Who you gonna call? How about the Ghostbusters and their Ecto-IA hearse? It’s the car Dan Aykroyd bought and thought was just perfect for the team’s new business. It’s from AMT and available for less than $25.
Who doesn’t think Doc Brown’s DeLorean isn’t one of the coolest cars in all of sci-fi? You can pre-order a Back to the Future time machine car fully tricked out for less than $30. It even comes with a flux capacitor.
Do you miss Shag and Scoob and the rest of the Scooby Gang? How about getting your own Mystery Machine? It’s available for less than $20.
This weekend the Batmobile from the original 1960s Batman series sold at auction for a whopping $4.62 million by the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company.
The original Batmobile began as a unique 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car built in Italy by Ford Motor Company, which was heavily modified by legendary customizer and car creator George Barris to become the original 1966 Batmobile in both the live action TV series, and the movie adaptation starring Adam West and Burt Ward. George Barris reportedly bought the 1955 car for $1 back in 1966 and spent $15,000 in 15 days creating the final look for the car. The Batmobile has a V-8 engine and functional instruments in the steering wheel, as well as a push-button transmission. Barris owned the car all these years, touring the car at conventions, and finally decided to let the car go in this weekend’s auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Rick Champagne, a Phoenix-area logistics company owner, placed the winning bid, saying he “really liked Batman growing up”.
