Doug: So I pack-ratted a bunch of Batman stuff. What's it to you?
Doug: I've been taking advantage of my holiday break to move past comic books and into other books and memorabilia in my attempt to "cull the herd", so to speak. In fact, here's a plug for my auctions -- lots of new stuff goes live tonight (12/30) at 7:00 pm CT here in the States. In addition to the lot you see above, you'll find some Marvel Masterworks, various trade paperbacks, comic history books, etc. But back to this stuff -- yeah, I was that guy who grabbed whatever I could in a fit of Batmania ahead of the June 1989 release of Tim Burton's first Batman film. I was so excited that Bats was going to get the silver screen treatment. I had just loved Superman: The Movie and Superman II and had very high hopes for the Batman movie, too. Count me among those who were skeptical about Michael Keaton as the choice to play our hero... Now some 26 years later, he looks even better in the role!
Doug: But the real reason -- the real reason -- I wanted to discuss Batmania today was the hidden gem you see below. Yes, I saved the funny pages out of the Chicago Sun-Times from Sunday, November 12, 1989 when Marshall Rogers's newspaper strip began. The plot spun out of the events of the first Bat-film. NOTE: You may notice that the image is spliced -- my scanner was just a wee bit small to accommodate the width of the paper. But this is awesome! Who doesn't love themselves some Rogers Batman? Please enjoy.
UPDATE: Many readers in our comments section have noted that they did not know this strip even existed. Well, after a not-too-strenuous Internet search, I've found a blog with lots of great scans. Enjoy, courtesy of Scans Daily.