Get a load of these Jokers

If there's one thing better than finding new Batman at retail, it's finding new Jokers. To fully understand how much of a bat geek I am, lately if I buy a batman from a line, for example DC Infinite Heroes or Batman the Brave and the Bold, I try to always find a complimentary Joker, sort of the Yang to Batman's Ying. I can't say I have always done this, but lets take a quick look back...

1989 Batman Movie: Batman, check - Joker, check
1989 Batman Movie Die Cast: Batman, check - Joker, check
Mattel's Batman Line: Batman, check - Joker, check
Batman The Animated Series: Batman, check - Joker, check
Megos World's Greatest Heros: Batman, check - Joker, check
The Batman Animated Series: Batman, check - Joker, check
Hasbro's 9 Inch DC Super Heroes: Batman, check - Joker, check
Art Asylum's Mini Mates: Batman, check - Joker, check
Justice League Unlimited: Batman, check - Joker, check
Corgi Die Cast Cars: Batman, check - Joker, check
Batman Brave and the Bold: Batman, check - Joker, check
The Dark Knight: Batman, check - Joker, check


I don't have them all represented, but I have a pretty good sampling. Now for the incomplete list

DC Infinite Heroes: Batman, still looking - Joker, check
Kenner Super Powers: Batman, check - Joker, still looking
DC Universe Collection: Batman, check - Joker, still looking
Batman Brave and the Bold Action Heroes: Batman, check, check, check, check - Joker, waiting for release

It's safe to say these last ones will be found, once I set my mind to it, they usually turn up. So you see my Batman vs. Joker Rule is rather new, probably the last four years, the only real rule is a Show Accurate or Classic Batman vs. Show Accurate or Classic Joker, meaning no Scuba Batman and Neon Cyber Jokers when it comes to the Batman vs. Joker Rule. Though I do have my share of off model costumes for both.

Just a little insight into my Bat Geekiness. Now onto the latest Jokers. First up is the DC Infinate Heroes version, based on the classic comic design. This to date is my second DCIH figure I own. Actually He was purchased first. I will note I came close to buying a Batman from the latest three pack, but the price was crazy high and the paint on the Batman was less to be desired so I'm still Batman-less on this line. Won't be long.



The only accessory this figure came with his Joker's cane, which on closer inspection doesn't have the standard issue Joker's Head. Which is okay, because it is rather small. I have seen pictures online of this figure in a black suit as well, but I was more than thrilled to find the purple one. At this point the black suit would just be a bonus.



Second, is the Batman Brave and the Bold Joker. I was looking forward to this Joker, just because of his likeness to a Dick Sprang Joker. It's a nice reference they made in this latest animated version of Batman anyway.



I like these toys and have said that they remind me of the old Mego Micronaughts in the way that the accessories can be stored or connected to the limbs. I've read most collectors dislike this feature, but my feeling is get over it, it's a toy first and foremost, if you are looking for a "realistic" Batman go buy a statue or one from DC Direct.



Lastly I leave you with a little group pose. I've seen on other blogs people are staring to show of their collections a little more. I really dig this, so maybe I might have some Joker or Batman groupings to show off myself, until then enjoy this couple of Jokers.

The Cake or Eating?

I'm putting this one out to my collecting brethren. I was asked if I was able to purchase the Hot Toys Bank Robber Joker, with the condition of not buying any other geek related items for the rest of the year would I do it? That means for me, no more picking up random GI Joes, see a JLU Question hanging on the pegs, forget about it, What? You want that new EMCE Star Trek set, nope. How about the Dark Knight on DVD, nada. Expecting that new, big as life Millennium Falcon for Christmas, out of the question. How about a Happy Meal with a toy, a box of cereal with a prize, or that cool batman spinning lolly pop? No, no, and no! Sweet a ghost busters T-shirt, sorry. What, you were watching for that random holy grail on Ebay? You're not going to win that auction.

So what do you think, could you do it. Not for the Joker? Say for that one piece of your collection you thought you would never get because it's as much as your rent for a month or your car payment? Now I know the Joker here is not as much as those, but it is still a chunk of change, money well spent on other of life's necessities, but this is just a hypothetical question. I don't think I could do it and there is only a little over three months of the year left. I'm really looking for my Bat fans to chime in on this one, but everyone is welcome to chime in, there has to be one item that you could equate to this awesome piece of plastic, that you would be willing to give up your other interests for?

I'll leave this up for a few days before we return to the regular scheduled programming, so leave a comment or vote in the poll!

Batman vs. the Joker

Since I have all the Batman die cast out for dusting and cleaning, here's a fun little figurine two pack released at the time of the 1989 Batman film. It included a little bonus collector card that had the cover of the Movie adptaion on it and of course our hero and the villain from the film.



This has to be the closest Jack Nicholson likeness on a toy from that time, at least that I remember. The Toy Biz figure sure didn't look like him. These solid little die cast figurines are about 2 and half inches height and compliment other DC Comics Superhero figurines that Ertl produced at the time. These other figurines where more in the style of their comic likenesses though.



I might need to touch up Jack's nose a bit, see what happens when you don't store your toys properly. I have one other Batman in the same pose which I belive came packaged with one of the Ertl Batmobiles. I thought these multi packs were really a sweet deal at the time.

Joker Week Bonus: The Dating Game!

CB: Ms. Harley Quinnzel are you ready to meet the eligible bachelors?

HQ: I sure am Chunky!

CB: Well let's get started, Bachelor number one, tell us a little about yourself!



Joker 1: Well I come from the small state of Rhode Island, straight from a little toy shop called Hasbro! I dislike Bats, and I likes to keep my hands free, so I can hold a big "BANG!" gun, missile launcher, or rev up the ol' Harley if you know what I mean?

HQ: Oooooh!

CB: Wow, right out of the gate there, Bachelor number two how about you?



Joker 2: I'm from the sunny state of California, around Mattel way. I also dislike bats, I like playing jokes on people, and I know some card tricks. Oh and I love pet Hyenas.

HQ: Oh, you would just adore my little babies then!

CB: Okay, animal magnetism, Bachelor number three, it' your turn!



Joker 3: I'm crazy, I'm mad, I did a few cameos in a little show called Justice League, and I also know some card tricks... This card reminds me of you Ms. Quinn...

HQ: Oh, how?

Joker 3: It's got a big Mr. J all over it!

Joker 1: Hey now, I was on T.V. too, anyone Here of a little show called the Batman Adventures???

Joker 2: Pfffft, I did that show too, no big deal, but I'm also from Cali, and Card tricks... Card tricks baby!

Joker 3: Can't you see I'm crazy, crazy for you baby...

CB: Okay, okay settle down bachelors. Ms. Quinn, have you decided on one?

HQ: One? I'll take them all!

CB: There you have it folks, three for the road! Tune in next week when we go back to our regular Eclectorama format of eclectic toy goodness! And thanks for hanging in there for Batman and Joker Weeks! Big Kiss!

Group: Mmmmmmmmmmmaaaaa!


Note of thanks to Rob! at the Aquaman Shrine, Joker 3 was played by one of the many JLU Club exchanges we have going! Viva La JLU Club!

Joker Target!

Oh, I mean Target Exclusive Joker. Released on the heels of the Batman Gotham Knight Target exclusives, the Joker: Clown Prince of Crime flew in and out of Targets like a thief in the night. Standing at about 8" to 9" tall these figures from Hasbro are what most consider "Mego Like" meaning of course similar to the Mego Toy Company figures of long ago. Megos were known to be 8" action figures of your favorite heroes and villains wearing cloth costumes (yes, like dolls) instead of molded threads like todays plastic action figures.



This Joker fits right into the whole DC Super Heroes of the time, and with the modern Hasbro release of Marvel Super Heroes. So it's like Mego all over again. I think the detail in the costume is crazy and I really like the head sculpt on this Joker, a little more scarier than it's Mego brother, but still a cool little sculpt.



The Joker came with his Jester cane, a "BANG!" gun that while larger is probably more at home in this scale than from were it was recycled from, the Batman the Animated Series figure of Harley Quinn. I guess they at least kept it in the family. He also came with a large present (not shown) that when a button was pushed would split open and a little Jester figure would pop out.



This is another line I wished Hasbro would have kept going on. I could only imagine the other Bat Villains they could have done... Mr. Freeze, the Riddler, Catwoman, Two Face... They did get around to making the Penguin as a Target Exclusive, so at least Bat's got two fiends to fight!

Quick Fire Joker

Before there was DC Universe figures, Mattel launched a series of action figures under the Batman banner sculpted by the Four Horseman. The Joker here called Quick Fire Joker came packed with a huge green gun (not shown) that fired either a hand of cards or a "BANG!" sign. Not your usual projectiles, unless you're the Joker I guess. He also came with one of the most bendable canes I've ever seen. The cane is almost a rubber type of soft plastic, I know they didn't want any little ones to get injured, but wow this thing is like holding a rubber band.

Now usually I try to get a "normal" Batman and a Joker from each series, of course sometimes that plan doesn't always work out. Quick Fire Joker was one of the hardest to find from the series in my area, of course years latter they were released at discount stores in a two pack, though slightly different colors. I finally tracked one down at lunch time durning the week day. That afternoon was the longest wait ever. I left the Joker in the car while I finished up the days work, rushing home at 5:00 to free the Joker from his little plastic prison, I felt like I was 5 years old rushing home after school to catch my favorite show or play with a brand new toy.



The thing I like about this figure is that crazy look in his eyes and what a grin. That and he has a certain style or flair about him!

C3 Minimates Joker

2004 brought us one of the coolest little Joker playsets around. The C3 line of Minimates from Art Asylum hit selves with a bang, zip, pow! C3 stands for Create, Construct, Customize. These Minimates were taken from several sources of the Batman mythos including two different cartoons, comics, and even movies. Though some of the movie versions never saw release.



This set is based on the Justice League cartoon and is titled the Chemical Warehouse Battle. As you can guess these sets come with little Lego like blocks and Minimates. You can follow the instruction like a Lego set or build whatever your heart desires, cool thing is the bricks in the C3 sets are compatible with Lego sets. I know some people really do not like Minimates, but I really love these little toys, they remind me of a cross between some of the first Lego figures and the stuff they produce today. That and they are like a little hybrid of the Medicom Kubrick figures.



Now if you are scratching your head about Minimates, here's how they started. Art Asylum created them based on Japanese block style figures, they originally were 3" high, and several licenses where approached at that scale. Latter they partnered with Diamond Select to bring out the 2" Marvel Minimates, and still later they partnered with a little company called Play Along to bring out the C3 Construction series introducing the first DC Minimates to the world.



Today Art Asylum is in full swing again with Diamond Select toys to release a more comprehensive set of DC Minimates, plus tons of other licenses including Back to the Future, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek to name a few. Okay that's Minimates in a nut shell, to learn more you have to check out Minimate Central .



The C3 sets are no longer available, even when they were released some of the sets were near impossible to find, three sets that were released during the end of the line are the hardest, the Mini Javelin from Justice League and two from the Batman Cartoon, the Batcopter and Batcycle.

Let's Get Things Started!

Not a figure per se, but rather a vehicle with a little Joker figurine inside. The awesome laughing fish shaped Joker Mobile! Does the Joker Mobile have a theme song? If so insert it here, I'll wait...

Okay, released around 2004-2005, the Joker Mobile was from a great series of die cast vehicles featuring Batman and his villains. The company responsible, Corgi, one of the kings of die cast. Not only did Corgi release almost every incarnation of the Batmobile known (they left out movies and the Barris) but the did cars for Catwoman, Two Face, Killer Moth (thanks Jay!), Batman's little buddy Robin, and the Joker.

Each one seemed to have a cool little feature, Joker's was you pushed in the smile on the front of the car and the canopy would spring open. Another cool little bonus was there is a relief of the character on the bottom of the car.



I wish Corgi would have kept the license for these so we could have gotten more of the Bat Vehicles, they seemed to be hitting all the comic versions of the Batmobile, so I kept hoping that the Bat Tank from the Dark Knight Returns would have popped up, Wouldn't that have been cool?



I'm happy to have gotten a hold of the Joker Mobile, Just looking at that grill makes me all smiles!

Whoop! Whoop! Joker Week!

So you made it through Batman Week on Eclectorama and thought you would see if I had moved on to something else... Surprise!

Mego Batman spied this guy moving in on his territory this past Saturday, so I thought I would kick off Joker Week with one of the best, hands down Jokers around, Mego's the Joker! Okay my example is not the best specimen of Mego's Clown Prince of Crime, but the figure itself is what I'm talking about.



This Joker was won in an auction along with another one with one shoe (not shown) that was a fist fighter version of the character. When I was bidding on them I just figured they were the same figure since the seller didn't specify, I figured I would eventually pick up some reproduction shoes for the second one and I would have one at work and one at home... I was really surprised to find out one was a fist fighter.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah the Mego Joker to me is one of the best likenesses of the character around and I figured if I was going to have a Mego Dark Knight I needed Mego Villain, which lead me to a Mego Batmobile that they both usually go riding in.

I'm not sure why, but as a kid I only had Star Trek and Marvel Megos, but my Buddy had Batman, Robin, Joker, Penguin, the Batmobile, the Bat Cycle, and I believe the Bat Cave so I didn't miss out, there was always plenty of Batman Mego goodness when Steven was home!

So like Batman Week, in celebration of the Dark Knight (like every blog in the toy universe), Joker Week is going to be full of some of my favorite Joker Action Figures and toys.



Enjoy and... Haahaaahaaaahaaahaaahaahaahaaaaahaaaahaaaahaaaaahaaaaahaaahaaahaahaaaahaaahaahaaaaa!

Batman Week Bonus!

So I usually try to take the weekends off from all things computers, but thought it would be neat to throw out a bonus post, so here is my refurbished Mego Batman. I know he's not the best example of a Mego Batman, but here's his story anyway.

One summer Saturday, much like today, in the heat of the Texas morning this Mego Batman and I crossed paths. You see there is this little flea market down the road from the house, and the family found itself killing time on a sunny Saturday morning checking out the junk at the local market of fleas. I say junk, because the Flea markets in Texas (in my mind anyway) are nothing like the tales I've heard coming from New York city or even Cali-forn-i-a, no Texas flea markets are basically a bunch of junk dealers. I say this with the highest regards for the dealers, so if I do offend, I am sorry, but let's call it for what it is.

Anyway this trip yielded a sword from a knife dealer for my son (yes he is old enough to purchase mid evil weapons from a flea market), some great Mexican pottery for the misses, and nothing for me... until I saw him, Mego Batman, buck nakid in a display case. Now being a Bat Fan I knew I had to rescue him, so I inquired to the cost. One buck for a bare assed Batman! Sold! I took my prize home, much to the amusement of my wife and son who teased me the trip home and days after for buying a nude super hero dolly. That didn't phase me, cause I knew as he sat in the cool a/c on my drawing desk that this Batman would ride again!



So months passed and it was getting close to Christmas and my wife who can't keep track of the ever growing collection suggested I pick out something that I truly wanted, hum what do I truly want... I know some pants for Batman, so with the okay I went to a site I had been scoping out by the name of Dr. Mego. I went crazy and picked up a whole costume for my crime fighter, apparently though I forgot to add gloves to the cart, so Batman didn't get any standard issue mitts. The package came quicker than I thought, and right before Christmas I was playin... err, I mean posing for display my very first Mego Batman. No I didn't have one as a kid, I had Spidey and Captain America, but no Bats. I was thrilled. I will also add that Dr. Mego included a little freebie in my order, what looks like a short Knight sword and some literature on other items. Dr. Mego you made one owner of a crappy Batman very happy that year, if this gets back to you I want you to know you are a Mego Saint and I highly recommend your fine website to any and all who need pants for their superheroes!

Wait what's that Mego Batman? Who do you see? Mego Joker, Oh no that must mean we are going to have a Joker Week! Thought I would keep the Dark Knight Movie train going, so tune in next week for the Joker Week!

Just Plain Creepy

I picked up some Cheerios, because they are supposed to be good for your heart, not really... because they came with a Dark Knight Toy. And, while I was hoping to get a Joker I really wasn't prepared for the creepy feeling I got when I opened the package and pulled the little Joker out.

I don't know if it's the way the Joker is portrayed in the upcoming movie or if it's because Heath Ledger is no longer around. I even got that creepy feeling when I picked up the Joker figure from Mattel a few days earlier, and he's much more of an animated style.

Anyway I'm not sure if I should be eating this box of Cheerios, since it did contain the Joker, who knows what he put in it, I could break out in uncontrollable laughter and keel over.

Batman Villain Plush Vol. 1

The thing I like about the villains is that the series was in the middle of changing it's character designs, but since the company had already developed the Joker, and apparently people liked him that way he stayed the Animated Series version and was not updated to the New Batman Adventures version.

I really dig this version of the Clown Prince of Crime, if I can't find a decent plush of him on E-bay I may have to dig up the old patterns and have one made. It would give me a chance at trying my hand at sculpting and casting, though I would be casting in resin and not doing the roto head as this piece has. You know I did have a chance to do some of the control drawings for the heads of the Animated Series pieces, though not my best work, that was the extent of my contribution to this line.

Also check out that Mr. Freeze! I remember seeing the proto type for his head and wow it was amazing, stone cold expression.

The Batman - Joker

I was finally able to get one of these after two years. See, the Amusement Toy business is pretty much like the Retail Toy Business, if you want to get your hands on the competitions stuff you need to find it in the market. I've looked and searched for crane machines when ever we were out and had never seen these Jokers. Then one day a friend of mine decided to start his own crane business and was ordering samples and I seized the opportunity to get my hands on one of my favorite villains.

While I'm more of an old school (or even BTAS school) Joker fan, I still kind of like the designs from "the Batman" (the current Batman Cartoon). So while trekking around a trade show two years ago I came across the Namco booth (one of our competitors) who happen to have the new cartoon license. A deal we were trying to get. Well I knew then that I had to get one of these no matter who was making it and so "the Batman Joker Initiative" was born.

Now while I don't like to go around slamming the competition, I will say I wish we would of had a crack at these, I would have definitely had to say something about the QC on the paint apps on the mouth, and while we use hard stuffing on our larger pieces, this guy uses it and he standing at about fifteen inches tall,still a good candidate for the soft polyester stuff and he would be so much cooler soft filled. I know why they chose to hard fill it though... cost. I might have to do something about that in the future. Fo now he'll be hanging here in my office as is.

Maybe some day we'll get to do a Joker, and a few of my other all time favorite character's on my wish list. If you could see one of your favorite villains or super heroes in a crane machine, who would it be? I'm saying this right now Joker, Blue and Gray Bats, Robin, The Flash, Aquaman, and Hal Jordan- Green Lantern!