Ahh, I Love The Smell Of Old Comic Books In A Small Hotel Conference Room

Today my buddy, George and I decided to go out on a hunt for comic books. And not just any comics. We wanted old, cheap books to read. The kind of book that was read and re-read a few times before I got my grubby mitts on it. Luckily, George knew where we could find books like these. At a good old fashioned comic book marketplace.

At a Holiday Inn at Hasbrouck Heights, NJ there was a comic book marketplace that I believe is held a few times a year. It was one of those marketplaces that was held in a room where you walked in the front door and fell out the back window. Where people battled for elbow room and to check out boxes and boxes of comic books.

And I loved it.

My game plan going in was to go for books I just wanted to read. I wasn't looking for high dollar items. Just books to read and to fill holes in my collection until I can upgrade them. I also did not want to spend a whole lot of money either. Lucky for me, at a comic book marketplace there are a ton of books that could be had for very little.

After looking at the dollar and 4 for a dollar boxes, I came away with a ton of books. Now, the condition of these books are not the greatest, which is to be expected in dollar boxes. That said, I think I came away with some nice books. I will split the haul over the next couple of days as I don't want to write up a long, boring blog. I will have the next few days to do that. What? I keed. I keed.

I'm trying to put together a complete Run of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man. I would love a complete Amazing Spider-Man run as well as Batman, but with those titles, you're running into high dollar books that I will never be able to afford. Peter Parker was one of the first comic books I read as a kid because I dug the picture of Peter Parker pulling on his Spidey mask in the upper left corner of the comic, so I want to put that series together. Here are some PPTSM books I grabbed:

I cannot wait to start reading these books. Spider-Man is one of my very favorites and is always a good read no matter what title he is in. I also plan to start a Web Of Spider-Man collection when I can as that title was one of my favorites in the 80's. There was a ton of Web at the show, but I left those behind. Next time.

I bought home more Spidey, but I'll save those for the next blog. Stay tuned.

Holy Likeness, Batman!

By now, I am sure you guys have heard the news and even seen pictures. Hot Toys unveiled their 1966 Batman and Robin figures and from all the pictures I have seen they look awesome. It looks like Hot Toys have the likenesses of Adam West and Burt Ward as close to perfection as anyone can.

The figures look like will come with multiple hands and bat-a-rangs. Not sure if they will be coming with anything else. I would have liked to have seen Batman come with a shield and Robin with maybe a bat communicator. But from what I see, everything else about these figures are awesome.

Now, the price tag hasn't been announced yet, but I'm sure they will be anywhere from $249.99 to $299.99. That will put me out of the running on owning these figures. As I have said in the past, I just can't justify paying that much for an action figure. I already have the NECA '66 Batman as well as the '89 Batman on pre-order and I think they look great from the pictures I have seen. They did push back the dates a month back, but I'm OK with that.

As much as I think these Hot Toys are super sweet, I won't be owning them unless they come down in price or I can get a good deal for them elsewhere. A few years back, Mattel put out a Christopher Reeves Superman figure that looks really good. I'm hoping they will do the same with an Adam West Batman. That figure wasn't too expensive and I would definitely pick up one.

Let the spending begin!

Yes, I Like Pro Wrestling And Here Is My Favorite Wrestler

I don't discuss Pro Wrestling very much, but here's the truth. I love Pro Wrestling and have since I was about 12. It's not because I'm ashamed or anything. It just never really came up here. And boy, have I have watched it all since then: WWF then WWE, NWA, WCW, WCCW, Mid South, Mid Atlantic, Pro Wrestling USA, AWA, UWF, ECW and any other promotion that was shown on TV here in NYC. Technical wrestling, brawling, Fall Count Anywhere, Last Man Standing, Steel Cage Matches, Ladder Matches, Tag Team Matches,  I love them all.

I remember my first time watching it too. It used to come on here on WOR-TV Saturday nights after Racing From Aqueduct, which would usually be around 11:30 PM unless a Mets game either was from the west coast or went to extra innings. I don't remember what the date was or who was wrestling. What I do remember was Pat Patterson, who was working as a commentator next to Vince McMahon, went to interview Ivan Kolloff. There was a discussion regarding Russian wrestlers vs American wrestlers. Patterson defending American wrestlers vs Kolloff upholding the virtues of the Soviets. After a few minutes, Kolloff hauled off and slapped Patterson and stormed off set. Patterson gets up and rips his suit off and is screaming bloody murder and being bleeped after every second word. McMahon is screaming "Pat Patterson is angry and Ivan Kolloff better have left the arena" Me? I'm just sitting on my bed with my mouth wide open. I was hooked immediately.

I had seen wrestlers like the Masked Superstar, the Wild Samoans, Pat Patterson, Sgt. Slaughter,the WWF Champion Bob Backlund, George "The Animal" Steele, Andre The Giant, The Magnificent Muraco, who was the Intercontinental Champion, Rocky Johnson, Tony Atlas and colorful managers like The Grand Wizard, "Classy" Freddie Blassie and Capt. Lou Albano. I did have a favorite at the time. The "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka was a guy who had just turned face right around when I started watching, was having the first vicious feud I had ever seen with Muraco. I loved that rage he had when he was angry, but I loved his Superfly Splash off the top rope even more. But I wouldn't say I went GaGa over the guy. Then one show, there was a wrestler who was called "Dr. D" David Schultz. He was beating up a ham and egger (Bobby Heenan representing, yo!), so I wasn't too interested. Then I saw his manager. Here was a loud mouth who was yelling instructions, had a sneer on his face and was wearing a kilt. Who the heck was this guy? During the interview after the match, I found out he called himself "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and he was the best manager in the business. I found out much later he was managing only because he was recovering from injuries sustained during his vicious Dog Collar match with Greg Valentine at Starcade months earlier. He later added Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff to his stable and his career in the WWF was off and running.

Piper interviewing Frankie Williams right before pummeling him

Then, he started to host an interview segment called "Piper's Pit" and that's what made he's known for. At the time, it was pretty innovative. Buddy Rogers had a segment called "Rogers Corner", but it was boring as heck. I would have rather watched paint dry. "Piper's Pit" was anything but boring. His first segment, he insulted a writer for the WWF Magazine, who used to host a segment at that spot. The next week, he called an injured Eddie Gilbert's dad stupid for letting him wrestle The Masked Superstar. Piper was so funny as the host. He would complement the rule breakers and embarrass the good guys. He would assault wrestlers like Frankie Williams,  insult Rocky Johnson, and tell Andre The Giant he had a teeny tiny brain. His most famous segment was when he attacked my former favorite Jimmy Snuka by breaking a coconut over his head and then whipping him with his belt. That started off a feud with Snuka that lasted a year. Piper's Pit may have made Piper's career, but it made him my favorite wrestler and I watched everything and listened to everything he said as well.

I was there at Madison Square Garden the night he beat up Capt. Lou Albano, kicked Cyndi Lauper and power slammed her manager Dave Wolfe as well as the next show when he wrestled Hulk Hogan in the first wrestling match aired on MTV. It was called "The War To Settle The Score" and it was a classic. I realize that using the word "classic" and Hulk Hogan in the same sentence is stretching it a bit, but trust me, it was. The electricity in the crowd that night was so electric, you could cut the air with a night. By then, cheering Piper openly was becoming dangerous as I would have cups thrown at me or I would be cursed out. The end of the match had Piper disqualified when Orndorff and Bob Orton interfere in the match. They were about to beat up Cyndi Lauper when Mr. T made the save. Piper and Orndorff beat up on T until Hogan made the save. The interviews leading up to Wrestlemania was classic and Piper stole the show on Saturday Night Live. I wish I could have been at Wrestlemania. But my mom decided my grades weren't up to snuff, so I couldn't go. Back then, there was no pay per view, so I had to wait until the results were posted in the NY Post the next morning. I was crushed to read that Piper and Orndorff had lost. Piper and Orndorff feuded for a while and he "boxed" Mr. T at Wreslemania 2. After, Piper left to film "They Live", which is a Sci-Fi Classic.

If you have not seen They Live, see it!

When Piper returned, he became a fan favorite and hosted Piper's Pit where he now complemented the good guys and insulted the bad guys. He also feuded with wrestlers like "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, Bob Orton, Ric Flair, Harley Race and Bad News Brown. He won his only singles title around this time when he beat the Mountie for the Intercontinental Title. He then had his best match when he wrestled Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 7 and dropped the belt to Hart. After, he would only wrestle sporadicaly, mainly serving as color commentator with Vince McMahon on WWF TV. He left and later showed up in WCW to feud with Hogan before returning to WWE after. He shows up every now and then to host a Pit which is always entertaining.

God, I still wish I had this

I really don't have much of a Piper collection. When I was a kid, I got the Piper LJN figure and had the poster that came with the figure on my wall. I also got the Hogan figure and had Piper beat him for the belt, which he wore. I also had a picture book that the WWE put out. I also had a cup that 7-11 had sold with a Big Gulp and the later Hasbro Piper figure from the 1990's. All of this got lost due to various moves and I hope to one day get them all back in my collection, as well as other things so I can have a shelf dedicated to Piper. Here's what I do have:

I have always loved the Unmatched Fury line. The figures were pretty realistic and had a base to pose them on. When I found out that Piper would have a figure in this line, I knew I had to have it and grabbed it when I saw it.

The Entrance Greats was a Christmas gift my buddy, George got for me. The figure also has a stand, but this stand plays a few seconds of his entrance music. I love this figure and was thrilled when I tore open the wrapper and saw Hot Rod underneath.

Speaking of Hot Rod, this was a t shirt I had wanted ever since I was a kid and saw him sporting it on Piper's Pit. Thanks to the magic of eBay, I now have this shirt as a part of my geeky wardrobe.

I had shown this pin off in a blog from last year. I picked this pin up for a buck at SuperMega Fest in New Jersey. There wasn't a lot to be had at the show, but I was more than happy to add this pin to the Piper collection.

One of my most cherished experiences was meeting Roddy at the Big Apple Comic Con a few years ago. I was extremely nervous, which I never get when meeting a celebrity. Waiting on line, I met his son, Colt and struck up a conversation with him until it was my turn to meet Piper. When I got up there, I basically spilled my guts to the man like a little girl meeting the Beatles circa 1964. Piper was the best. He listened intently to everything I said, laughed at a few comments, was genuinely pleased when I told him he was my all time favorite and even asked about my family. He signed these 2 pictures for me and posed for a photograph with me.

When I get my man cave, there will be only 2 photos of myself on my walls. A picture of me at the old Yankee Stadium and this picture of me and the "Rowdy Scott". I want to blow it up and have him sign it for me before framing it. I got Albano to sign the Piper's Pit photo at the same show. I just need Cyndi Lauper to sign it so I can add it to my future man cave wall.

I do have the Piper DVD that the WWE put out not too long ago as well as Hell Comes To Frogtown. I'm always looking for the Pit's burnt on a DVD as well as They Live, but I want that on Blu-Ray and I'm not sure its been released on Blu-Ray just yet.

I apologize for the long read. I guess when you admire someone for as long as I have, there's a lot you want to say about the individual. I know if he was a jerk when I met him all this would have been flushed down the toilet like when I met Graig Nettles. But when you know the man is as decent in real life as he's bad in the world of Pro Wrestling, then you know he's doing something right. Ether he's beating up someone or insulting them with his quick tongue or acting in a movie Piper is one of the most entertaining individuals to ever have stepped into the squared circle. He's as big a reason for the popularity of wrestling in the 80's as Hogan was. To this day, he is wildly cheered when he appears on Raw and that is a well deserved cheer for a man who gave his life to wrestling. He was Rowdy before being Rowdy was cool and that's a fact. When you can't throw rocks at a man who carries a machine gun, the only thing I can do is say thanks to for making my childhood a different, yet entertaining one.

O.K. I Want This And That And That....

It's auction time for us members of the League Of Extra Ordinary Bloggers. A time where we wish each other good luck in adding new and glorious pieces to our collections and then figure out a way to blindside each other for the same piece. It's a war and we have our war paint and fatigues on as we zero in on the pieces we wish to add to our collections and make sure we don't give up our first born to get that piece. This is eBay on steroids and I'm about to drop a few elbows to get what I want. O.K, maybe it isn't that vicious, but you get the idea.

Hake's Americana and Collectibles is holding another one of their fantastic auctions and is sponsoring this week's topic. Here is the link to Auction #209 in case you would like to drool all over your keyboard like I have so many times:

http://www.hakes.com/browse.asp?Auction=209&ListID=0

Now, I have never participated in a Hake's auction. A lot of the stuff they have up for bid is a bit out of my price range, but I do love to browse through their inventory and just play make believe in my mind and pretend I was Ted DiBiase and make a mental note of what I would buy if I was loaded. Unfortunately, once Mr. Rogers enters the dream, I pretty much end it 'cause that's just plain creepy.

For this week's topic, we are to go on an imaginary shopping spree at Hake's current auction and list what we would buy if we had the funds. I decided to pick pieces for collections I collect or picked pieces to start a collection I have always wanted. In some cases, they were pieces I had or come across as a kid or pieces that I have always longed to own. What did I pick? Well, you my dear reader are pretty nosy, but I will show you anyway.

Let's start with 2 pieces I would love to own for my Batman collection:

This is an animated cell from one of my favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Entitled "Legends Of The Dark Knight", the episode follows 3 kids as they envision what The Batman is really like. One kid imagines the Caped Crusader as something right out of a Dick Sprang drawn comic book with a heroic voice and all. Another visualizes Batman to be like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns, complete with mud fight with the Mutant Leader. I loved how the episode showed what Batman has looked like over the years and to add this piece to my Batman collection would be fantastic.

The Mego-head that I am would never be able to pass up the chance to be able to bid on and possibly own a boxed Batman Mego. The graphics on the box just pop out at you and the figure is mint and complete inside. This would be a great addition to the Batman shelf right next to the loose, not so mint Batman I do own.

I have never seen these before. Batman and Robin Jigglers from Fun Things. They're rubber figures with removable capes that you can hang on door knobs or other spots around the house. I'll just keep them carded and on my shelf, thank you. These pre-dated the Ben Cooper jigglers by about 7 years.

I didn't find much to add to my Luke Skywalker collection, but I did see this bad boy. As a kid, I had this and loved it. I would have lightsaber battles with the Darth Vader figure I owned, had him hang from his grappling hook or just sit on my desk looking cool as he was when he blew up the Death Star...ok, maybe he wasn't Han Solo cool, but he did shot at Stormtroopers, got into a cantina fight and blew up a couple of Tie Fighters. Makes him cool in my book.

For my Beatles Collection, I found this gem:

My vintage Beatles memorabilia is pretty limited and to be able to add this awesome lunchbox to my collection would instantly make it the crown jewel of my Beatles collection. This is a pretty expensive piece to own and right now its at a reasonable bid, although I don't expect it to be for much longer.

It even comes with the thermos. I want to say the picture has them in 1965. I think they wore suits similar to this at the famous Shea Stadium show on August 15th, 1965.

The last item I would bid on is a lot of DC Comics Hallmark statues, a couple of which would fit nicely in my Batman and budding Superman collection:

I simply love that statue of Batman and Robin running with the Batsignal displayed behind them. I have always wanted to add that statue to my collection, but either it's too pricey or I'm outbid on one. The Robin beside it is also a nice piece.

Can't go wrong with Wonder Woman, classic or modern. Love the vintage Wonder Woman piece.

I love this Superman statue which has him in that iconic pose from Superman issue #11 from 1941. A must have.

A very cool piece of Superman flying over the Daily Planet which would be a nice addition to the Superman Shelf. Plus, he is sporting a sweet mullet.

Speaking of Superman, I found a really cool piece for the Superman collection:

This tin piece was a toy that you would wind up and Superman would lift it up from the bottom and flip the tank over, then start over again.

I never got why Superman is wearing a yellow suit rather than the iconic blue uniform. I know I have seen an earlier version of him in the blue suit. Still, a vintage piece like this one would be a head turner in any Superman collection.

I would like to thank Hake's for allowing us use of the pictures from the auction. I have seen a ton of other pieces that I would love to have from Monkees to Green Hornet to even goodies for my baseball collection. I could go on and on and show off all the stuff I would love to own, but we all don't have hours to read the ramblings of a poor geek.

Now, go and bid, bid, bid!

Since you're still up, check out what my fellow League Members would bid on:

http://shezcrafti.com/a-bunch-of-awesome-crap-id-buy-from-hakes-if-i-wasnt-broke/

http://brandedinthe80s.com/11435/down-with-opp

http://gijigsaw.blogspot.com/2013/07/hakes-shopping-spree.html

http://mosespa.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/loeb-hakes-shopping-spree-redux.html

http://aeiouwhy.blogspot.com/2013/07/league-post-return-to-hakes.html

Tell them The Sexy Geek sent you. I'm sure they won't know what the hell you are talking about.

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare Some Room?

I spent a better part of last weekend doing some much needed clearing up of my room. I did this for a few reasons. A-My room had gotten really cluttered. B-I wanted to swap out stuff I had in my closet for future blogs for stuff I had already shown. C-I wanted to see what I had. What should have taken a few hours had taken a couple of days and it was shocking and frustrating.

I had boxes and bags on my dresser, chair, desk and other places in my room, so I packed all of the stuff and opened my closet door to put all my stuff away. When I opened my closet, I realized I had a problem that you would think you could only find in cartoons or comedies. My closet was already filled with boxes upon boxes of sports cards, unopened and opened figures, as well as boxes for most of my bobbleheads. That is when I realized I was in big trouble.

I had just about run out of room and I was stuck holding the bag, literally.

What started out as collecting what I liked had turned into an episode of Hoarders, starring The Sexy Geek. It was an unplanned and most unwanted appearance. I had to figure out what had happened and how I could stop this slippery slope I was on before I was left blubbering over an intervention by friends and family because I was sneaking in a moldy issue of Amazing Spider-Man #500 and a Mego Robin with a broken leg...wait I have one already. Oh God, Help me! (drops to my knees, crying hysterical as I hold Robin in my arms, whispering to him that everything would be O.K)

Alright, seriously, I know how I got here and it's a pretty simple explanation. What started as my collecting stuff I actually loved grew into my picking up something of anything I remotely liked. I have my sports collection which consists of anything Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Islanders and Devils as well as a few player collections. In my sports collections, I have cards (a lot of cards), autographs, bobbleheads, figures, pins, yearbooks, programs and other stuff I can't remember. My pop culture collection consists of Batman, Spider-Man, The Beatles, The Monkees, Luke Skywalker/Star Wars and Back To The Future.

Now, the problem is not only do I have a large collection of stuff that I like, but I have managed to start side collections of stuff I that while I like, don't have the attachments that I have to my favorites. For instance, I love KISS, but did I really need to buy a huge Love Gun Mister? It's never even been out of the box. Granted, the box is wrecked, which is why I got it for half off at Spencer's, but I honestly didn't need it nor have I used it. Plus, I really don't go out of my way for KISS stuff anymore.  I have a side Iron Man collection. I was never a huge Iron Man fan when I read the comics. I fell in love with the character after I watched the movies and then started reading the books. I'm a huge WWE fan and I never even started a collection save for a few Roddy Piper and Steve Austin figures. Imagine how messed up I would be if I had?

Because I really cannot afford a storage room, I have some boxes and rubber maid bins that have toys, video tapes, autographs, books and other items. I also have my T.V., DVD's, Blu Ray's, clothes and other things. As you can imagine, room is very limited in my area. I'm lucky I have room to move around right now, but if I keep adding stuff I may not.

What I am going to have to do is step back and take a bit of a break from collecting. Reestablish my collecting goals and focus on that. Anything else, I may either put away, trade or sell. I would have to figure out just what I would be willing to part with. That will not be easy. I always did not want to be the collector you all saw on Collector Intervention that would have a hard time letting go of a piece, but the more I think about what I may or may not part with, I can now understand why they always had a problem with letting go. But I also realize I need to take control before the collection takes control of me.

If I decide to let anything go, I will throw it out to you guys to see if there would be anything anyone wanted. I would rather anything I have would go to a good home and a collector who would appreciate it before I give it to Goodwill or turn to eBay. It sucks that I let things get out of control, but at least I was able to catch the problem before it was too late and that is always a good thing.

Even The 1966 Batman Can Go Digital

Yesterday, DC Entertainment (I would rather call them DC Comics) released their Digital-First Batman '66 #1. This new digital comic format incorporates DC2, which is DC's newest platform to enjoy digital comics. It allows you to read the book as the action "happens". In other words, when you read digital comics before, it was usually a panel by panel read. With DC2, the panel is interactive. With a swipe of your finger, dialogue appears and the actions moves along. It's not animated, it just enhances the reading experience.

When I heard this was going to be released digitally, then in regular comic book format, I decided I would be picking this up digitally. I am picking up less and less comic books these days and instead focusing on graphic novels and digital comics so this release was right up my alley. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. The story and dialogue made it seem like I was actually watching an episode of the show. Plus, the issues are in parts, like the T.V. series was.  The artwork was fantastic. The artist, Johnathan Case, captured the essence of the show in his art and did a great job on the likenesses of the actors as well. The DC2 format was smooth and made the digital comic reading pretty enjoyable and I cannot wait to read other titles using this format.

 I do think you would get a lot more out of the experience if you read it on a tablet rather than a phone. I read this on my Note 2 and I had some trouble making out the dialogue balloons at times. But to be honest, it wasn't enough of a problem to make me not want to order the next issue of Batman '66 or any other title that incorporates DC2 in the future. It just makes me want to either fix the screen on my Kindle Fire (don't ask) or buy the Google Nexus 7.

I know a lot of fans are pretty old school when it comes to comic books. I get it and in a way, I'm right there with you. I would rather pick up a comic book in my hands and flip the pages. But room is an issue for me as well as trying to keep them in good condition. Just the other day, there was a leak in my apartment and most of my comic books got caught in the leak, ruining most of them. I had to throw them out. With digital, I don't have to worry about condition or storage of the books. I can pick up the issues on the DC, Marvel, Comixology, Kindle or Nook apps and enjoy the titles wherever I go. Caution, you can only get the DC2 format through the DC Comics app.

If you haven't read a digital comic and are a fan of the Batman T.V. series or tried the digital comic and wasn't a fan, I strongly suggest you give Batman '66 a shot. I downloaded my copy for only 99 cents, so it's not a huge hit to the wallet. I will definitely be picking up future issues of this book. It just goes to show you that you can make a classic modern and make it very cool while keeping it's essence intact.

Amazing Superman Collection Makes Me Want Batman Figures

The other day, I was on YouTube, looking at videos of other collectors and their collections. As of late, I have been in a very "Superman" mood and was watching videos of Superman collections. I stumbled across a collector called stewmurray47. He is a Superman collector from England, I think. This guy has one amazing Superman collection. If you have the time, check out some of his videos. Here is the one that shows off his collection. It's about an hour, but I promise you, it is worth the time to view this fantastic collection.

Seeing that video in it's entirety, made me think about my collection, specifically, my Batman collection and all the stuff I would like to pick up and add to the collection. Statues, batmobiles, playsets are some of the things I have looked into adding, but for this blog, I am going to keep it to just action figures as they are what I have been looking at on eBay the most...and drooling over.

And because I am pretty lazy, I will list the 5 figures I really want to add to my collection in the near future. I will only list figures that have been previously been released and are affordable to my wallet. As much as I would give my soul for a  Hot Toys Michael Keaton Batman figure, I will be quite happy with the NECA figure I have on pre-order.

1-DC Direct New 52 Batman

Of all the New 52 DC Titles, hands down, Batman is the best book to read. Some people may say Green Lantern or Justice League would be, but I just happen to love reading the Batman titles. I was afraid that when DC planned this reboot that I would really dislike the direction they were going. I was wrong.Well, at least when it comes to Batman. Loved The Court Of Owls and Death In The Family stories and I eagerly await to read what happens next in the Batman world.

Some people had a problem with the new costumes, but I really didn't. Batman wearing shorts or not wearing shorts in his new outfit doesn't really matter to me. I really like the sculpt on this figure and  look forward to adding it to my collection at some point soon.

2-DC Direct 13" 1:6 Batman

This is one of the more higher end figures on my list, but it is so cool. I have seen this figure in stores when it was released, but the $79.99 price tag always had me backing away from it slowly. Had I known that Hot Toys would be even more expensive and that the price tag for this figure would grow, I would have gladly grabbed it at $80.00. This is what Famous Covers should have been.

Let me piggyback this figure with the one above since they are both 1:6 Batman figures

I think I want this one a little more because this is my favorite incarnation of The Batman. It's the one I grew up with in the 70's and 80's and the version I favor the most.

3-DC Direct Justice Batman

Alex Ross is one of my favorite artists and when I found out DC Direct was releasing a figure based on the graphic novel "Justice", which Ross illustrated, I knew I had to get it for the collection. A few years later, I still don't have it. In my defense, I can never find it and when I do, the price is pretty high. I will add this figure to my collection at some point soon.

4-DC Direct Super Friends Batman

As a kid, The Super Friends was my favorite cartoon and I never missed an episode when it aired on Saturday mornings on ABC. As an adult, I pick up the DVDs when I find them and enjoy a piece of my childhood. This was another of those "I have to have it" figures when I saw it, yet I still have not picked it up. But, I do have more than one option as this figure came solo, in a 2 pack with Scarecrow and in a four figure Batman box set. I have seen the box set and will fork over the 40.00 when I see it again.

5-DC Direct Batman/Superman Public Enemies Batman

I have always been a fan of Ed McGuinness and I absolutely love this figure based on the graphic novel. The sculpt looks exactly like the way McGuinness drew Batman. I enjoyed the graphic novel, so this figure is also a must for my collection. I should take time this weekend and see if the animated movie is on Netflix this weekend and check it out.

Now that I listed the 5 (o.k., 6) figures I want to add to my Batman collection, it's time to start looking for them before all you guys grab them before I can get my dirty mitts on them. I know I probably won't have a collection as big as the Superman collection stewmurray47 has, but I plan to have fun trying and these 5 figures will be the ones I start with.