Be the Batman For 99 Cents

By Jason Moody

It's 1985.



You're with your mom, hanging off the edge of a shopping cart in your local grocery store -- for me, an A&P. As your mom weaves through aisle after aisle, she tosses boxes of Hamburger Helper, cans of Franco-American Spagheti-Ohs, glass jars of JIFF peanut butter (I demanded NOTHING less, and required a smiley face drawn in my sammich, just as the commercials told me loving mothers do.) ... you get the point.



As for you - you're probably pretending you're Indiana Jones riding in the mines from Temple of Doom, or Atreyu flying on Falcor through the clouds of Fantasia ... until something hanging on the end cap of an aisle catches your eye.



A long rectangular package with white cardboard backing and a clear plastic shell covering the treasure that has just captured your gaze. It's a BATMAN toy. Not just ANY Batman toy, this is some kind of Batman tool kit.



Batman handcuffs, Batman watch, by Odin a Batman walky talky! You see that there are other packages with different Batman sets.

A knife and an axe!? Score! A compass and a Batman canteen! Hey, even Batman gets thirsty, especially when he's busy fighting criminals!



You keep looking, pulling package after package off the rack, your mind can barely contain the rapture and elation filling your tiny six year old heart.



You turn to your mom, your eyes barely able to meet hers over the mountain of Batman merchandise in your arms. "No."



Brutal. She doesn't understand. This is it. This is your One-Eyed Willy's Treasure. With these tools at your disposal ... you can LITERALLY be Batman. You could make a difference. You could be the hero your neighborhood deserves ... for a mere 99 cents.



"but ... MAAAAHHHHHMMMM!!!!!"



She agrees to ONE, after a civil discussion.



Good enough. This will be your Year One. Even Batman started somewhere.



Looking back, I think the thing that has stuck with me the most about these Henry Gordon Batman toys is not the unimaginative Bat-Gadgets (really? A knife and an axe?), but it's the artwork. There's something very nostalgic to me about the characters on the package. They simply ooze early 80's Batman. From the sky blue and light grey color scheme of Batman's costume to the look of that red and yellow Batman logo - it really sends me back. It's nearly palpable.



In 1982, artist José Luis García-López created a DC style guide, and consequently influenced the look of some of the most recognizable super heroes for the next 25 years.



But, it was the style guide in 1982 and García-López's art work that ended up being used for most of the merchandise sold throughout the 1980's. This was the quintessential face of Batman until 1989.



To be honest- the character that captivated me most from García-López, was his Joker. There was something that was simply ... perfect about him. That long chin, wide smile, unmistakable hair. It was this Joker that inspired me to dress as the cown prince of crime for Halloween in forth grade.



Good times.



So, do you remember these Batman toys, or at the very least the distinctive look and style of the characters that were so prevalent in the 80's? Did you ever put puffy stickers on your trapper keeper?

-- Are your nostalgia senses tingling?