Go West, Young Bunny.

Ty the Guy OUT.

It goes without saying how much Adam West impacted my life.  I was EXACTLY the right age to become a lifelong fan when Batman come into our living room in 1966.  I remember the Adam West style Batman and Robin costumes my mother sewed for my brother and me when the show was still on the air.  I remember how excited I was to grow out of the Robin costume and finally fit into the Batman suit so I could be the Caped Crusader for Halloween in 1970.  It’s no coincidence that the lion’s share of my work for DC Comics takes place in Gotham City, from the animated Batman series, to the recent Batman 66 series, starring Adam West himself, it’s always my happiest place to be with Batman.

Thanks for the recent animated movies, and “Back to the Batcave” and Family Guy.  Thanks for the years of unbridled joy.

Thanks.

 

I sketch Adam West style Batman covers at conventions ALL the time.  It’s likely the most common request I get.  Here’s a few of them from the last year or so… I’m sure there will be many more–

This is, maybe, my favourite portrait I ever did of Adam West’s Batman.  It’s hard to see in this image, but this drawing is on the back of a playing card, a fan brought to the table, and is only about three inches tall.

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For last week’s review of the Wonder Woman movie, please click above.

For the ancient Bun Toon archive…click

Gotham City Bun Toons! YAY!

Right after this cheerful logo, things get dark and gritty…

I’ve been watching the new GOTHAM television series since the first episode, and I’m a confirmed fan.  I’m hard to please with Batman filmed stuff, so if I’m on board, they’re doing something right.

There are those who are missing the point of the series, though….and after a half dozen episodes, I feel I’m enough of an expert that I can explain to one and all…

Haters gonna hate.

The rest of us are having a ball.

TY THE GUY OUT!

Hey!  The fine folks at Marvel released my page from all-new, all-exciting Big Marvel Event SPIDER-VERSE a little early, so I can show it off here!  I got to draw one of the most ICONIC versions of Spidey in history!  click on the image to make it larger!

 

That’s right!  I got to KILL OFF THE TWINKIE-VERSE Spider-Man!  Talk about notching one in the career belt.

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For last week’s Bun Toon, touching and personal as it is…click here.

For the Bun Toons archives, click here

 

Violent Conflict Bun Toons! YAY!

Solid wall to wall action here, folks. Strap yourself in.

Last weekend, I was at FanExpo Canada, a junior San Diego Comicon for us bacon eating hockey players.  (It’s actually pretty huge nowadays, second only to Comicon in size for the year!)

Naturally, I got asked the inevitable question I’m always asked, seeing as I’m a child of the hippie era, and professionally associated with both of the parties involved.  “Who would win …?”

 

Now, if this had been Chris Pine and Ben Affleck, the winner would have been Gamorra from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ty the Guy OUT!

 

Of course, the REAL Captain Kirk once met the REAL Batgirl pretending to be a green slave girl.

Holy Body Paint, Captain!

and there have been a few attempts over the years to get Captain Kirk into the DC Universe…

Oh my god, this is real.

But we’re still waiting on the OFFICIAL Gotham City/Federation crossover that the fans deserve.

If we could work the Beatles and James Bond in there, we might have something.

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for a couple of con sketches and bun toon reruns from last week, click here

For the last live Bun Toon from TWO weeks ago, click here.

For the Bun Toon archive…click here

Best Bun Toon Ever? Yay!

It only comes but once a year!

Sorry this was a bit late, my computer has been bitten by something, and I have to upload on the wife’s machine.  Sheesh!

This week included Bat-Day, the 75th Birthday of the guy who pays my mortgage.  So in celebration, I give you…

There.  Now you don’t have to read Batman comics any more, I’ve topped them all.

Ty the Guy OUT!

In case anyone was wondering, THIS is the best Batman comic ever…and if you ask at a convention, I can prove it.

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For last week’s Bun Toon of colour, click here.

For the Bun Toon archive…click here

 

Na na na na…Batman and Ty Templeton!

The hardcover Batman ’66 Volume 1 is out TODAY at your Local Comic Book Store!! The Penguin issue I did is in there (written by Jeff Parker). (I think the Bookworm one, written by Tom Peyer will be in Volume 2 which I think comes out next month?) This was some of the most fun I’ve had working in comics (right up until my current gig, drawing a six issue Batman ’66 Meets The Green Hornet mini, written by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman, with covers by the one and only Alex Ross).

I will be at a Release Party for the book THIS Saturday April 5 at The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, 7-11pm. There will be copies of the book available and copies of the two issues I’ve done so far (#2 and #6).

I’ll have some of my artwork with me, some prints, and sharpened pencils and fresh markers so I can do sketches and sign books.

This is a party–so cosplayers are absolutely welcome! Pull out your Catwoman or Joker costume and join us!

The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery

587A College Street West 

Second Floor, Toronto

Saturday April 5 2014, 7 – 11 pm

(from The Lounge’s FB event page) “Put on your go-go boots and get ready to “Batusi” back to the Swingin’ 60s as DC Comics reimagines the classic Batman TV show! In this hardcover collecting issues #1-5 of the hit series, The Dynamic Duo takes on The Riddler, Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, The Mad Hatter, The Joker, and more of the world’s most colorful Bat-villains!

Please join us for a special bat-party at a special bat-time at the Comic Book Lounge (and our neighbours the Temple of Toys) with the one and only Ty Templeton!

On display will be original artwork from Batman ’66 #2 and #6. Ty Templeton will have his Batman ’66 print available and artwork is for sale!

Feel free to come dressed as your favourite hero or villain! Come and do the Batusi — we’ll have someone there who can teach you how! Neil Hefti’s swinging jazz on the stereo, and some Batman ’66 on the small screen!

Libations will be available for purchase. A tall glass of milk helps build strong bones and teeth in case you need to catch the Bat-rope in your teeth!”

Big Choice Bun Toons! YAY!

Changing shirts for the duration of the Olympics

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To be fair, Pete Best might not have made it to the Ed Sullivan performance, but he did make a couple of million dollars off his contribution to the Beatles’ Anthology albums, and he’s gotten to outlive a couple of his ex-band mates, so he wins in the end.

Bill Finger didn’t even get a Google Doodle on his birthday, so sigh.

Ty the Guy OUT!

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Your Bonus Batman vs. the Beatles moments are fun-

First up:

Behind this gorgeous Neal Adams cover is a story by Frank Robbins about Batman and Robin solving the mystery of Paul McCartney’s murder…using clues found on album covers.    Well…the murder of Saul Cartwright…I guess the editor wouldn’t let ’em use the REAL Paul, as he wasn’t actually murdered.

This is a cover I did for Batman and Robin Adventures #13.  It came out around the same time as Beatles’ Anthology, so…

…the story revolved around Scarecrow using the Anthology broadcast to piggy back a fear frequency to America…we still weren’t allowed to use their real names, so I named Paul McCartney “Mike McGear” (an in-joke for Beatlesmaniacs, anyone know why?).

Basically, this Batman meets the Beatles thing has been going on for a while…

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For last week’s special tribute to Debra Jane Shelly click here

For the Bun Toon that started all this Bill Finger attention last month, click here

For the Bun Toon Archive, click here

Even More Of This Bun Toons! YAY!

Hoo boy, did we see a lot of traffic this week.

My comic strip about Batman, Bill Finger and “what might have been”  viraled up more than any other Bun Toon I’ve done.  It was forwarded on facebook, touted on tumbler, tweeted and redditted, scrawled under the overpass in the bad side of town, chatted about at the important parties, passed along in secret codes to the people who needed to know, and talked about  amongst the un-contacted rainforest tribes in  New Guinea.

If you haven’t read it…here it is…

Click here and jump on a bandwagon!

First –let’s get this straight:  I didn’t do it to bitch slap Bob Kane.  

That’s Steranko’s job.

And I didn’t do it as some anti-corporate comment about work-for-hire contracts, as it has nothing whatsoever to do with any or that.

I did it as a little plea for some attention on Bill Finger’s 100th Birthday (rapidly coming up on Feb. 8th of this year!).  My friend Marc Tyler Nobleman had this idea that Bill Finger deserved a Google-Doodle to mark the occasion, since Bill more-or-less/we-can’t-say-it-LEGALLY/no-one-really-argues-it-though, created most of what we know of as Batman an Robin, but his name almost never comes up around any of the movies, comics, books and TV shows that feature his characters….and Marc thought a Google Doodle would be a good way to celebrate Mr. Finger’s Dynamic Duo of contributions to 20th Century Pop Culture  (putting aside for a moment that Bill Finger also co-created Green Lantern and Joker and Catwoman, etc.)

Nothing catches on as a grass-roots movement unless there’s a mess of bumper sticker catchphrases summing up the complexity of the concept into worthless bite-size ideas chunks.  With that in mind, I give you the following images that you can right-click and use for your own facebook-tumblr-twitter worlds.  Help get the word out on Bill’s Hundredth Birthday, and our campaign to get him a google doodle.  

I’m tired of hearing that Bill Finger was the “unsung” hero of Batman.

Let’s  get him SUNG.

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right click any image and put it on social media today!

My wife didn’t care for this one…

This might work on Spider-Man fans…every bit helps.

Clearly I’ve run out of ideas…

This is the week to campaign…the birthday’s only a couple of weeks away.

Ty The Guy OUT!

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For many other Bun Toons past, some of which involve Batman, and many of which involve rabbits…click the archive here

Giving Comics The Finger Bun Toons! YAY!

Let’s give the comics industry the Finger.

We’re coming up on an anniversary on Feb. 8th of this year.

That will mark the 100th Birthday of Milton (Bill) Finger, the REAL creator of Batman.

Mr. Gotham City hisself..

Now according to the official story, Batman was created by Bob Kane (and no one else) but most comic fans know that’s not the true story.  While there’s no doubt that Bob Kane did contribute something to the character of Batman (apparently he came up with the name), the overwhelming creative force behind the super-hero we all love was Bill Finger.

Without Bill writing the scripts and shaping the visuals, we don’t have Robin, Bruce Wayne, the Bat-cave, the Batmobile, the Penguin, Gotham City, the Signal, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred the Butler, Wayne Manor, the Batarang, Catwoman, the basic look and color scheme of the Batman costume, the Joker, The Riddler, The Scarecrow (as well as Green Lantern, Wildcat and a host of other characters!)

But Bob Kane, did, in fact, come up with the name…so let’s see….

This Feb 8th, you can do something to give the comics industry the Finger and give Bill his proper due.

Send a note to: proposals@google.com    — and suggest that Google give Bill Finger a Google-Doodle on his 100th anniversary.  Holy Justice, Batman, it would be spiffy!

For more about this subject, check out my friend Marc Tyler Nobleman’s blog….  Marc is a bit of an expert on the story of Bill Finger….he literally wrote the book on it!

Ty the Guy OUT!

Some unseen pages from the book about Bill Finger that Marc and I did a while ago:  This two page sequence shows just a fraction of the stuff Finger created…

and here’s another unseen two page spread from the Bill Finger book…Marc didn’t like the image of Bill and Bob working together as his research suggested Bill didn’t hang around Bob Kane while Bob drew…and let’s be honest….Bob didn’t draw all that much.

You’ll have to get your own copy of the book “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman”  yourself to see that pages we finally went with for these sequences…

And please, go pester the Google people about Bill’s doodle.  It would make Batman proud.  The real one with the pointy ears and the blue cape.

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For last week’s Bun Toon about Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, click here.

For the Bun Toon archive (going back decades, now!) click here

Holy Bat-Toons, Bunny-Man! YAY!

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-BUN TOONS!

I am SO behind the deadline on my latest issue of Batman 66 that it would be immoral for me to devote any time to anything but drawing Batman today.  I love the Rabbit, but the Bat pays the bills.

So today, a few Batman themed Bun-Toons from yesteryear to bide the thronging legion of Bun Toons fans until I get a spare minute for this  year’s Christmas Bun Toon (coming soon!)

….of course, Batman can defeat any biblical creature, including Jesus.

….the one thing he cannot defeat is a second rate screenplay.

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Batman Elseworlds was the very FIRST Bun Toon up on this site.  It’s been downhill ever since.

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From an idea by Dan Slott (name dropping bastard that I am).

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Sorry to be a re-run today, folks.  There’s a moment where I’d be cheating on my editor if I didn’t spend my day fighting the deadline.

Ya see, Mr. Chadwick?  I can be responsible?

Ty the Guy OUT!

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The Bonus:

I do kind of love my job.

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for last week’s ACTUALLY original Bun Toon, click the brave astronaut above

For the Bun Toon archive (featuring Batman a few more times than today’s offering might suggest!) click the fuzzy rodent above

 

 

Batman Stuff! Plug! Plug! Plug!

On sale now!

Mad Magazine goes after the big summer movie.  Check.

Ty Templeton featured on a couple of pages of amusing Batman spoofing and high spirited satire.  Check.

And just in case fanboy outrage is more your style.  Remember “Bill The Boy Wonder:  The Secret Co-Creator of Batman” is on sale everywhere.  The first book ever written (and drawn) about Batman’s REAL father, is being well reviewed and is FLYING off the shelves.

Who’s giving it good reviews?  Check it out…

Bill Finger for the win. And Mark Tyler Nobleman, too. And me!

And that’s not even mentioning my ongoing Spider-Man work (tying into LAST week’s big Super-hero movie.)

If it turns out I’m working on the Hobbit or the next instalment of The Bourne Identity, I’ll let you know.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Batman Movie Moment:

I’ll help you sneak into your movie, if you help me sneak into mine.