Dick Sprang

Batman statues are a dime a dozen. I mean, not literally --- they're generally going to set you back a pretty penny --- but there are enough of them out there that if you want to decorate your home exclusively in miniature replicas of the Dark Knight, you could do so pretty easily. There's one for every era, all manner of sizes, and thanks to DC's Black and White line, there's one for almost every artist who's done a notable take on the character. Robin, though? Robins are a whole lot harder to find.

Some of the most intense debates over minor comic details often come from one single element of the superhero genre: Batman's costume. Yellow oval or black bat? Belt pouches or capsules? Blue and grey or all black? With as many variations as there have been on one of the most iconic looks in history, there's no shortage of things to argue about, and today, we're going to settle one of the most long-lasting debates: How long should Batman's ears be?

The classic DC Comics hits keep on coming from Tweeterhead. The company just announced the Batman Classics Collection, based on the art of Dick Sprang, will finally get its Batman. To this point the line had consisted solely mostly of villains, but now the statuesque Gotham will finally have its Dark Knight defender. But Tweeterhead isn't just growing its comic book line, and will also add another egg-centric member to those nefarious n'er-do-wells from the 1966 Batman television show to its roster of rogues. The Sprang-inspired maquettes both look solid, and give us a glimpse at a Batman we don't see a whole lot of today. While DC has typically been fairly good about paying tribute to the classic artists and their interpretations of icons like Batman, there just aren't a lot of Dick Sprang collectibles out there. Tweeterhead's commitment to the style extends far beyond a single limited statue, too, which helps paint a picture of the entire Batman universe as portrayed by Sprang in the 1940s.

I'm a grown man who writes about toys, games and comics on the Internet, so when I tell you this Two-Face statue makes me want to throw up, you know I mean it as a compliment. Tweeterhead's latest Batman Classic statue is a fairly spot-on rendering of the man formerly known as Harvey Dent from the Dick Sprang era. As gnarly as Two-Face's design has gotten over the years, there's something to be said for how gag reflex-inducing this incarnation still is all these decades later. Now, you might be thinking this Two-Face isn't actually that bad-looking. Why on Earth would this version be more terrifying to look at than the Aaron Eckhart version from The Dark Knight, or the version from the Batman and Two-Face storyline? Well, I'll tell you. It's all about trypophobia. The paint app on this Two-Face's scarred eye is eerily reminiscent of the louts seed head, which is commonly used to give people with trypophobia the heebie-jeebies. Two-Face is already repulsive enough, but this version's eye just keeps staring at me, giving me the immediate urge to look away. It's not often you can say that about a character design from the '50s, so good job, Tweeterhead.

For a comic fan growing up in the '40s and '50s, one of the greatest conundrums was that of who wrote and drew the comics they loved – very few artists signed their work, even fewer writers were properly credited, and of those features that actually bore names, the credit often went to the feature's originator or the head of the studio, as opposed to the actual production team. So, though he was the artist of that era who best captured the look and feel of the Dynamic Duo, Richard W. "Dick" Sprang spent his most productive years in relative anonymity. DC's arrangement with Bob Kane specified that Kane be the only name credited for Batman stories.

Many of comics’ most popular heroes have been around for decades, and in the case of the big names from the publisher now known as DC Comics, some have been around for a sizable chunk of a century. As these characters passed through the different historical eras known in comics as the Golden Age (the late 1930s through the early 1950s), the Silver Age (the mid 1950s through the late 1960s), the Bronze Age (the early 1970s through the mid 1980s) and on into modern times, they have experienced considerable changes in tone and portrayal that reflect the zeitgeist of the time. With this feature we’ll help you navigate the very best stories of DC Comics’ most beloved characters decade by decade. This week, we’re taking a look at the best Catwoman comics.

As much as I love Batman, and I think the record will show that I love Batman a whole heck of a lot, I haven't really been looking forward to sitting down and cracking open the new Batman: A Celebration of 75 Years hardcover. Last year's Superman anniversary hardcover was a disaster of revisionist history, 300 pages that would have you believe that one of the world's greatest superheroes did nothing for seven and a half decades but cry. With that in mind, I had no idea what DC Comics was going to do with Batman. If you'd asked me to bet on it, I would've put good money on a prediction that they'd craft a narrative that acknowledged Batman only as a scowling vigilante, consumed with vengeance and every bit as crazy as the villains he fought. But it turns out I didn't have to worry. The Batman hardcover is exactly what it says it is -- a celebration of Batman across different eras, with a roster of stories that highlights one of the character's true strengths: How well he works across different kinds of stories.

Batman may be the one turning 75 this year, but DC Collectibles' recent celebratory release schedule was big on the Clown Prince of Crime. Topping off the some 50 pieces of Batmerch coming from the company between now and the fall will be a Batman Black and White: The Joker by Dick Sprang statue. Though the posted prototype photo recreates Sprang's simulteaneously rubbery and wizened version of th

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