Getting your picture made with it was a lot like negotiating with the dancers at Cabaret Royale. It’s free just to stare or have a friend snap your giddy mug along side, $10 to get behind the wheel, and if you behave yourself, they’ll flash the headlights. Now, if you didn’t bring a camera, owner Dennis Stines provided prints for $10 (a little more for 4×6 glossies and dupes.) |
OK, so it isn’t REALLY the Batmobile. For legal reasons, this spectacular reproduction is known as the BatCAR. It was built on a 1966 Pontiac Catalina frame, stretched to nearly 11-feet long and lavished with 20 coats of black velvet paint. |
Fans wander through the convention hall filled with more than 100 dealer tables. |
Yours truly snags a photo with fellow Batgirl fan Tonya. The fella behind her made the crowd-pleasing costume, and burned a hole in the back of my head with his laser specs. |
Running the celebrity gauntlet for Bat-autographs easily topped $100, but cheapskates like myself just gawked at Adam West while pretending to be interested in purchasing a Pepe LePew figurine. (Mr. West is somewhere behind his, ahem, biggest fan). |
Sneakered fan hangs with his homey Robocop. |
Vendor peddles models from classic films including Ishiro Honda’s immortal War of the Gargantuas (1966). |
Costumed attendees gather for a photo op. Among them is an ever-popular Storm Trooper and The World’s Largest Jawa. |
This fan earns CineSchlock-O-Rama’s top prize for Best Costume Based on a Drug-Induced Hallucination. His walking tribute to Gotham City turned LOTS of heads. |
Yours truly with the da-da da-da da-da da-da BATCAR! |
Another view of the Batmobile, er, Batcar. |
Superman fans could purchase this at-home version of the Man of Steel. |
This giant toy Batmobile holds classic G.I. Joe-sized figures. |
A frenzy of flash bulbs went off when a pair of costumed gals slinked into the Bat Boat. Curiously, my appearance went completely unnoticed. |
Another view of the Bat Boat. |
The Crowleys of Tyler, Texas are the proud owners of "The Original Bat Boat." And this would be the Bat Trailer they haul it around in. |
Darth Vader and Batgirl say farewell from the BatCon Comic & Toy Expo. Send your comments to: noel@cineschlocker.net |