Just some things @ my work station :)

Here are just some of the things at my work desk, what I'm surrounded by everyday when I'm working :) You have already seen Catwoman standing in front of the Frank Miller Batman Dark Knight statue, blocking the Animated Batman cup and Kingdom Come Batman action figure in the previous post. Catwoman will be moving to her new home in one of the glass display cabinets, most likely to be with Batman (who else?). Click on the pictures for a bigger and better view ;p

Because my Mac screen is blocking the toys displayed behind it, I decided to set the default desktop picture to be a picture of the toys that are being blocked. This way, I don't miss anything LOL

The first two characters / toys you see in the picture below are from the TV cartoon series "Mighty Max" (you know the drill - click on the picture to get a bigger and better view :>) - "Cybot" and "Mighty Max Blasts Magnus". "Mighty Max" was an American animated action/sci-fi/horror television series which aired from 1993 to 1994 to promote the British Mighty Max toys, an offshoot of the Polly Pocket line, created by Bluebird Toys in 1992. Max time-travels with a Viking Warrior (Norman) and a weird little yoda-like "fowl" figure called Virgil. They meet baddies in places like ancient Egypt and the jungles of the Amazon. It ran for two seasons, with a total of 40 episodes airing during the show's run. [source: wiki]

The merchandising was far more popular than the show itself. Each playset contained a Mighty Max figure as well as one or more villains and sometimes Virgil, Norman, or both. These were bought for Jared then (1990s) and it was just too much FUN to get rid of them, so they have stayed on all these years. More on these in future posts.

Behind the Mighty Max figures, displayed across the length of the customized desk / work station are my carded "Batman The Animated Series (BTAS)" figures. These were what started me on this amazing and wonderful hobby of toy collecting. I love the original "Batman The Animated Series (BTAS)" cartoons when they were first aired and they ran for many seasons. The series is noted for being the first to take place in the DC Animated Universe.

There's Combat Belt Batman and The Joker. I liked this series produced by Kenner because they did not just release variations of Batman in every conceivable form and color but almost all the villains who appeared in the show also got their own figure :)

Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski designed the series by closely emulating the Tim Burton films' "otherworldly timelessness," incorporating period features such as black-and-white title cards, police blimps (even though no such thing has existed, Timm has stated he found it to fit the period they were going for), 40s influenced look and a "vintage" color scheme in a largely film noir-influenced style. [source: wiki]

The key to the series' artistic success is that it managed to redefine classic characters, paying homage to their previous portrayals while giving them each a new dramatic force. The Penguin's appearance was remodeled after the version seen in Batman Returns, which was being released at the same time as the series. But no Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman figure here.

I arranged the villain figures according to their appearance in the films - Joker in "The Batman (1989)",  The Penguin and Catwoman from "Batman Returns (1992)", Two-face and The Riddler from the 1995 "Batman Forever"...

followed by Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy and

Bane in "Batman Forever (1997)". "Batman Forever" almost became "Batman never again!" but thanks to Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, it looks like the film franchise is alive again. The scarecrow appeared in the 2005 "Batman Begins".

So did Ra's al Ghul (in the picture below, he can be seen under The Scarecrow card). Other villains that appear in the "Batman The Animated Series (BTAS)" included Manbat, Mad Hatter, Clayface, Killer Croc, Creeper  and many more. To see the figures taken out of the card, follow this link to my earliest post in July 2007. This blog has certainly come a long way :)

And in this corner, figures from "The New Batman Adventures (often shortened as TNBA)", successor to the Emmy Award-winning "Batman: The Animated Series" produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The Joker was made pale blue with green-highlighted black hair, and black eyes with white pupils, as well as being depicted as much smaller. He no longer had the ruby lips from the earlier animated series. The Penguin was redesigned to match his classic counterpart rather than resemble the animal-like appearance of Danny DeVito's Penguin from 1992's "Batman Returns".

And last but not least, Mattel "The Batman" figures from the animated television series that ran from 2004 to 2008 on the Saturday morning television block Kids WB.

I had covered these figures most recently in a series of posts, starting with The Batman

and ending with Samurai Slash Batman, covering 14 figures in 16 posts.

And then there are these Lego Batman figures as well as McDonald's Kids' Meal giveaways (you can also check out my link "Batman Animated Part 6")

These are just some of the things at my work station and as you can probably tell, I'm pretty HAPPY at work and enjoying every minute of it LOL