Year 3 of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 22

Week 22: Science.

Ida Lupino as the evil alchemist, Dr Cassandra Spellcraft, in the "Batman" TV series of the 1960s. Oil pastels on A3 paper, with watercolour wash.

Update:

Week 22: Science II.

"Periodic Table of the Elephants." White pigment Signo ink and collaged black finepoint sketch on black card.

Ian's Batman action figures

Here is a PhotoPeach slideshow of my 8" Batman '66 TV series action figures from Figures Toy Co. (and a few customised characters by me).

Ian's Batman action figures

Requires Flash, so it won't work on iPads or iPhones.

Holy sleight of hand, Batman! Customising Dr Cassandra and Cabala

One of my favourite episodes of the 60s "Batman" TV show was its penultimate adventure: "The Entrancing Dr Cassandra", featuring Ida Lupino and her husband, Howard Duff. A guilty childhood pleasure, and for a long time seemingly elusive in repeat, in the days of no episode guides or IMBd.

The Terrific Trio go 2D. "Flat as flounders."

Dr Cassandra Spellcraft came from a line line of failed alchemists, but she did have some trippy, if shortlived, successes: camouflage pills that enabled invisibility, stealing the Mope diamond, and inventing an Alvino raygun that could rob people of their third dimension. She also succeeded in masterminding a jail break of all six of Gotham City's arch criminals: Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, Egghead and King Tut. (The stunt doubles playing the arch villains in this episode were supposedly the regular ones matched to the actors from the series: Fred Carson as Joker, Eddie Hice as Riddler, Guy Way as King Tut, Al Cavens as Penguin, *unknown* as Egghead (not listed on callsheets, but Al Wyatt Sr. had double for Vincent Price in earlier episodes), and Marilyn Watson - who used to double for Julie Newmar before Eartha Kitt took over the role - returning as Catwoman. This penultimate episode was probably seen as a farewell opportunity to these performers from the producers. A reunion, as such.)

With all the great "Batman '66" tie-ins in recent years, and action figures in both a 5" and 8" format, I became resolved to create customs of Dr Cassandra and Cabala. Cassandra uses a 7" Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) figure from "Lost" as the base. (I anticipated that "Big Bang Theory" Penny would arrive last night, as she did, and she was forfeiting her pink dress and boots. I tried to dye some spare Supergirl tights orange, but the nylon wouldn't hold the colour, so Aquaman lent her his shirt sleeves instead.) Cassandra's bowler hat and cane fish purse are made of orange Fimo. Meanwhile, Cabala had started life as an 8" bald "Anchorman" Battle-ready Champ (David Koechner) figure. I gave him quick-set putty hair, thicker eyebrows, an earring, an Andorian's boots and a "Wizard of Oz" figure's pants and vest, with the vest material covered in pieces of red discarded underpants (from my own drawer).

Source materials: Juliet from "Lost" and Champ from "Anchorman".

Cassandra's dress was seen before: on Josie (Joker episode), in a Catwoman episode, and on Octavia (Minstrel episode).

Note Cassandra's recycled fish handbag, originally owned by Undine in "Surf's Up, Joker's Under".

Above: My customised Dr Cassandra Spellcraft and partner Cabala action figures, from the 60s "Batman" episode, "The Entrancing Dr Cassandra". They stand with the commercially available Egghead and King Tut 8" figures. In the 70s, I attempted crude customs of Egghead and King Tut, now both long gone, but definitely a project that has stuck with me over the decades.

UPDATE:

Okay, so I knew that Joker's moll, Josie, was wearing the pink and orange mini dress eventually used by Dr Cassandra, but recently I noticed that, in Part 2, Josie turns up in a new orange number (below) - but the orange tights and dangly plastic earrings worn with that outfit end up being teamed with the dress from Part 1 to complete Dr Cassandra's ensemble!

Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 24

Week 24: Calendar

This is "Calendar Man", one of the lesser-known Batman villains. Sketched (without pencil or eraser) in black and red Sharpie and white opaque Uni Paint marker on red car, mounted on black card. Based on several panels from DC Comics.

I had a Batman board game in the 60s, a tie-in to the 60s TV series, but which drew heavily from the comics of an earlier decade. The villains were the usual Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman, but also Mr Zero (who had became Mr Freeze before the TV series), Blockbuster and the Calendar Man, whom I'd never heard of! Poor Calendar Man is ridiculed by the other villains for his fascination with calendars.

Update:

Week 24: Calendar II

Freehand-cut symmetrical heart in red card, with watercolour highlights on a sketch in black Sharpie.

Sunny side up!

Egghead is in da house!

Eggs-actly! Eggs-ellent! My favourite "Batman" villain has always been Egghead. He was original to the 1960s television series, played by the irrepressible Vincent Price.

When I started reading the "Batman" comics, though, I was disappointed to realise that neither Egghead nor King Tut (Victor Buono) - both "arch villains" (alongside the Riddler, the Joker, Catwoman and the Penguin) in the TV series - had never appeared in the comics. There was a teasing mention of both, once, in "When is a Door: The Secret Origin of the Riddler...?", in a "Secret Origins Special" (#1, DC Comics, 1989), but nothing else:


Secret Origins Special #1

Recently, while trawling eBay for interesting stuff I didn't yet own, I happened upon a reference to comic appearances by Egghead and King Tut. I think I'd heard about the Tut trilogy of issues before (in "Batman Confidential" #16-18), but it was essentially a reinterpretation of the character. It had recently been collected in graphic novel omnibus form, "King Tut's Tomb" (2010). But...


Egghead features in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #16

... how come I'd managed to overlook a story called "Egg Hunt!, or, The Evil of Egg-Head!" in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" #16 (2010), in which Batman and Wonder Woman team up to face off against the punning Egghead (above) and the bizarre, Humpty Dumpty-like, Y'ggphu Soggoth, Last Spawn of the Elder Gods.

I shall now Eggs-it, stage right, to read my new mail order purchase from Mile High Comics. It just arrived this morning!