Believe it or not, even though the Batman TV series aired in the 1960s and continues to exist in popular culture today, there was no licensed merchandise for the classic series…until now!  Warner Bros. recently launched a toy and apparel line, partnered with Junk Food Clothing, that pays homage to the retro show.  A kick-off event was hosted at Hollywood’s Meltdown Comics at which Batman star Adam West himself showed up, along with a host of celebrities and fans.  Hit the jump to check out some footage from the event along with images of the new toys and apparel.

For our final Toy Fair image article, we’re doing a huge roundup of NECA toy images.  While they’re making figures/toys for all the regular movies and TV shows you’d expect, the highlight of NECA’s 2013 lineup is the 60′s Batman featuring Adam West!  The reason it’s taken so long to get an Adam West Batman is lawyers.  From what I’ve been told, Warner Bros. owns Batman, while 20th Century Fox owns the show.  For years the two companies have been trying to work out an agreement to release DVDs/Blu-rays and new merchandise with little success.  However, late last year, the two companies finally worked out a deal and 2013 should see a lot of new toys and hopefully a home video release.  Which is great news for the fans.

In addition to checking out the first 60′s Batman toy in quite some time, you can also see new toys for Aliens, A Christmas Story, Captain America, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Carrie, Gremlins, E.T., Harry Potter, Hulk, Iron Man, Pacific Rim, Predator, Prometheus, Scarface, Rambo, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, Thor, and a lot more.

While fans are now counting down the hours until Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters, we’ve got some news concerning a Batman of a fairly different sort.  Hot Toys—the company responsible for the incredible Joker and Batman figures from Nolan’s universe as well as Loki from The Avengers—is now planning a line of figures and vehicles from the 1960s live-action TV series Batman.  Though we don’t have any looks at a collectible iteration of Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin just yet, Hot Toys has released two images of the Batmobile from the line as a tease, and it’s pretty damn great.  We don’t imagine West and Ward will be far off.

Hit the jump to check out images of the Batmobile, and we’ll be sure to bring you updates on the Batman line when they become available.

At least now we know why they wear masks.

Take another look at The Dark Knight before you watch Legends of the Superheroes. Revel in its thematic complexity,  expertly plotted action,  narrative sophistication and performances from the best actors in the world. It will help you appreciate just how far comic book adaptations have come from… well, from this. Hit the jump for my complete review.

While at Comic Con, I got the chance to interview the people behind the Cartoon Network’s hit: “Batman: Brave and the Bold”.  Followers of the site know I’ve been a fan of the show since it began.  There will be a full interview coming soon, but for now, the news.  Based on two interview snippets, one sanctioned, and the other … not so much … I was able to gleam the fact that Adam West will be voicing Batman in next season’s B & B. More after the jump: