Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1900855 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-01
• Released on: 2001-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 292 pages

From Amazon.com
When the DC Comics character Batman got his own television series in 1966, Batman merchandising took off. A market was developed not only for little Caped Crusader suits and toy Batmobiles, but for Batman kiddie blankets, Batman nursery wallpaper, and so on down a slippery slope of mostly plastic kitsch to Batman combs, pogo sticks and tortilla chips. With Tim Burton's 1990s movie blockbusters, Hollywood marketing spin revived the genre. Book designer Chip Kidd, whose earliest memory of this commerce-driven Batman fetish is a nightlight that soothed his four-year-old mind, has actually collected vast quantities of such junk, and has put it all together in a catalog of shameless pop culture. Artfully photographed by Geoff Spear, this document casts light upon a dark and awesome figure--advertising.

From Publishers Weekly
There's an unusual vigor and inventiveness to the graphic design of Batman Collected, which isn't surprising given that the author, Chip Kidd, is the book jacket designer who created the eye-catching jackets for Jurassic Park, All the Pretty Horses, Intensity and other Knopf titles. Here, Kidd, a dedicated collector of Batman memorabilia, presents hundreds of rare items from his collection, photographed in an appropriately bold and ominous manner by Geoff Spear, accompanied by Kidd's resourceful essay on the lure of Batman collecting and the evolution of the visual aspects of the character and his colleagues and foes. The array of products featured in the 500 photos, 460 in color, is extraordinary, from watches to cars to figurines to milk containers to corn chips. The book includes an exclusive blow-in Batman paper toy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Chip Kidd has been collecting Batman memorabilia since 1968. An acclaimed graphic designer, he has written for popular magazines and revolutionized book design with his award-winning book jackets for Jurassic Park and All the Pretty Horses.

Geoff Spear’s photography has appeared in Entertainment Weekly, GQ, New York, and Rolling Stone. They live in New York.