BATMANIA

General goings on in the 1966 Batman World

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bat-rss
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by bat-rss »

I'm curious about the name "Biljo". Is that "J" pronounced in the English way, the Spanish way, the Nordic way...? We're doing a "TO THE BATPOLES" on "Batmania" soon, and I don't want to pronounce it wrong!
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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bat-rss
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by bat-rss »

And another question -- am I gleaning correctly from the first issue that Batmania was built off another newsletter, Komix Illustrated? Batmania seems to have had a lot of resources -- many other Batfans quoted, and apparently a decent mailing list -- right from the get-go.

Well, I do see that publicity on Batman comics' letters pages brought his readership up in a hurry, he couldn't have known that was going to happen as he was writing the first issue.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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bat-rss
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by bat-rss »

Well, from continuing to read the newsletters I found the answer to my first question -- his name was William Joseph, so it's the usual English "J" pronunciation!

I'm still not sure where he rounded up his initial round of readership, though.
"I'm half-demented with whimsical outrage!"
-- The Joker, in a line cut from "The Joker's Epitaph"
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P “Junior Batman” Y
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by P “Junior Batman” Y »

Andy: Thanks so much for sharing BATMANIA and for your contextual notes. Tim and I are recording not one but two shows about the 'zine this week and next. Outstanding historical resource. Makes me want to start cranking out my own 'zine on a mimeograph machine. To heck with the Internet!

Paul
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Dan E Kool
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by Dan E Kool »

On an unrelated note, your new avatar is bomb, Andy.
- Boy Genius
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Lee Kirkham
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by Lee Kirkham »

Here's some more info on "Biljo" White - Tribute to William "Biljo" White
I find you to be odious, abhorrent and insegrevious.
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Therin of Andor
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by Therin of Andor »

AndyFish wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 5:18 am Batmania had the tacit approval of DC, after White sent a copy of his first issue to renowned fan-friendly editor Julius Schwartz, who liked it
Wow! Amazing stuff.

In 1989, two Aussie Batman fans - to their great surprise - managed to get "kind permission", from DC Comics' Phyllis Hume, to run a Batman club we called "Battalion" (she said that was a clever title that stretched the "no Bat-prefixes" rule) and published a newsletter called "Utility Belt".

All we had to do was send each issue to her in NYC - she gave written feedback on issue #1 - and we lasted eight issues (originally announced as quarterly, but we took four years to put out the eight).

Image
Battalion's Utility Belt #1, 1989 by Ian McLean, on Flickr
"Holy nostalgia, Batman!"
Therin of Andor

(aka Ian McLean, from Sydney, Australia)
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Therin of Andor
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by Therin of Andor »

Therin of Andor wrote: Sun Sep 02, 2018 12:14 am In 1989, two Aussie Batman fans - to their great surprise - managed to get "kind permission", from DC Comics' Phyllis Hume, to run a Batman club we called "Battalion" (she said that was a clever title that stretched the "no Bat-prefixes" rule) and published a newsletter called "Utility Belt".
Someone had added me to the "Fanlore" wiki a few years ago and I noticed numerous errors, so was correcting as much as I could this week. While my "Batman" fannish activities were briefly mentioned, I realised a lot more could be said about "Battalion, the Australian Legion of Batman Fans" (1989-1993).

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Battalion

When I get my eight issues of "Utility Belt" newsletter out of storage, I shall annotate them.
"Holy nostalgia, Batman!"
Therin of Andor

(aka Ian McLean, from Sydney, Australia)
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gothosmansion
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by gothosmansion »

Thanks for the post, Andy. You always share some interesting stuff.
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Therin of Andor
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by Therin of Andor »

BatMite wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 6:13 pm ... if these are "all the issues published by Biljo White", were numbers 17 and 18 skipped?
Issue #17 was better known as "Batmania 1967 Annual", a bumper issue edited by Biljo, and featuring Adam West on the cover. (Pic on "Fanlore.)
This issue is remembered for a letter it received from Batman comic character creator, Bob Kane. Unprinted for a long time, Kane's "lengthy retort" was entitled "An open letter to all 'Batmanians' everywhere" and was a response to Jerry Bails' attribution re Bill Finger (ie. elevating his status to co-creator of Batman). It had been delayed because Finger had communicated to co-editor Tom Fagan that he and Kane were intending to talk things through first. (Bail's piece was likely the first source to state that Finger "put words in the mouth of the Guardian of Gotham".)

"Batmania" #18 was not published until 1974. The first of the issues to be published by Rich Morrissey, with a Biljo White signed cover. (The cover reads "Batmania returns!") From Issue #24, the zine became "Beyond the Clock" in 1980, under the editorship of J. R. Sams.

I have recently been updating info on "Batmania" (including "Bat Bulletin", "Gotham Gazette" and "Beyond the Clock"), "Midnight Conference" - and my own "Utility Belt" - to the "Fanlore" wiki page:
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Batmania
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Midnight_Conference
https://fanlore.org/wiki/Utility_Belt
"Holy nostalgia, Batman!"
Therin of Andor

(aka Ian McLean, from Sydney, Australia)
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BatMite
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Re: BATMANIA

Post by BatMite »

Great info. Thank you.
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