Leslie Thomas Production Art at VCU

[SprangFan]

Neat article over at CBR today on the "recent find" of Batman '66 production art by A. Leslie Thomas in the Virginia Commonwealth University Special Collections dept.

http://www.cbr.com/classic-batman-66-pr ... -surfaces/

Of course, I "found" this art years ago and brought it up in a thread on the old boards, but it's still cool that these paintings are sitting in an office a couple of floors up from my own. Way out here in VA, it's the closest connection I'm likely to have to the show.

[Ben Bentley]

It's always a pleasure to flick through this production art. The lighting design and cinematography of the first season definitely drew quite literally from Leslie's concept art. It's great that the location of at least some of these artworks is known.

An interesting aside, Les Thomas' Grandson was at one point a member of this message board and was really pleased that there were people out there who still cherished the work his Grandfather.

[TP-6597]

...it's still cool that these paintings are sitting in an office a couple of floors up from my own.

I think we could come up with... "a Bowski, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever!"

[Jim Akin]

I remember seeing the production art in that old thread, but I don't recall the image featured in the Antiques Roadshow segment, of a hot time at Ye Olde Benbow Tavern. What a hoot!

There's obviously no scene comparable to that in the film (I haven't watched the feature in a year or two, but I don't recall even seeing our heroes and members of the Fearsome Foursome in the pub at the same time, much less carousing together!). But does the creation of that storyboard imply that the scene existed in a draft of the script? I wonder what events might have led up to that free-for all. And if the Riddler might have been behind it, since he's absent from the proceedings.

It's interesting that Thomas would have given Catwoman a tail in the movie scene. I've never seen production art from "The Purr-fect Crime" episodes, but I'd assume that at some point in their development, any plans for inclusion of a tail in the costume would have been hashed out. I wonder if the movie artwork could have been made during season 1, before Julie's costume design was finalized?

Cheers,

QQ

[TP-6597]

... And if the Riddler might have been behind it, since he's absent from the proceedings.

I think he may be the one strangling The Joker. No mask, but the build and coloring are correct.




There were more of these in a gallery in NYC about a year ago. I wonder if there is any way to find an online collection of all of them. Three years of a weekly TV show and a feature film - there has to be more than we've seen so far.

Two more.

[quinn]

TP-6579
I'm sure I saw a version of the periscope pic many years ago but with all four villains, the Catwoman front and centre with a tail.

Edit: Thanks! Though I don't remember ever seeing Catwoman with a cigarette holder.

2nd edit: why did the smoking, tailed Catowman image disappear?

[Jthree]

I'd buy a book of the art. It really does look good. By the way, I remember some of these pieces showing up in a Bat Book, but can someone tell me which one? Was it the Bat Vault book?
Three

[SprangFan]

At least one image showed up in Les Daniel's "Batman: The Complete History." Batman and Robin in the Batcave. That's probably the one you're thinking of.

[Chuck Williams]

Two or three were reproduced in the Cinefantastique issue. The Batcave concept and a Catwoman set or two.