Batman Collected - Hardcover

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.

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.