My Personal Favorite Bat-Family Characters & Why

Batman is my favorite superhero ("What? No way! I had no idea, Captain Obvious"), which would make it safe to assume that he's my favorite person in the entire the Bat-Family.

For anyone not as familiar, the Bat-Family consists of Batman-related superheroes or otherwise who assist in Batman's crimefighting crusade. This includes all Robins and their adult personas, all Batgirls and their other personas, Batwoman, Huntress. The Bat-Family can also extend beyond "sidekicks" to include Commissioner Gordon, Catwoman, Alfred Pennyworth, Batman-equivalent characters from different regions (Batman Incorporated)/time periods/universes, and more. Check out some Bat-Family fan art by Phil Cho on Deviant Art below. This is not necessarily all-inclusive, but a good example of who might be included when referencing the Bat-Family.

By Phil Cho (Deviant Art). Click through to see more of his work!

With that said, I wanted to take this particular blog post to walk through my favorite Bat-Family characters OTHER THAN Batman. My love for Batman extends far beyond just his character so I want to share how amazing all the other characters in the Batman-universe are.

Favorites

1. Richard "Dick" Grayson/Robin/Nightwing

   

   Art by Jim Lee

   
   First of all, he's the first and the original Robin. He's also, in my opinion, the sexiest guy in all of comic book history. I appreciate that, with all the sexualized female comic book characters out there, we also get Dick Grayson. He's had quite the string of lovers and for good reason. Meow. For me, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl will forever be the one true person for Grayson, though.
   In terms of characteristics and skills, I love that he's known for his acrobatic skills acquired from his past as a circus performer. It's a unique backstory and is so fitting for his life as Robin. He's a natural leader as seen from his run with the Teen Titans, his donning of the Batman persona while Bruce was MIA, and his setting up shop in Bludhaven, often referred to as Gotham's sister city and Nightwing's territory. I also love that Nightwing is multi-faceted in the sense that he can be used for comic relief, often cracking jokes and providing a balance for Batman's seriousness. At the same time, he's still Nightwing, some one who was trained by Batman and thus takes his job very seriously. I adore that he plays an older brother figure, mentor, and maybe even role model to the other Robins.
   To me, Grayson will always be Batman's right-hand man. My love for Grayson also greatly stems from how long he's been around in Batman history. As some one who grew up with Batman: The Animated Series, Dick Grayson was always my Robin and when he became Nightwing, he just got sexier (minus the mullet that he had in New Batman Adventures), which didn't hurt.
   Fun fact, did you know Neil Patrick Harris has voiced Nightwing before?
    
2. Cassandra Cain/Batgirl/Black Bat

   

   Art by Damion Scott

   To be quite honest, I haven't read many comic books that revolve around Cass' run as Batgirl and she doesn't get enough, if any, screen time in animated movies. She actually kind of disappeared since DC Comics dropped the New 52 in 2011, rewriting a lot of DC Comics history. When she was around, though, what really drew me to her was her background... and her dope costume! I love the masked look shown above because it looks so awesome, all black with the full mask, which is also a symbolic of her muteness.
   She was born to 2 assassins, David Cain (don't know too much about his character) and Lady Shiva (who's another crazy character you should look up). Cass was trained to be the ultimate weapon from birth, but her father never taught her to speak. Instead, he used that part of her brain to hone her ability to read body language and precisely predict people's next moves. After her first assassination at a very young age, she ran away from her father realizing that what she was trained to do was wrong. Years later, she runs into Batman and Oracle (original Batgirl) who take her under their wing, train her, and eventually incorporate her into the Bat-Family. Even though she doesn't speak, her ability to read body language and predict movements is (nearly?) unmatched and proves extremely useful in the fight against crime. In summary, she was trained to be an assassin and her super power is super body language reading.
   If THAT whole back story doesn't SCREAM "badass" and make you admire this character, I don't know what will.
   Edit: Turns out Cassandra Cain is sort of still around and goes by Orphan in the latest stories.
    
3. Damian Wayne/Robin

   

   Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Lex Sinclair

   Potentially an unpopular opinion, but I do love the dickhead, brat of a son that is Damian Wayne, the 4th Robin. Damian's place in my top 3 Bat-Family list seems counter-intuitive based on my inclusion of Nightwing. HOWEVER, it IS somewhat in line with my inclusion of Cassandra Cain.
   Born to Talia al Ghul and Batman, Damian Wayne, who was initially kept a secret from Batman, was raised to be an assassin (similar to Cassandra Cain). That's not that surprising with a grandfather like evil mastermind Ra's al Ghul, a mother like Talia al Ghul, and a family like the League of Assassins. Eventually, Talia just drops Damian off at Batman's doorstep for him to raise for the time being. (Damn, Talia is just all around super inconsiderate in this son situation.)
   Since Damian was trained to be an assassin, Batman had some heavy-handed parenting to do since, as most know, killing is not Batman's way. You can understand how it was very easy to hate Damian initially. He was extremely rude to his father, not understanding why his father did not kill like Damian was trained to do. He was also EXTREMELY disrespectful to all the Robins before him claiming that he was the one true son. I mean, he was only by blood. No need to be rude, Damian.
   In the end, I still love Damian because of his need to make his father proud, which I believe eventually drove him in the right direction. He's still stubborn and still has a lot of growing to do, but he's loyal to Batman and he's talented due to his upbringing. On top of that, when Talia saw that Damian's loyalties lied with Batman instead of her, she had Damian killed! That's just messed up. You gotta feel sorry for the kid in that situation. Also, Talia's a crazy b.
    

Honorable Mentions

1. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl/Oracle

   

   Art by Inermonster (Deviant Art)

   When asked who my favorite Batgirl is, I do tend to say Cassandra Cain, but I cannot deny that Babs is the original and probably the best Batgirl of all time. Even after she was crippled by the Joker, her role as computer expert Oracle, providing intelligence to Batman and the rest of the team while they were on their missions, was essential. She wears many hats and fans cannot deny her importance as part of the Bat-Family.
    
2. Alfred Pennyworth

   

   Art by Jim Lee

   I adore Alfred because of his unconditional love for and loyalty to the Wayne family and also because he's one of the only people who gets away with sassing Batman... all the time. He's pretty witty and hilarious. Alfred also provides emergency medical care for Batman when he comes back extremely beat up from a rough night out, which is pretty vital since Batman can't risk giving away his night job by showing up at hospitals like a regular. Even more, Alfred's been shown to be very resourceful on multiple occasions. He's not one to just sit around in a tough situation, which occur often enough when your Batman's butler. There's no other person on the team quite like Alfred.
    
3. Terry McGinnis/Batman

   

   Art by Bruce Timm

   Terry as Batman is one of the best future versions of any superhero out there. He's a well-developed character who does the Batman name justice. When you boil it down, Terry is probably getting an honorable mention here because I grew up with the animated series, Batman Beyond, and I love every bit of that show. Future Batman is very cool.

I'm sure other Batman fans have specific Bat-Family favorites as well so please sound off in the comments to let me know what those favorites are and why. I would love to hear the reasoning behind everyone's favorites because the Bat-Family is filled with so many incredible characters who have been developed over decades of stories. If you don't have any Bat-Family favorites, did anything stand out for you after reading my list above?

In related news, we saw the Lego Batman Movie this past Friday and thought it was so much fun! I highly recommend checking it out if you're just looking for something silly. I'm a total kid at heart (read: immature). I love animated films and childish jokes so it was right up my alley. Batman is such a serious character that it was just refreshing and hilarious to see a sort of parody on his character and the other characters in the Bat-Family. Robin was my favorite! He was so dorky and lovable. The voice acting worked really well given the feel of the movie. The movie also had fantastic references to the nearly 8 decades of Batman history, which can be very much appreciated by long-time Batman fans. Check it out if you haven't already. If you have, let me know what you thought!

We went to watch #LEGOBatmanmovie last night and I loved it. Batman is such a serious character all the time that it was just entertaining to see such an over-the-top, silly version of him. I have to admit I liked the #LegoMovie better because it was the first of its kind, but #LegoBatman was a nice escape overall. Great voice casting. Robin is still my favorite character after watching the movie in its entirety, so dorky and lovable. Don't take it too seriously and you'll love it too. What were your thoughts? Featured drink: whiskey sour from @ipictheaters

A photo posted by Tiffany (@batmanandwhiskey) on Feb 11, 2017 at 12:40am PST

Dragon's Lair Austin + FugitiveToys.com Haul - December 2016

Happy New Year! Is it too late to say that?

It's my first blog of 2017 and I'm super excited. Another whole year of Batman and Whiskey up ahead. I'm already schemin' on how I can top my best performing Instagram post, which was probably a freak accident, but, hey, dream big.

If I was at least using this blog to try to keep up with all the new Batman stuff I've been buying, whoo boy, let me tell you, I am BEHIND. In fact, I'm so behind that I'm combining 2 of my largest and more "recent" hauls.

First, by "recent," I really mean over a month ago. This blog post is about my FugitiveToys.com haul that I purchased in MAY, but didn't receive until early December. Ridiculous, huh? 😂 The other haul included in this post is from Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy (Austin) also all purchased in early December. I may or may not have dropped over a bill in one trip that day. This blog post also includes the 2 Funko Pops I received for Christmas from my friend, Amy, since the gifts complete a couple of the Funko Pop sets I discuss.

Second, I've since made another Pop purchase on eBay, which I'm still waiting on, and another purchase at Austin Books & Comics (today). Like I said, I am v behind.

Well, I'm not going to catch up any faster by explaining how behind I am.

Check out my Funko Pop Impopsters from FugitiveToys.com below. I actually made this purchase in May for peace of mind. I saw them all over the place throughout the year as they rolled out, but knowing that I would receive all 7 in one fell swoop just gave me one less thing to think about.

These Pops are shaped like Batman and Batgirl, but designed to imitate other Batman-related characters' colors, theme, and overall style. It's already ridiculous how many versions of Batman they can come up with, but can you IMAGINE how many more they could create with this theme in mind? The permutations that would come of the multitude of characters in the Batman universe? In fact, the eBay purchase mentioned above was actually a Walmart exclusive Killer Croc Batman Impopster. I wanted to save myself the trouble of tracking it down at my local brick-and-mortar locations. I've played that game before. It's not fun. *shakes fist at Funko*

The first 2 may look alike... I mean REALLY look alike, but one is a Batgirl Harley Quinn and one is a Batman Harley Quinn Impopster. So subtle yet for some reason I had to have both.

These two also look similar, but they're "completely different." The first is a Poison Ivy Batgirl Impopster, while the 2nd is a Riddler Batman Impopster. Help me. How do I stop buying these things?

These next 2 sort of look a like, but just because of the color scheme, Penguin Batman Impopster and Two-Face Batman Impopster.

The last little guy is the Scarecrow Batman Impopster. He doesn't look like anyone else. Aw. Or yay.

Once my Walmart exclusive Killer Croc Batman Impopster arrives from eBay, the set should be complete, at least until Funko decides to mess with our obsessive collecting completionist ways yet again.

The rest of these items are from a local comic book and game store in Austin, Dragon's Lair. I had my eye on the Batman: The Animated Series and The Dark Knight Returns Funko Pop sets for a while, but am always relatively slow to pull the trigger mostly because I know I shouldn't be spending anymore money on such extravagances. But then I always do as you can tell because this blog is still very much alive.

We were browsing for the latest issue of Descender #16 and saw them on the shelves and could not resist. I'm there, I might as well support my local comic book shops. Here's Descender. Did I mention you guys should read it if you haven't already?

Here are the Batman: The Animated Series Pops I purchased that day. They didn't have Batman at the store, but Amy was a super sweetheart and bought him for me for Christmas so my BTAS Pop set is currently complete! I've included him below too. I know I shouldn't wish such things, but I really hope they come out with all BTAS characters because you all know that is my favorite version of Batman... ever. I'm especially hoping for Ra's Al Ghul, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze to start. Below are Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Joker, and Harley Quinn. I love them all so much! Cuties.

The next set I purchased is based on Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns graphic novel, a very popular iteration of Batman's future. They didn't have the unmasked armored Batman at Dragon's Lair, but Amy also purchased that one for me for Christmas so including that one here as well. The only one I'm missing now is Robin/Carrie Kelly. Her Funko Pop is supposed to be released next month so keeping my eye out for that one to complete this set. Check out the Robin/Carrie Kelly cosplayer I saw at New York Comic Con 2016 in the mean time. She was perfect!

Below, you'll see blue suit Batman, black and gray suit Batman, armored Batman, unmasked armored Batman, and Joker. You like how there are 4 versions of Batman in this set? You see what I'm dealing with here? Funko is just trying to see how far they could push us now. Apparently, it's very, very far.

Then I also purchased this. Finally, a non-Funko item! I saw this adorable black and gold Batman toiletries travel bag at Dragon's Lair and could not resist. It's smaller than the toiletries bag I was using before, but my simple reasoning was "I don't have a Batman toiletries bag yet and it's so useful!" This is how I think when I shop. At least I'm using this and it's not just sitting on a shelf or a box in our house! 😀

Whew. That was a doozy, but that's all for now! I'll be back with more Batman goodies as always. In the mean time, good luck with your official/non-official New Year's resolutions. I'm rooting for you! Hope your 2017 has been off to a fantastic start and, as one of my favorites, Ellen DeGeneres, likes to say, be kind to one another!

Mondo Batman: The Animated Series / New Batman Adventures Posters

WHOO! They've arrived!

In September, Mondo released 2 beautiful 18x24 Batman posters designed by Dave Perillo that are based on the 90s Batman: The Animated Series and the New Batman Adventures. I haven't purchased posters from Mondo since Batman's 75th anniversary, but I really loved these for the nostalgia and they're just straight up gorgeous so I thought I'd take a look.

From my understanding, Mondo poster prints are almost always limited. These particular posters were limited to 225 each. You can order their prints online, but they sell out almost immediately, as soon as they go on sale. When they first announced the prints, their blog read that they would be announcing the sale release at a random time the next day on Twitter. (Just another reason why everybody should be on Twitter!)

To increase my chances of buying the prints, I set up mobile notifications for the Mondo Twitter page. This alerts you via a push notification on your phone every single time the Twitter page posts something new. If you're interested in knowing how to do this for future reference, make sure your phone number is added to your Twitter profile, navigate to the page you want to follow, click the settings gear next to the "Follow"/"Following" button, and select "Turn on mobile notifications." You can turn them off at any time.

I didn't have the volume on all the way on my phone since I was at work, but I had my phone on vibrate and right in front of my body (in front of my keyboard) all morning waiting for the right moment. I got lucky and saw the notification on my phone as soon as Mondo posted! I had the sale window open ahead of time as well so all I had to do was refresh, add to cart, and check out as quickly as possible. 🙌  I was in luck!

They finally arrived last week. Look at these beauties.

I thought about buying only the BTAS poster because I prefer the BTAS character design a bit more, but I'm SO glad I purchased both. I can't wait to frame and hang these... somewhere in the house. I haven't exactly figured out where yet since our decor is kind of all over the place (we need help with our interior decorating).

I love the art style and I adore the sometimes subtle variances between the 2 posters, so very in line with the different styles from Batman: The Animated Series and the New Batman Adventures. I also really enjoy that they include so many obscure characters that appeared throughout the series.

How many of the characters can you name? Which poster is your favorite? Which characters on the posters are your favorites?

Favorite Batman Voice Actors

Most people know I love Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman from the 90s Batman: The Animated Series, but what about the many other voice actors who have voiced the Dark Knight over the years? I've written a very brief post on another blog about my general opinion on the matter, but I want to go into it a bit more here on my Batman blog.

Disclaimer that all voices mentioned below are from animated shows and movies. I don't have strong opinions on video game specific Batman voices since I don't play them often or enough. That might change once I get my hands on a used version of Batman: The Telltale video game!

Kevin Conroy
I love voice director Andrea Romano and I think, overall, she does a great job of casting voice actors for the DCAU. It's tough to top Kevin Conroy, though. He's absolutely my favorite.

I'm sure most people who share my opinion would agree that it's partially nostalgia that keeps Kevin Conroy at the top of our lists. He was/is Batman for so many years, so consistently, that it's difficult to imagine any other voice behind the man.

On top of nostalgia, though, I do think he does a great job at differentiating Batman and Bruce Wayne's voice (and I don't mean in the way Christian Bale does it). It's very subtle, but very effective.

Here he is as Bruce Wayne. He sounds kind and much more innocent and naive than you might be used to Batman being. Start at 3:10.

In The New Adventures of Batman, they made Bruce a bit more rugged and "mean" in my opinion, but I still feel like Kevin Conroy's voice acting does it so much justice. It's different but it still works.

Let it be known that I was 100% NOT okay with Bruce moving in on Lois Lane, though. You knew Superman liked her! That is so uncool, Bats. Granted, as a feminist, I also say Lois is her own lady so she does what she wants and she doesn't belong to anybody.

Check out the below video starting at 5:56 (the last minute) to see how his voice acting changes in this iteration.

Then, of course, his Batman is perfectly intimidating and awesome. The animation and writing help.

Alright, you get it. I love Kevin Conroy.

Will Friedle
I also loved Will Friedle in Batman Beyond. People know him better as Eric Matthews from Boy Meets World, but fun fact, he also voiced Ron Stoppable in Kim Possible. That kind of blew my mind when I first found out because they're such different characters.

Here he is as Terry McGinnis, Batman's altar ego in Batman Beyond. I love his voice because it's equal parts dark and hilarious, a lighter counterpart to Kevin Conroy's Bruce.

His Batman has a good dark quality to it too (albeit younger).

Will Arnett
I know Will Arnett's role as Lego Batman is probably not as difficult to pull off as Kevin Conroy and Will Friedle's roles. Lego Batman is super silly so it seems easier to get away with doing everything over the top, but I LOVE IT. Will Arnett is so funny and the writing is perfect so that probably helps. I cannot wait for the movie to come out.

Looking at my favorites above, I realize it's probably unfair to compare Will Friedle and Will Arnett to Kevin Conroy since they technically aren't playing the same type of Batman. It's just so hard to love some one's Bat-voice as much I love Conroy's. I HAVE noticed some recurring voices as Bruce Wayne/Batman and they each have their good qualities.

Jason O'Mara
Lately, I've been hearing a lot more of Jason O'Mara in Justice League movies. My personal opinion is that he has SOME really great moments and I think he might be getting better with every Batman role he lands, but his Batman almost seems monotone and one dimensional. He really just changes the volume of his voice, there's nothing else that indicates feeling. All I get is that "I'm a dark person." You don't see a lot of Bruce Wayne in Justice League movies so opinions of Jason O'Mara are completely based on his ability to voice Batman. See some examples in the below video at 0:34 and 1:05.

Bruce Greenwood
Bruce Greenwood is pretty great. He did a good job in Young Justice and Batman: Under the Red Hood. I'm not sure if I'm biased because Batman: Under the Red Hood is my favorite Batman animated movie to date. It's got great voice acting, an amazing story, so many emotions!

With that said, I might like Bruce Greenwood because he had a lot of emotions to work with in the scenes he was provided, which I think gives him a leg up on Jason O'Mara. He knows how to play Batman passionately, but still staying true to the darkness. I think Kevin Conroy could still do it better, but not bad, Bruce Greenwood, not bad.

See my favorite scene from Under the Red Hood below. Check YouTube for more great scenes from this movie where Bruce Greenwood shines. If you haven't seen this movie, SPOILER ALERT!

With more time, I could really appreciate some of the other Batman voice actors out there. Still, no one has come close to Kevin Conroy for me. The same can probably be said for a lot of other Batman fans.

Let me know what you all think! Comment below with any opinions you have on Batman voice actors that are or are not listed in my post above. I would love to get your thoughts and maybe look into a few others that you all think I should consider for my list. Maybe Roger Craig Smith? Troy Baker?

Legion of Collectors Batman Villains Box

I received my 2nd ever subscription box late last week. I resumed my Legion of Collectors subscription just for the Batman villains box knowing that everything I received would be Batman-related making it a pretty safe purchase for me. You all know how I feel about subscription boxes based on my first blog post on Legion of Collectors so the only reason I bought this box was because I KNEW it was all Batman-related. I spend enough money on toys that don't do anything as it is that I might as well be sure I'm a FAN of the toys that don't do anything that I buy.

Check out the unboxing video I did below!

It seems that a Legion of Collectors pin and patch are a constant in all or a lot of their boxes. For this particular box, they included a Bane patch and Riddler pin. I don't mind these items, but honestly could do without more patches and pins since I don't often use them in any capacity.

Funko Dorbz were also included in this subscription. In the Batman v. Superman box, they included a 2-pack with Superman and Aquaman. This time around, I received just the Two-Face Dorbz, which I didn't mind at all as I'm not much of a Dorbz collector. I'm not picky about Dorbz. He's pretty a-Dorbz-able, though. Harharhar. I'm sure I'm not the first one to make that joke. 😬

I believe, to compensate for only 1 Dorbz in this box, they added another item. There was a giant Funko Pop mug in the shape of the Joker's head in this box, something completely different from what I received in their subscription box previously. I feel like it's big enough to be more of a soup bowl, though. With that said, I'm sure I can find plenty of uses for this guy. I think I'll bring him to work with me!

Last time, I received a t-shirt, but it looks like this time around the t-shirt was replaced by a snapback cap featuring a Funko Pop version the Joker. I think I like the caps better than the t-shirts since the t-shirts aren't very flattering for girls. The clothing items are meant to be unisex so the shirt was pretty baggy. I can see myself wearing this cap more often probably even at SDCC 2017 (hopefully).

They also included another Legion of Collectors comic book. That reminds me that I haven't read the one that came with the Batman v. Superman box yet so my pile of "to read" items is growing. It looks like a quick, fun read, though, if I'm going to base things on their cover.

Lastly, of course, each box comes with an exclusive DC Legion of Collectors Funko Pop. For the Batman villains themed box, they provided a Catwoman in her purple and green costume from the 1940s. I'm pretty happy with this item since it's very different from any other Pop I own. I think the only other Catwoman I have/is available is the Anne Hathaway Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises. Plenty of subscribers were really hoping for a villain that's never been in Funko Pop form before, but I've honestly become a bit more apathetic about new Funko Pops due to the sheer volume so it didn't faze me as much. I'll probably start getting excited again once I get my hands on the Batman: The Animated Series Funko Pops. I already know they'll be my favorite Pops. No matter how many I have, I can't wait for those to come out and luckily they're in the works! Here's 1940s Catwoman in the mean time.

They've revealed that the theme for the next subscription box will be "DC Legacy," which will start shipping out after the holidays. Check out Legion of Collectors if you're interested in purchasing!

Bonus content, I've also made a few purchases at Hot Topic recently (surprise, surprise) and some of the items I bought include this adorable Batman ears headband and New 52 Harley Quinn Funko Pop!

I love the bat ears headband so much that I just wear it the entire time I'm at home. I actually have it on as I'm putting together this blog post... because why not. I can't imagine wearing it to work or anywhere outside of comic conventions, but it's being put to good use right now, that's for sure. If you were my co-worker, would you think I was weird for wearing them at work? 😬 Here's the link if you're interested in buying one for yourself: http://www.hottopic.com/product/dc-comics-batman-cutout-headband/10739224.html

The New 52 Harley Quinn is actually just one of maaaany new Funko Pops that have been added to my collection since my last blog post. Mickey somehow went on a Funko Pop shopping spree and surprised me with ~10+ new ones that I didn't already own. Spoiled. The volume of new Pops have me too overwhelmed to put together proper haul posts, but I will be sure to break down my Funko Pop collection for you in future blog posts as previously promised! Let's just say that we're officially out of shelf space.

Until then, have a very happy, wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy a whiskey cocktail, on the rocks, or neat and I'll talk to you soon! ❤️

New York Comic Con 2016 Haul

Hi, everybodyyy! Micks and I have been traveling on end for the last month. He's actually at a bachelor party this weekend, too, but I'm lucky enough to have this weekend off to relax and catch up on my hobbies including this blog. Whoo!

NYCC was a great experience. It was different from SDCC in that there weren't a lot of things to do OUTSIDE of the convention center so we spent the majority of our time indoors. They did have some panels off-site. This year, they even had a few at Madison Square Garden, which sounds fun, but it's a subway ride away which was a bit weird. We were going to try to make it out to MSG for a panel, but got lazy.

Inside the convention center, the exhibit hall was pretty similar to what we're used to at SDCC. Artist alley was a bajillion miles away in a separate wing of the convention center and the multiple floors make things a bit confusing, but overall I liked the layout and we found everything so that's good! We even went to one panel, the Alan Tudyk Spotlight, and showed up 5 minutes before it started with no problems. It was nice to go to a panel without having to wait in hours and hours of lines. I wonder what it was like for other (more popular?) panels.

Anyway, on to the point of this post, THE HAUL! Since there wasn't a lot of stuff to check out outside of the convention center, we ended up spending A LOT of money in the exhibit hall. Agh.

Here's a picture of the full haul, which is missing Mickey's Tyrion Lannister/Game of Thrones quote shirt from Jordan Dene because he so inconsiderately packed it for his trip this weekend. Heh. 😏



We bought matching Nightwing shirts... not because we're that weird couple, but because we both love Nightwing as a character. These are from Beefy & Co. I love that they offer tank tops and cute v-neck tees for women. I hate when I just get crew neck options because I have to admit it's not the most flattering type of shirt for me.



We also dropped by The Colorful Geek's booth (fka Evie Tees). I fell in love with the Firefly tanks and had to have both of them. I wore the "I'm a leaf on the wind" tank to the Alan Tudyk panel the next day. It just seemed appropriate. If you don't understand the references, I would highly recommend Firefly to anyone! It's only one season and it's like space western sci-fi awesomeness. Go watch.



They had a sale section and Mickey grabbed this Hunger Games "Fire is Catching" shirt for only $5! Whoo! We're also both Hunger Games fans.



Right next to The Colorful Geek was Jordan Dene's booth. I actually started following her on Instagram a few months ago and love ALL of her designs. I've been meaning to buy some shirts from her, but seeing her stuff at a con just makes it that much easier to pull the trigger. No shipping costs!

I bought this gorgeous Batman apron from her booth. I did not even know she made these! I cannot wait to use it. As you guys all know, I have a great Batman apron that's oversized and really designed for men so I'm really excited to have one so adorable and actually designed with women in mind.



I also bought a Harry Potter themed long-sleeve from her booth that reads "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." I appreciate that she ALSO offers non-t-shirt options. I can be geeky and comfortable and fashionable. 😀



Mickey also bought something from the booth, but like I mentioned I didn't get a chance to take a picture of it for this blog before he packed it up for his weekend trip! You guys would love it if you're Game of Thrones fans. It reads "That's what I do, I drink and I know things." Check it out on Jordan Dene's website. Mickey wears so much gray and black that he was hesitant to buy a maroon shirt, but I'm glad he did it. I think it looks great.

On to the Funko Pops! I was lucky enough to score all of the exclusives I wanted on our first day (Thursday). I talked to some super nice people (ON MY FIRST TRY) who were willing to help me buy the Batman-related Funko Pops I was interested in.

First, a nice couple bought the following 5 for me from the Funko Pop booth. These are all New York Comic Con 2016 exclusives.
Rainbow Batman
White Lantern Batman
Classic Batgirl
Killing Joke Joker
Suicide Squad Joker Grenade Damage



We then ran into 2 very nice people who had wristbands to the Toy Tokyo booth who were willing to help me out in buying the Darkest Night Batman exclusive.



The rest of these were purchased on Friday and Saturday. I've actually been meaning to buy a lot of these so it was nice to knock them out on this trip. I ended up with 12 total new Funko Pops. It just goes to show how many Batman Funko Pops I STILL don't have.

White Lantern Batman: I actually don't know if this Fugitive Toys Exclusive is any different from the NYCC 2016 exclusive I have. I'm so confuuused!
Retro Batman: He's so cute. I saw him on Amazon a while ago and definitely had my eye on him.
Golden Age Batman: I've had my eye on this one for a while too. Mickey kept providing me with links to purchase it, but I kept putting it off.
Surf's Up! The Joker and Surf's Up! Batman: I've held off on these for a while too, but, hey, when they're at the con booth you're already shopping at, go for it.
Blackest Night Batman: Original pose as compared to the NYCC 2016 exclusive.



Mickey also walked away with some Funko Pops, too. He bought an adorable Super Saiyin Vegeta. Vegeta's actually my favorite Dragonball Z character. I joke that he's my favorite because he's short and grumpy like Mickey. 😂😂😂



We also copped the convention exclusive Faith Funko Pop from the Valiant booth. She's a super sweet plus-size superhero! And her Funko Pop is friggin' adorable.



We bought some books as well from Boom Studios. We found the hardcover Descender Volume One tradeback! When the person ringing us up saw us buying it, he recommended Copperhead which he said he loves and is similar in genre to Descender.



And more posters from Dustin Nguyen below! He and his stuff are so awesome. One poster features Mr. Freeze with his cryogenically frozen wife, Nora. It's so pretty. The other features the Descender cover above.



Mickey may not have walked away with as many Funko Pops as I did, but he did buy some additional goodies including these Storm pins (with and without mohawk) because she's his favorite X-Men. He also grabbed some custom Lego figurines of Aqualad (we've been a fan of him since watching Young Justice), Nightwing, Storm, Psylocke, and red Nightwing. Check out all the details and accessories. He asked if I wanted any since there was a deal if you bought 10, but I couldn't bring myself to buying much else after the Funko Pops haul.



We also happened to be in the right place at the right time to nab these free Lego Superhero Girls Batgirl figures. SO LUCKY! We gifted one to Dustin Nguyen who is always so generous to us and we're keeping the other on a shelf in our toy room.



A gift for a friend, but Micks purchased the exclusive Liberty Unicorno from the Tokidoki booth too if that's you're thing. Much easier to buy than Funko Pops thankfully!



I still can't believe we spent that much money on all this stuff, but we saved a lot of money by staying with a friend in New York so I think we just ended up spending all of that on all this geeky goodness. No regrets!

Hope you love our haul as much as we do. After all is said and done, we both agreed that we would definitely come back to NYCC, but we'll see how travel plans pan out in 2017. SDCC 2017 for sure, NYCC 2017 TBD!

In the mean time, let us know if you have any favorites from our haul and hope you come back to read more!

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