Batman Top 10 at the Museum

You may remember that one of our shooting location for the Comic Book Literacy documentary was the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.  It's a great collection of toys and served as a great backdrop for several interviews.  I recently made a quick stop there while I was on the road in the area.

 They still have tons of great rotating exhibits but, just as before, the biggest collection was of Batman memorabilia which is housed in the museum's very own Bat Cave.  So here's a look at what I thought was the Top 10 pieces in the Batman Collection.

10.  Batman Outdoor Fun Pack

You get a yo-yo, a kite and a "flying disc" (Frisbee is a brand name) in this kit.  Not to mention kite string.  You're going to need that.  What's not to like?  Now go outside and play!

9.  1874 Batman Talking Alarm Clock

Nothing will get you out of bed faster than the stern, forceful voice of the Dark Knight.  You can hear it HERE.  And as a bonus you get the Boy Wonder speeding by in a purple Batmobile.

8.  The Adventures of Batman & Robin Whitman's Sampler

Lots of choices in this candy kit between characters and, I assume, candy fillings.  What will you get?  Robin?  Nougat?  Poison Ivy?  Caramel?  Joker?  Smilex Fudge?  Take a bite and find out!

7.  1973 Batman Paint by Number Set

Let's face it, painting is hard.  Not as hard as crime fighting but, similar to crime fighting, it takes years of study to master.  Or you can just take the easy route and paint by numbers.  I mean, who's gonna stop you?

6.  1969 Big Little Book - Batman: The Cheetah Caper

Lot's of different characters appeared in types of books over the years and, of course, it was only a matter of time before the World's Greatest Detective got his shot.  You can check out some page scans HERE which seem to indicate that this Cheetah is not the Wonder Woman villain but some other weirdo instead.

5.  Batman Returns Happy Meal Display

Every time I see one of these in a fast food place I always think to myself that I should ask the manager if I can buy it once the promotion is done.  And of course, I never do.  When I see one in a collection it reminds me of the shame of my inaction.  That's why it's not higher than #5.

4.  Giant Lego Batman

There's no Batman like Lego Batman and thankfully this one was saved from the sad fate of rotting in a movie theater dumpster.  As a Lego, it falls into both the "toy" and "Batman" categories and a case could be made for calling Lego people "action figures" so this guy is right at home in the Toy & Action Figure Museum.

3.  The Adventures of Batman & Robin Colorforms

No character collection is complete without the obligatory box of Colorforms.  I would have thought the old school toy stopped being made by the time of this TV show but apparently they are still alive and well to this day.  I'm not sure what to do with that little realization...so let's move on.

2.  Batman Comics!

This may seem like a no-brainer to you and me but let's not forget that in the sea of toys, movies and cartoons, some of the youngsters might not even be aware that comics exist, much less that Batman is one of their top guys.  It's always nice to have a little reminder of his old school origin.

1.  Batmobile Coin-Op Kiddie Ride

There are a few different types of collectors and what separates the real deals from the wannabes is a piece like this.  I think this is the Batmobile from Batman Forever and it's made its way from outside the grocery store and right into our hearts.  I don't know what usually happens to these things after they are no longer wanted but I think we can all agree that this museum is the right place for this beauty.

World's Greatest Chip Aisle

Well the title says it all doesn't it? I stumbled across what may very well be the world's greatest chip aisle. Not because it is stocked with your salty favorites but because it is comprised of some of the most head-scratching sandwich sides since the first tater slice hit hot oil.


The location? Big Lots.

If you are not familiar with BL, it's a close-out store where unpopular, unsold product lines go to die. I've had some great finds there in the past and it consistently maintains its title as my favorite store/grocery museum. On this particular trip it was the chip aisle that really attracted my attention with its unusually high weirdness quotient.

This little beauty caught my eye first:

1. It's close to Halloween and these chips have a "monster" theme.
2. They are in ghost shapes that resemble the Pac-Man ghosts
3. They are ketchup flavored

If that's not a triple threat then I don't know what is.

With my interest piqued I started exploring this aisle of misfit chips and came across some interesting finds. I soon noticed that the "geography" theme was prevalent in the chip world:


Representing the U.S. is "Sweet Hawaiian Onion" "Rocky Mountain Dill Pickle" and New York Deli Kettle Cooked" potato chips. Not to be outdone, Europe is also represented in a somewhat confusing way:


Snyder of Berlin's British Style potato chips represent the hodge-podge, mish-mashed understanding that most American high school students have of Europe (quick hint: one of these places loves to talk about World War II and the other one does not).

Now let's move back to the Western Hemisphere and head south of the border:


I got the distinct impression that the Curly bags were not filled with peanuts but rather some weird peanut/chip hybrid with "Mexican Style" being the most popular flavor. They go good with Happy Joe's Taco Chips. A quick google search informed my that "Happy Joe's" is a pizza chain that is famous for putting taco chips on their pizza...taco chips that you can now enjoy at home. But the pizza/chip connection didn't end there:


On the left are Pepperoni Pizza flavored potato chips from Shearer's, the same company that gave us the Hot Dog flavored potato chips that I mentioned awhile back. On the right are...like...pizza flavored sticks...or something...

And speaking of things that I've mentioned before:


Meat flavored chips are always worth repeating. Which brings us to the ultimate chip flavor...one that was a long time coming:


You like chips. You like beer. Obviously you'd like chips made out of beer.

So the next time I tell you I've discovered the World's Greatest [Fill-in-the-Blank] I expect a lot more reverence and a lot less eye-rolling.