This year DC Comics’ legendary Dark Knight turned 80 years old. And many celebrations were had. Now, the folks at Converse are closing out Batman’s big Eight-Oh birthday year with a special line of shoes dedicated to his eight decade-long history. Almost all eras of Batman comic books are presented in this amazing collection of footwear, which is now on sale at converse.com.
Down below is a selection of images from the Batman 80th collection. Long Live the Bat!
This Chuck 70 high top features the Batman comics logo as it appeared in the 1970s. This is the era when Batman was recovering from his somewhat tarnished image thanks to the campy ’60s TV series, and was beginning to take a darker route again.
Converse / DC Comics
This Batman 80th anniversary edition Chuck 70 high top is a little more ’80s era Dark Knight Detective, with hot pink and neon yellow. This one showcases a “A punk rock remix” of the vintage Batman logo from the era.
Converse / DC Comics
The 1940s era artwork of legendary Bat-artist Dick Sprang, who was Batman’s most prominent artist during the goofy post-WWII era, is represented on this sneaker. This special edition shoe featuring the DC Comics icon gets updated with an all-over Batman and Robin print, straight from the original 1950s comic book cover. This is the only one of these shoes which has the Boy Wonder on them.
Converse / DC Comics
The groovy era of the swingin’ ’60s gets some love as well. In this era, Batman became an international icon thanks to the massive success of the 1966 TV series. The patterns on this Chuck Taylor All Star high top reflect on the comics of this era, complete with “go-go” checks. These adorned the covers of most DC Comics of the late sixties era.
Converse / DC Comics
After a long hiatus away from Batman comics, the Joker returned with a vengeance in the early ’70s. Artist Neal Adams turned a character who had become a harmless prankster back into the sinister Clown Prince of Crime once again. Adams artwork from that era can be found right here. This special edition shoe gets updated with an all-over Batman and Joker print, straight from the original 1970s comic book cover.
Converse / DC Comics
Batman comics have had a series of different logos on their covers for years. This is in stark contrast to Superman, who has been sporting the same logo for his comics since almost 1940! Celebrating the many years of comic book Bat-logos, this shoe has several from over the years. You can see some as far back as the ’40s, with some included here that are as recent as the 90s era. This one includes a custom Batman label on the tongue celebrates the DC Super Hero and plays off the shoe’s iconic style.
Converse / DC Comics
These Batman shoes would make the perfect gift for any longtime fan of Gotham City’s guardian. For more of these designs in different styles, be sure to head on over to Converse.com/shop/Batman to see more.
Images: Converse / DC Comics