Bat-Mite Merchandise

While Bat-Mite is one of the lesser known members of the Batman Family, that doesn't mean he's been forgotten. In a sea of Batman merchandise spanning clothes to statues to action figures and everything in between, there are a few items that feature his #1 fan.

First up are the "I Believe In Bat-Mite" promotional buttons. These were distributed to comic shops in 2000 along with a Mr. Mxyzptlk button to coincide with the release of the Superman & Batman: World's Funnest one shot. Both buttons were designed by the writer of that 64 page epic of brilliance, Evan Dorkin. In fact, the buttons were featured on the back of World's Funnest (with different art) as part of a fake ad for "The Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk Extra-Dimensional Imp-Formational Society". 

In another merchandising team up with Mr. Mxyzptlk, DC Direct released soft toys of the two imps. The Bat-Mite soft toy is 7 inches tall and has material on his hands that adhere to other soft toys or to his hips. A number of these are available on e-Bay, either for the original price of $15 or even a few dollars less. 

Bat-Mite went from 7 inches to 2 in another DC Direct release. This time, it's a must have for any fifties Batman fan. As part of their Silver Age line, DC Direct released a Bat-Girl and Batwoman action figure set sculpted by Karen Palinko. Not only was it a set of the female members of the Jack Schiff era Batman family, but it also came with a Bat-Mite figure and an Ace the Bat-Hound one as well. I recently won the Bat-Mite from this set off of eBay and it's a pretty nice sculpt; you've got your bent ear, lightning bolt chest symbol, and a little bit of costume hanging over the belt. Seems to be based more on the Dick Sprang design than the Sheldon Moldoff one. These sets can get pretty pricey on eBay; most eBay stores have them for $50 or higher. Every once in awhile one pops up for bidding in the $20 range, so keep your eyes out if you want to pick one up.

DC Direct's final Bat-Mite related release was probably the imp's finest: a hand painted, cold-cast porcelain statue. The 5 inch statue was sculpted by William Paquet and limited to 1,500 pieces. Much like the Silver Age Bat-Girl and Batwoman set, you can find the statue in an eBay store for $50, but a lot of them seem to be more in the $75 to $100 range. Also like the Silver Age Bat-Girl and Batwoman set, an auction for the statue sometimes pops up in the $20 range. I haven't picked one up yet due to the price, but one day I'll definitely add it to my comic shelf. 

The most recent item of Bat-Mite merchandise was a trading card from the VS System TCG. It was released in 2007, appropriately enough, as part of the World's Finest set. The art for the card was done by Ryan Sook, who has done a number of excellent covers and promotional images for DC Comics. The card comes in regular and foil versions and both can be picked up for just a couple of dollars.