This is one of the weakest, most pathetic excuses for a toy ever...and yet, it's one of my favorites.This is Ben Cooper's Batman Jiggler from the very early Seventies...I'm guessing around 1971 or 1972. Ben Cooper's claim-to-fame was children's costumes but it appears that the company delved into "toys" now and again. There were several Jigglers released. I know there were also Superman, Spiderman, and Hulk Jigglers produced.
Nothing to see here, Bubba. Move along...Just what exactly is a Jiggler? A Jiggler is a toy at it's most basic form. It's basically a 6" rubber figure with an elastic cord attached to it's back. So, you would hold the cord and "jiggle" the figure. That's about all you could do with it. These were REALLY cheap toys that were produced without packaging. These are a lot like the rubber spiders and bats that were plentiful around the same time. When new, each Jiggler had a hang-tag attached to it's elastic cord to let the buyer know the price and what figure they were buying. These were most likely sold at the counter by the cash register to tempt children into goading their parents to buy them something just one more time before leaving the store.
Why is it one of my favorite toys? This is the first Batman toy I can remember ever having as a child (this isn't my original in the photos....long gone). As a six year-old, I remember once asking my Aunt Carol (an artist) to draw Batman for me. She used my Batman Jiggler for reference and did a "spot-on" drawing of Ben Cooper's Batman Jiggler. However, I was hoping for something that looked a little more like a Neal Adams Batman. At any rate, I'd love to have that drawing today.
Just look at the sculpting and paintwork on this exquisite figure!! What a thing of beauty!!In all honesty, this makes cheap foreign Batman bootleg figures look like something from Hot Toys or Medicom. It's that bad... or good, depending on your point of view.
Why?
"I will be a bat, and strike fear into the hearts of criminals."
ReplyDeleteThat is the scariest Batman I have ever seen, and I'm not a criminal!
"Nothing to see here, Bubba. Move along..."
ReplyDeleteI just love it when my reputation precedes me!
This Batman is truly a thing of beauty. Sadly, my parents only ever bought the Dracula jiggler as I recall, and I don't remember ever seeing this one as a kid.
I vaguely remember having this when I was younger; I think I picked it up at a flea market. But I could be mistaken, it could have been the Dracula jiggler.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I don't have either of them now...
they also made Red Skull, Doctor Strange, and Thing jigglers. they're very rare.
ReplyDeleteI had one of those!!! I thought I had forgotten about it. But this just brought it back to my mind... Any how mine was all black not blue but it was till that lame as well... good old times.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate you blogging this
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