PAGE2A14,2KEIZERTIMES,2MARCH210,22017
Where does Batman get such wonderful toys?
David2Sherman2knows,2and2he’s2sharing2
his2collection2at2the2Keizer2museum
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
David Sherman can pick
apart a Batman movie likefew
can. And not just as it relates
to the plot holes and poor per-
formances.
Sherman has an eye for
detail when it comes to spot-
ting what makes up the indi-
vidual pieces of a character’s
costume. For proof, look no
further than the current ex-
hibit at the Keizer Heritage
Museum. It’s fi lled with bits
and pieces of Batman movie
nostalgia, including a few bits
actually used on screen in the
1989 Batman movie. It’s all on
display through April 29.
Sherman’s passion for mov-
ie props and costuming arrived
at an early age with iconic
special effects movies from the
1980s like the last two entries
in the original Star Wars tril-
ogy, Nightmare on Elm Street,
Beetlejuice, Legend and Dark
Crystal, but especially with the
1989 Batman movie featuring
Michael Keaton as the caped
crusader.
“I would watch that movie
and go home and try to make
batarangs out of cardboard that
matched as closely as I could
get them,” Sherman said. “Af-
ter it came out on video, I
would walk home from school
just to rent the movie again so
I could watch it, pause it, and
look at things in detail.”
He remembers vividly
thinking he would one day
have a Batman
suit like the one C
Keaton wore in
the fi lm, but nev-
er would have
suspected to fi nd
himself in pos-
session of a full-
scale replica and
one of the suits
actually used in
the fi lming of the
movie.
The replica
suit is one of several pieces
on display in the exhibit, and
it features components like
the cape that were molded off
pieces used during fi lming.
“Now, there are whole
communities who spend time
building the costumes. The
thing the internet gave us was
access to people making the
actual movies. It’s kept very
private among collectors, but
there is access to people who
have the molds used for origi-
nal productions,” Sherman
said.
In addition
to the full-size B
batsuit, the ex-
hibit features
replicated
bits and piec-
es from the
more mod-
ern Christian
Bale-led Bat-
man produc-
tions – like
utility belts, a
grappling gun,
batarangs, a
Gotham City
Police
De-
partment badge – alongside
collectors items like action fi g-
ures, a pinball board from the
1989 Batman pinball game and
a one-third scale reproduction
of the Keaton batmobile.
There are also two items
with Hollywood provenance: a
pair of boots and a pair of long
gloves used by Keaton during
fi lming of his movies.
“A lot of the pieces in the
exhibit are replicas I put to-
gether from kits made by
other people, like the utility
belts from the (Christopher)
Nolan Batman movies. Others
are components I’ve worked
on myself playing around with
resin,” Sherman
said.
Sher man
doesn’t just col-
lect these items.
In many cases,
he’s
actually
worn them him-
self in charity ap-
pearances around
the region and
especially
at
Keizer’s own To-
ny’s Kingdom of
Comics. He spent many years
working on his own costumes,
but he purchased a replica util-
ity belt from an eBay seller sev-
eral years ago who introduced
him to the underground net-
work of costuming enthusiasts.
“Small groups of us will
buy in to fund projects to
get more and more screen-
accurate pieces. They were
crowdfunding things like these
before crowdfunding was a
thing,” Sherman said.
Given the sometimes-
fraught nature of online trans-
actions, some
gambles don’t
pay off the
way Sherman
hoped,
but
others feel like
windfalls.
When he
was putting
together
a
Joker costume
inspired
by
Heath Led-
ger’s perfor-
mance 2008’s
The
Dark
Knight,
he
wanted it to be as close to ex-
act as possible. He found the
company that produced Led-
ger’s socks for the role and or-
dered a pair for himself. He’s
witnessed arguments over the
precise color of the vest Led-
ger wore, and even found a
clothier in Italy producing
replicas of the suspenders used
in fi lming.
Those might seem like sim-
ple tasks, but consider this: the
suspenders are only partially
visible in a single scene of the
movie. Sherman and his fellow
enthusiasts take details like that
to heart.
The attention paid to detail
is what gave him confi dence
A
when he purchased a produc-
tion-used suit from the 1989
Batman fi lm.
Tony Grove, the owner of
Tony’s Kingdom of Comics,
sent him a cell phone shot of
the timeworn suit with tell-
tale details. While the suits in
the fi lm appear to be all black,
what the audience sees is
pleather glued over top of the
white bodysuit. The suit’s age
had given way to the white
bodysuit and that’s how Sher-
man knew it was legit.
“I was driving up to Port-
land when he sent the photos
and I turned around and came
back,” Sherman said.
Not only did he purchase
the suit, the Marion-Polk
Food Share benefi tted from a
$1,000 donation from the sale
Grove secured as a fi nder’s fee.
While Sherman takes per-
sonal pride in his collection,
it’s sharing it with others –
whether he’s wearing it or not
– that makes all the effort he
goes to worth it.
“I actually have diffi culty
fi nding places that want me
to wear the Joker suit because
some people think it will be
too scary, but it’s not really
about who the character is.
It’s about the person wearing
it, and I don’t think many kids
fi nd me all that scary when I
show up in costume,” he said.
D
A:2Keizerite2David2Sherman2
shows2off2a2Joker2fi2gure2with2
articulated2eyes.2
B:2A2full-size2replica2of2the2
Michael2Keaton2batsuit.2
C:2A2replica2Gotham2City2
Police2Department2badge.
D:2Machined2batarangs.
E:2A21/3-scale2model2of2the2
19892batmobile.2
F:2Replica2socks2and2sus-
penders2from2a2Joker2cos-
tume.2
F
E
Buy One Footlong
Meatball
Marinara
V E H I C L E W R A PS
FOR
ONLY
Plus
Chips
& Drink
7
$ 00
SUBWAY at
Keizer Station
2535 Jorie Lane - Keizer
503.991.5316
Must present this coupon to redeem offer. Coupon Expires 4- 18-2017.
Valid only at Keizer Station location: 2535 Jorie Lane, Keizer, OR 97303. (KT-TMC-0310)
FIND US BY Point S Tires
3818 River Rd N, Keizer
ENJOY THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, QUIET
AND CONVENEINCE OF A DUCTLESS SYSTEM
NOW THROUGH MARCH 31
MITSUBISHI GL – 12,000 BTU
2,899
Installed
$
Cool Deals
Additional charge for over 15 feet.
Customer supplies electrical.
Up to
450
OFF!
$
Hot Offers
NOW THROUGH MARCH 31
TRENTON CLASSIC
FREE STANDING
GAS STOVE
COME SEE OUR SHOWROOM STOVES — NOW ON CLEARANCE!
ASK ABOUT ALSO
QUALIFYING FOR
Up to $ 550
OREGON
TAX CREDIT
503.378.1125
As an Energy Trust of Oregon trade
ally, we can help you access cash
incentives to make it easier to improve
your home’s energy effi ciency.
HEARTH & HOME LLC
3800 River Rd N #180
Keizer, Oregon
CCB #200318