Count Blockula (aka Mike Crowley) lives in Massachussetts, much closer to LEGO HQ in Enfield, CT than the rest of us. It sometimes seems like it takes forever to get new sets way the heck out here in Seattle.

Anyway, Mike picked up several sets from the new Batman line and posted pictures on Flickr:

Another Flickr user, Sortafast (Mark Sandlin), has also posted some set photos, including a nice little cartoon:

As a professed purist (though I’m sometimes tempted to make just one little tweak), I’m always excited when The LEGO Company announces a new batch of minifigs. I’ve withheld judgement on the new Batman line, but more detailed images are beginning to trickle out of the minifigs and the sets. Brickshelf user KimT seems to be the primary source for these pictures lately.

Posted a while ago, here’s a scan from the magazine Toyfare:

(Check out rendered versions of some of these figs as well.)

I’m not nearly as impressed with Batman himself as I am with some of the other minifigs. Perhaps I’ve begun to think of minifigs from a reusability perspective. At any rate, I think Alfred and Penguin’s tuxedo and the Joker’s purple suit are fantastic, and Croc is certainly interesting. Politically speaking, I’m a bleeding-heart liberal pacifist, so I’m conflicted about the new weapons (Tommy gun and modern-looking pistol). That said, they are kind of cool…

Finally, every LEGO theme needs its fan-site, and the Batman theme is no different. I’ve added BatBrick.com to the list of community sites in the navigation area on the right.