C & R GUITARS

Luthier/designer John Bolin and Bill Rich are the men behind those spectacular and rather rare Batman and Joker custom electric guitars. Bolin, who has created custom guitars for such players as Billy Gibbons, Rick Nielsen, and Albert King, teamed up with Rich and received full licensing rights from DC Comics to produce the guitars. The Batman model was introduced in 1989, the same year that director Tim Burton released the movie Batman (starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton- more importantly, featuring music by Danny Elfman and Prince). Coincidence or savvy business practices?
The Batman model was produced in a limited run of fifty pieces. The Joker model was scheduled to be a limited run of one hundred pieces, but only forty-two were actually built. Rumors abound that there were models for the Penguin and Riddler to follow, but the licensing fee took an astronomical jump and put the ki-bosh on future plans. Ka-Blam! Quick, Robin, to the Batpole! Information courtesy Mitch Walters.