The Folio Society has revealed the full lineup of comics included in DC: Batman — its upcoming hardcover collection celebrating 85 years of the Dark Knight.
When the Folio Society announced DC: Batman earlier this month, it confirmed that the 320-page hardcover would spotlight such tales as Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Killing Joke. The publisher has now shared the complete list of 11 DC comic books the celebratory collection reprints, going all the way back to Batman‘s beginnings.
DC: Batman naturally kicks off with Detective Comics #27, the Dark Knight’s first appearance. Things continue with Detective Comics #38, the first appearance of Robin; Detective Comics #66, the first appearance of Two-Face; The Brave and the Bold #85, a Green Arrow team-up; Batman #232, the first appearance of Ra’s al Ghul; and Detective Comics #471, the first appearance of Dr. Hugo Strange.
The book enters the modern age with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1. It wraps up with Batman #404, the first part of Year One; Batman: The Killing Joke; Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1; and Batman #492, the first part of Knightfall. As previously announced, DC: Batman will also ship with a separate facsimile edition of Batman #1 — which features the first appearances of the Joker and the character who would come to be known as Catwoman.
DC: Batman includes:Facsimile: Batman #1 (Spring 1940) Writer: Bill Finger Cover artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson Artists: Bob Kane, Sheldon Moldoff Editor: Whitney EllsworthThe Bat-Man Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) Writer: Bill Finger Artist: Bob Kane Editor: Vincent SullivanRobin—the Boy Wonder Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) Writer: Bill Finger Artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson Editor: Whitney EllsworthThe Crimes of Two-Face! Detective Comics #66 (August 1942) Writer: Bill Finger Artists: Jerry Robinson, George Roussos Letterers: Ira Schnapp Editor: Whitney EllsworthBatman and Green Arrow: The Senator’s Been Shot! The Brave and the Bold #85 (September 1969) Writer: Bob Haney Cover artist: Neal Adams Penciler: Neal Adams Inker: Dick Giordano Letterer: Ben Oda Editor: Murray BoltinoffDaughter of the Demon Batman #232 (June 1971) Writer: Dennis O'Neil Cover artist: Neal Adams Penciler: Neal Adams Inker: Dick Giordano Letterer: John Costanza Editor: Julius SchwartzThe Dead Yet Live Detective Comics #471 (August 1977) Writer: Steve Englehart Cover artists: Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, Tatjana Wood, Gaspar Saladino Penciler: Marshall Rogers Inker: Terry Austin Colorists: Marshall Rogers Letterer: John Workman Editors: Julius Schwartz, E. Nelson BridwellThe Dark Knight Returns Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 (June 1986) Writer: Frank Miller Cover artists: Frank Miller, Lynn Varley Penciler: Frank Miller Inker: Klaus Janson Colorist: Lynn Varley Letterer: John Costanza Editors: Dick Giordano, Dennis O'NeilBatman: Year One—Chapter One: Who I Am—How I Come to Be Batman #404 (February 1987) Writer: Frank Miller Artist: Dave Mazzucchelli Colorist: Richmond Lewis Letterer: Todd Klein Editor: Dennis O'NeilBatman: The Killing Joke (July 1988) Writer: Alan Moore Cover artists: Brian Bolland, Richard Bruning Artist: Brian Bolland Colorist: John Higgins Letterer: Richard Starkings Editors: Dennis O'Neil, Dan RasplerThe Last Arkham (Part One) Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992) Writer: Alan Grant Cover artist: Brian Stelfreeze Penciler: Norm Breyfogle Inker: Norm Breyfogle Colorist: Adrienne Roy Letterer: Todd Klein Editors: Scott Peterson, Dennis O'NeilKnightfall Part 1: Crossed Eyes and Dotty Teas Batman #492 (May 1993) Writer: Doug Moench Cover artists: Kelley Jones, Bob LeRose Penciler: Norm Breyfogle Inker: Norm Breyfogle Colorist Adrienne Roy Letterer: Richard Starkings Editors: Scott Peterson, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Dennis O'Neil
DC: Batman goes on sale tomorrow
Former DC editor-in-chief Jennette Kahn hand-picked every comic featured in the Folio Society’s DC: Batman collection. “Trauma is a through-line in the Batman mythology,” Kahn writes in the book’s introduction. “It has made psychopaths of Batman’s foes and brought him to the edge of madness himself. Batman’s battle is not just against criminals and crime. He fears the day he’ll look into a mirror and see, not Bruce Wayne’s face, but The Joker‘s.”
“Created towards the end of the Great Depression by artist Bob Kane with writer Bill Finger, Batman is an icon as familiar as James Bond or Tarzan, one who has evolved to reflect the changing attitudes of the twentieth century,” Folio Society head of editorial James Rose said. “The stories selected for DC: Batman reveal how the character and his billionaire alter-ego Bruce Wayne gradually evolved from the dutiful crimefighter of the 1940s to a man possessed, as crazy as the criminals he puts away. The Caped Crusader faces a rogue’s gallery steeped in gothic horror, from the Weimar cinema-inspired The Joker to the Jekyll/Hyde figure of Two-Face and the Moriarty-like Ra’s al Ghul.”
“The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Batman: Year One, by Miller and Dave Mazzucchelli, and the terrifying classic The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland are widely regarded as among the greatest comic books ever created,” publishing director Tom Walker added. “These stories changed the graphic medium forever with their combination of cinematic storytelling, shocking violence and literary depth and serve as centerpiece texts for DC: Batman.”
DC: Batman goes on sale tomorrow, February 20 from the Folio Society.
