This month marks the release of DC: Batman, the first installment in a new, ongoing series of hardcover books from The Folio Society celebrating the illustrious characters of DC.
As per their website:
Marking the 85th anniversary of a superhero icon, Folio presents DC: Batman, the first in a brand-new series, following on from DC: The Golden Age by taking you even deeper into the characters who founded a worldwide phenomenon. Charting Batman’s evolution from Caped Crusader to The Dark Knight, this knockout collection features 12 key adventures by a host of equally iconic talent, from co-creators Bob Kane with Bill Finger to the legendary Frank Miller and Alan Moore. Selected and introduced by former Editor-in-Chief, Publisher and President of DC Comics, Jenette Kahn, this compilation includes a separate replica copy of Batman #1. Scanned in its entirety from an original 1940 copy – back-up strips and vintage ads included – this immaculate collector’s piece provides a unique starting point to one of the longest-running comic book series in history. Comprising tales from The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and the still-shocking The Killing Joke, as well as the debut appearances of Batman himself, Robin, The Joker, Catwoman and Two-Face, DC: Batman is a hardcover compilation with more features than a utility belt, worthy of a place in the library of your own Wayne Manor.
Combing through DC: Batman, it’s clear how much detail and craftsmanship has gone into the collection, following the same level of quality that The Folio Society delivered with their Marvel Heroes line. With a murderer’s row of classic Bat-tales included, Jenette Kahn’s introduction gives a keen and scholarly eye into why each title is included, while also highlighting some of the core Batman works of the 20th century that weren’t included.
We had the chance to talk to Folio Society Head of Editorial, James Rose, about putting together DC: Batman, and which other DC icons we can expect to see as the line progresses.
Andy Burns: James, DC: Batman kicks off a brand new series. DC has so many iconic characters that lend themselves to The Folio Society’s gorgeous hardcovers – what made Batman the right choice to start with?
James Rose: Well, it wasn’t an easy choice! However, Batman very simply is a favourite – one of my favourites, one of Jenette Kahn’s favourites and a readers’ favourite. He is one of the most complicated super heroes and I think audience’s everywhere find that utterly compelling; the examination of his character, of good and evil is timeless. He’s also human. Of all the DC icons, Batman feels to me the most relevant because he isn’t an alien lifeform, a mythic hero or a mutant. He’s simply a human (albeit an incredible one) with some very cool toys!
Andy Burns: Legendary DC guiding light Jenette Kahn picked the stories featured in this hardcover, along with writing the introduction. Could you share some insight into the collaboration between Jenette and yourself?
James Rose: Yes, Jenette and I first collaborated on our DC: The Golden Age volume and I was thrilled to ask her to collaborate again on this one. In terms of the selection, I first sent Jenette my own long list, which she compared with her own, and from there she whittled it down to the selection you have here. It was incredibly difficult getting 85 years of amazing stories into a 350 page book, so we decided to highlight at least one classic story from each decade of the twentieth century, but had to stop selecting at the millennium. Just too much incredible material to include it all.
Andy Burns: Of the stories included in DC: Batman, which is your favourite and why?
James Rose: My favourite is probably Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke from 1988. The Joker is marvellous in this and it is a dark and twisted tale, and utterly relentless. Most of all though it shows the ‘special’ relationship between Batman and the Joker – two lives continually drawn together and at war with one another.
Andy Burns: I’ve had the chance to read many publications from The Folio Society, including the recent Marvel hardcovers and the stunning, oversized DC Comics: The Golden Age. As a publisher, what does The Folio Society look for when putting together these titles?
James Rose: At Folio we publish the best-loved literature from around the world and these titles are no different. Both DC and Marvel are at the top of the comics industry and their characters have set the benchmark by which all others are judged today. What is important to us though is to honour those original comics and their creators, which is why we have such titans making the selections and only scan from original copies, keeping them as close to the originals as possible.
Andy Burns: One of the exciting pieces of DC: Batman is the separate replica of Batman #1 that’s included. What was the process to make that happen? I’d imagine finding a copy of the 1940 original could have been a little difficult.
James Rose: Yes, I was worried about that too. Thankfully, the good people at DC had an original copy and the archivists were kind enough to (very carefully) scan the pages for us, all of them, adverts and second features included. Key for us was making the comic as perfect a replica as we possibly could, so special attention was paid to each and every page, as well as getting the paper right. For this we matched the original newsprint paper as closely as we could – even the feel of the comic should be as it was when it first hit the newsstands in 1940.
Andy Burns: Finally, as mentioned above, there are so many DC characters that lend themselves to a Folio Society collection. Could you give us a hint as to which we might see sooner than later?
James Rose: Well, there are indeed more in the works. Next up is a Superman volume, in series with this Batman one, followed by a Silver Age compendium. And, having only selected Caped Crusader comics up to the millennium, then I’d love to do a follow-up of that too. There’s certainly enough material to choose from!
You can order DC: Batman from The Folio Society here. Thanks to James Rose for his time, and to David Hyde and The Folio Society.
