Posted in: Batman, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics | Tagged: folio society, Jennette Kahn

Jennette Kahn Picks The Best Batman Stories For The Folio Society

The Folio Society has just published DC: Batman, stories selected and introduced by former DC President, Publisher and EIC, Jennette Kahn.

The Folio Society will celebrate the 85th anniversary of Batman with the release of DC: Batman. Now officially created by "Bob Kane with Bill Finger", Batman first appeared in 1939's Detective Comics #27, which means it's a decade until that issue goes public domain. So, The Folio Society might make some money out of it now.

This 320-page compilation includes twelve comics by the likes of Bill Finger, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, Frank Miller, Dave Mazzucchelli, Alan Moore, Brian Bolland and Kelley Jones. Naming them gives you a good idea of the comics you are getting. All were selected and introduced by former DC President, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of DC, Jennette Kahn.

• Facsimile: Batman #1 (Spring 1940)
  Writer: Bill Finger
  Cover artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson
  Artists: Bob Kane, Sheldon Moldoff
  Editor: Whitney Ellsworth
• The Bat-Man
  Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) 
  Writer: Bill Finger
  Artist: Bob Kane
  Editor: Vincent Sullivan
• Robin—the Boy Wonder
  Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
  Writer: Bill Finger
  Artists: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson
  Editor: Whitney Ellsworth
• The Crimes of Two-Face!
  Detective Comics #66 (August 1942) 
  Writer: Bill Finger
  Artists: Jerry Robinson, George Roussos
  Letterers: Ira Schnapp
  Editor: Whitney Ellsworth
• Batman 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 Boltinoff
• Daughter 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 Schwartz
• The 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 Bridwell
• The 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'Neil
• Batman: 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'Neil
• Batman: 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 Raspler
• The 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'Neil
• Knightfall 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 also comes with a stand-alone replica copy of Batman #1, scanned in its entirety from an original 1940 copy, which includes the original back-up strips and vintage ads and introduces The Joker, and The Cat, who would come to be known as Catwoman.

"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," said Folio Society Head of Editorial, James Rose. "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."

"Trauma is a through-line in the Batman mythology," writes Jenette Kahn in her 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."

"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 three of the greatest comic books ever created," said Folio Society Publishing Director, Tom Walker. "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."

The release of DC: Batman is the second release in the Folio Society publishing program with DC, following the release of DC: The Golden Age. DC: Batman has been made according to The Folio Society's exceptional production standards. Scanned from original copies held in the DC archives, the comics have been reproduced in 10" x 7" treasury format. An anti-scratch laminated hardcover features Batman's signature silhouette, with titles foil-embossed in yellow and midnight blue, the book itself cowled in a pitch-black slipcase bearing the famous Bat-Signal. The Folio Society edition of DC: Batman, selected and introduced by Jenette Kahn, is now available for £65 / US $100.

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