The earliest days of the original Jason Todd, and MORE…
One of the most popular Batman/Detective runs of the ’80s is coming to the omnibus format in 2027: Batman by Doug Moench Omnibus Vol. 1.
Dig the official description from Penguin Random House, which handles DC in the book market:
BATMAN BY DOUG MOENCH OMNIBUS VOL. 1
Author Doug Moench
Illustrated by Don Newton, Gene Colan
The formative work of writer Doug Moench gets the spotlight in this new omnibus collection!
Gotham is growing more dangerous—and Batman is changing with it.
As Jason Todd steps into the role of Robin, the Dynamic Duo enters a new chapter, reshaping the balance between mentorship, trust, and responsibility. While the partnership evolves, Batman faces some of his most unsettling cases yet.
Across a wide range of stories, the Dark Knight encounters classic villains and emerging dangers that push him beyond straightforward crime-fighting into deeper, more personal territory. Each case forces him to confront not only the criminals of Gotham but the limits of his own methods.
Blending crime, mystery, and a darker atmospheric tone, these stories define a distinctive era of Batman, where the stakes are personal, the threats are psychological, and the legend continues to evolve.
Collects Batman #360-381 and Detective Comics #527-547.
Hardcover
$125.00
On sale Apr 13, 2027 | 912 Pages
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Buncha thoughts:
— This volume, covering 1983 and ’84, collects the best part of Moench’s run — the development of the original Jason Todd into Robin. Gerry Conway created him, then handed him off; Moench was the one who made him a more rounded, likeable character, before he was jerkified by Crisis. It was very exciting to be a part of that as it happened.
— I remember how fired up the Marvel guys were that Moench was coming to Batman. They loved his Moon Knight (still a classic) and they told me, “You are gonna LOVE him on Batman!” Perhaps that set my expectations too high, because I found his run overall to be uneven. The Nocturna stuff was really tedious, for example. But I’m not one yuck anybody’s yum. A lot of folks really love this run, so I’m happy it’s getting this kind of treatment.
— That said, I wonder why we don’t have a Denny O’Neil omnibus. There has to be a reason. There are a ton of his stories that haven’t been collected, though I imagine DC Finest and the Bronze Age Batman omnibi will ultimately take care of that.
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MORE
— SNEAK PEEK: The Late DON NEWTON To Receive Much-Deserved ILLUSTRATED HISTORY. Click here.
— DC COMICS to Publish SEVEN Facsimile Editions in OCTOBER. Click here.
August 3, 2026
Is it terrible of me to say that I’m disappointed we’re getting Doug Moench Vol 1 instead of Bronze Age Vol 5 or 6? I want EVERYTHING — annuals, specials, miniseries — but this route ends up with orphan issues.
It’s still going to be on my preorder list though.
August 3, 2026
Got into this run at the time. I was a big fan of Don Newton and sad to hear of his passing as he was getting ready to begin Infinity Inc. great time to be a fan and collector.
August 3, 2026
This was the era when I started reading Batman; this is AWESOME news!
August 3, 2026
I’ll be really thrilled if they give us an omnibus collecting the stories by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones!!!
August 3, 2026
“That said, I wonder why we don’t have a Denny O’Neil omnibus. There has to be a reason.”
100% I’ve been wondering about that reason for a long time. Apart from the Omnibus editions, DC has had its creator-centric Tales of Batman hardcovers over the past decade that have conspicuously and consistently snubbed O’Neil’s work. Some speculate it is to avoid double-dipping with the various Neal Adams editions, but that cannot be the whole story– look at how many times the Marshall Rogers stories have been reprinted across not only his own collection, but those of Steve Englehart, Archie Goodwin, Len Wein…
It’s almost as if someone in authority at DC has been holding a posthumous grudge against Mr. O’Neil!
August 3, 2026
I’m not sure it’s a grudge against O’Neil, as much as it is perhaps a desire to not have nearly identical collections competing against each other. That said, however, I’m not sure why there hasn’t been a Batman by O’Neil and Adam’s collection that collected everything by the two of them — singly and collectively — in one collection.
They probably have a collection like that on Earth-1969.
August 3, 2026
There was a wealth of O’Neil Batman & Detective Comics untouched by Adams (apart from the cover artwork): most of the Irv Novick issues from 1970-1975. And a dozen or so O’Neil scripts were drawn by Dick Giordano, Bob Brown, Ernie Chan. All that is prior to O’Neil & Don Newton collaborating on many of the Detective Comics during its Dollar Comics phase. There would be a lot in an O’Neil volume new to people who might already own one of the Neal Adams reprint editions.
August 3, 2026
Let’s not get carried away speculating about grudges. More likely, there’s a financial/royalties issue at play. Or, as I mentioned, it will be taken care of in the Bronze Age Batman omnibi and DC Finest.
August 3, 2026
Interesting that they left off detective comics #526
August 3, 2026
That was written by Gerry Conway
August 4, 2026
“Moench was the one who made [Jason Todd] a more rounded, likeable character, before he was jerkified by Crisis”
That’s not exactly accurate. Jim Starlin (whose work I generally like as a writer) was the one who made Jason Todd a jerk. If you read Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis’ post-Crisis run on Detective, they’re version of Jason was actually very likable.
Anyway, I plan to buy this for the Don Newton artwork. As you said, my memory of this run was that it was very uneven. Too many soap opera tropes for my taste (the ongoing Nocturna subplot about adopting Jason; the love triangle between Bruce, Vicki Vale, and Alfred’s daughter; etc.).
August 4, 2026
Yeah, Starlin was the writer but Crisis was the excuse. The Barr/Davis run is technically post-Crisis, but kind of lives in its own netherworld. I consider it pre-Crisis-style, if that makes sense.
August 4, 2026
I consider it (the Barr/Davis run) pre-Crisis, period, because of Jason Todd. It’s almost like Barr didn’t get the memo on the changes to Jason Todd. Just my opinion, of course.
August 6, 2026
I’m still holding out for a New Look Batman Omnibus or DC Finest. It could be branded “The Outsider Chronicles”