BATMAN WEEK: The high-end hardcover DC: Batman is valuable for collectors, despite its flaws… — Welcome to BATMAN WEEK 2024 — celebrating the 85th anniversary of the release of Detective Comics #27, on March 30, 1939. Over seven days, you can look forward to all sorts of groovy and offbeat columns, features and cartoons that pay tribute to the greatest comics character in the history of mankind. Click here for the rest of the BATMAN WEEK features. You’ll be glad you did! — Dan — The big publication celebrating Batman’s 85th anniversary this year is British publisher The Folio Society’s DC: Batman — a high-end, slipcased volume showcasing some of the greatest stories starring the Caped Crusader since the Golden Age. The 11 stories in the 10″ x 7″ hardcover were selected by former DC President and Publisher Jenette Kahn, who also wrote the introduction to the volume. The set also includes the best Facsimile Edition of 1940’s Batman #1 you will ever find. (Click here for more on that.) Here’s the table of contents: It’s a solid list, to be sure, though it is fair to say that important aspects of Batman’s history have been left out: There’s nothing from the 1950s and the “New Look” 1960s are similarly ignored. There’s also nothing from the last 30 years. In her introduction, Kahn explains why she chose these stories — as well as why others that missed the cut. (Click here to read what she wrote.) But to me, the package’s selling point isn’t actually the story selection — it’s the production values. Like 2023’s massive DC Comics: The Golden Age — the book’s pages are scanned from the DC Comics archives, giving you a virtual trip through the publisher’s library. Just check some of them out: I love the look of these pages, yellowed and all. And knowing the scans came from DC’s library just adds to the experience. That said, seeing these pages is partly why I would have referenced, but not reprinted, the constantly available, glossy The Dark Knight Returns #1 and The Killing Joke. I would rather have seen more archival material. Nevertheless, it’s a terrific package to page through — and the Batman #1 Facsimile Edition, also scanned from the vaults, is a huge bonus. (Click here for more on that.) — DC: Batman...