The Caped Crusader debuted 87 years ago… By JASON CZERNICH Starting in the fall of 1988, DC Comics released a new Batman hardcover during the holiday buying season every year through 2000. Growing up, it became one of my favorite holiday traditions to be given one, whether on Christmas or even earlier in the month for my birthday. I actually miss the days when a hardcover Batman book wasn’t a monthly release. Getting multiple hardbound Caped Crusader publications now is great, but part of me still misses the time when they were a rare treat. With that in mind, here are 13 CLASSIC BATMAN HARDCOVERS to celebrate his 87th anniversary. (Detective Comics #27 debuted March 30, 1939.) — 1. 1988’s The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. What a wonderful surprise to see this under the tree that year! It was the second entry in DC Comics’ Greatest Stories Ever Told line, and it was simply a treasure trove for me. True, it wasn’t as well-rounded as The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, which would come along about a month later, but it still had some essentials — all of which I was reading for the first time: — Batman #47 – “The Origin of the Batman!” — Detective Comics #235 – “The First Batman” — World’s Finest #94 – “The Origin of the Superman–Batman Team” — Batman #156 – “Robin Dies at Dawn — Detective Comics #457 – “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!” And two—count ’em, two — Alan Brennert Batman tales to close out the book: — Detective Comics #500 – “To Kill a Legend” — The Brave and the Bold #197 – “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne” — 2. 1989’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. This bestselling original graphic novel by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean is a tour de force in writing and art. When I first snuck a peek at an open copy at my local comic shop, I was thrown by its fully painted, highly expressive style. I got it on Christmas morning and devoured it that night. It remains one of my favorite Bat-tales to this day—and maybe even the first to actually scare me! — 3. 1990’s Batman: Bride of the Demon. At this point in Batman’s publishing history, only Mike W. Barr could spin a Ra’s...
Superman/Spider-Man #1 is out this week! By JASON CZERNICH Fifty years ago, in January 1976, DC and Marvel gave us the very first crossover between their characters with the landmark Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. I wasn’t born yet, let alone collecting and reading comics, but I can just imagine the feeling fandom had at the time. Perhaps it was something akin to the surprise I got when I watched Disney toons interact with their Warner Brothers counterparts in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Broadly, intercompany crossovers among a whole litany of publishers are commonplace now, but the first wave of DC/Marvel projects in the late ’70s and early ’80s were quite a thing for the industry, fans and pros alike, to behold. Since then, then Big Two have had a checkered relationship: There was a second wave (1994–2004) that produced a lot of material — not all of it great — and then… nothing. As of 2025’s Deadpool/Batman and Batman/Deadpool one-shots — plus the recent publication of omnibus collections and Facsimile Editions — we are now officially in the third wave of DC/Marvel crossovers. This week, it all comes full circle, with DC’s release of Superman/Spider-Man #1 — click here for a SNEAK PEEK — to be followed in April by Marvel’s Spider-Man/Superman #1. With that in mind, here are my picks for THE TOP 13 DC/MARVEL CROSSOVERS — RANKED: — 13. Superman/Fantastic Four (1999). I am a sucker for when Dan Jurgens writes and draws a story—especially if it is a Superman story. I am a sucker for oversize formats. I am a sucker for Alex Ross. Superman/Fantastic Four had all of this and more, as well as inventive ways to include Galactus and Cyborg Superman, aka Hank Henshaw They even take the time to reference how Henshaw’s origin is a dark mirror image of the Fantastic Four’s beginnings. The wraparound cover by Jurgens and Ross was just the icing on this cosmic cake. — 12. DC Versus Marvel Comics (1995). This will probably be the most controversial entry on this list due to the fan voting aspect of it alone. However, the four-issue miniseries actually had some genuinely good moments. Aside from the matches, writers Ron Marz and Peter David, teamed with pencillers Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini, gave us some fun character interactions we never thought...
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