Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 18, 2024 | 10 comments

Comics’ first planned miniseries is coming back to print…

Aw, DC, you listened.

The publisher in January will be reprinting the entire 1980 classic The Untold Legend of the Batman — comics’ first intentional miniseries — as a standalone special edition.

Originally published in three issues, the story by Len Wein, Jim Aparo and John Byrne (with covers by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano), retells Batman’s history up to that point, in a cohesive narrative.

It’s must-reading for any serious Batman fan, or comics fan in general.

Dig the just-released solicitation info:

LIMITED EDITION: THE UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN #1

Written by LEN WEIN
Art by JIM APARO and JOHN BYRNE
Cover by JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ and DICK GIORDANO

Foil variant cover by JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ and DICK GIORDANO ($14.99)

$12.99 US | 72 Pages
ON SALE 1/29/25

From comics legends Len Wein, Jim Aparo, and John Byrne comes this haunting and  introspective tale that puts all of the Caped Crusader’s detective skills to the test. When the original Batsuit worn by Bruce Wayne’s late father is stolen from the Batcave, Batman begins an investigation into the possible culprit, which leads him to recollect the origins of close allies, such as Robin and Alfred—and foes like Joe Chill and The Joker! This special edition reprint collects all three issues of the limited series.

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A number of thoughts:

— January will be a helluva month for DC reprints. In addition to this, there will be seven bona fide Facsimile Editions. Links below!

— For what it’s worth (nothing at all, really), we called on DC to republish the story back in 2021. It was last printed in 2014 in the hardcover Tales of the Batman: Len Wein.

— The three-parter was preceded by World of Krypton, comics’ first mini. But that was originally slated for Showcase, which was cancelled. Our pal Paul Kupperberg wrote that story and he gives you a behind-the-scenes look here.

— The cover accompanying the solicitation text is from Issue #2 of the series. It may be a placeholder. That’s why I’ve also included the covers for Issues #1 and #3. (Issue #3 was used for the aforementioned Tales of the Batman collection.)

— Yay, a foil variant! For whatever the final cover is!

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— If you want to know why this series is so important — or want to be reminded — click here.

— If you want to know what Len Wein had to say about it, click here.

— This is the perfect thing to give a young reader when you want to show them the Batman you grew up with. It distills 41 years of Batman history into three issues, and does so seamlessly, with dramatic art. It should always be in print.

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MORE

— DC to Unleash SEVEN Facsimile Editions in January 2025 — Including Another Treasury Edition. Click here.

— BATMAN: HUSH and THE LONG HALLOWEEN to Get Facsimile Edition Releases. Click here.