Coming in November from IDW…
If you’re a Batman collector, there’s one more important book for your shelves and it’ll be available 11/9 — the third and final volume of the Batman Silver Age Dailies series of hardcovers.
IDW and Dean Mullaney’s Library of American Comics have been publishing these for the last few years but this latest volume appears to have been the most difficult to piece together.
We wrote almost a year ago that Mullaney and crew were trying to cobble together the remaining newspaper strips so they could complete their Bat-mission and finally we’re seeing the end result.
Front cover
Back cover
We’re going to bring you a special EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW in two installments.
Here, we’re going to show you some of the book’s overall highlights. Then, in the coming weeks, we’re going to bring you a look at one of the book’s oddest aspects, a hidden chapter in Batman lore that a scant few know or remember. How’s that for a tease? (UPDATED: It’s the saga of GALEXO! Click here.)
In the meantime, check out some of these never-before-reprinted strips. I’ve included a selection of color Sunday segments, including the last one published in this run. There are also some daily, black-and-white strips, which are interesting given how starkly they convey the bridge between the Silver and Bronze Ages. (The book covers the years 1969-72.)
In those, Batman looks more like the version pioneered by Neal Adams that was followed by artists like Irv Novick and Bob Brown. The villains, on the other hand, retain their earlier, lighter looks: Just check out the Mad Hatter and the Penguin as prime examples. (Interesting to see how much play Two-Face gets too. He was just coming back into vogue.) Al Plastino was the artist on these and his ability to ape other styles is evident. (For some of his Man-Bat strips, which lift directly from Adams’ comics, click here.)
As I noted, Batman Dailies and Sundays: 1969-1972! comes out 11/9 and features a mural-worthy Pete Poplaski cover and intro by Joe Desris. At more than 330 pages, it lists for $49.99.
—
DON’T FORGET! Check out our look at the lost chapter of Batman history that’s included in the book: The saga of GALEXO! Click here.
October 25, 2016
that’s the best i’ve seen Al Plastino look. The last two pages look very “Cardy”-esque.
October 31, 2016
Al and Nick were good friends and went to High School together and they helped each other from time to time. But this was a point in Al’s life where he was working on 5 different strips at the same time to take care of a growing family. He was at his peak in his 50’s doing incredible things and yes Batman was some of my favorite work. I helped my father work on this strip. I erased the pencil marks after he had inked the page. I was 12 years old. Sometimes I would press too hard. But he was so good with a brush, that he would very easily go over the lines with such precision. It was amazing.
October 26, 2016
Love the fact that it is such a “bridge” product. Very cool!
October 31, 2016
Interesting that they were still giving credit to Bob Kane. I was under the impression that by 1969, DC had bought out his share of Batman, and weren’t required to include him in any credits any longer?
December 5, 2018
Simply beautiful. <3