The wait’s worth it!
Folks, get ready for this: your very first, 100 percent EXCLUSIVE INSIDE LOOK at the long-awaited, much-anticipated, super-ballyhooed 1982 DC Comics Style Guide hardcover, published by Standards Manual, under license from DC Comics.
Dig these 13 PIX:
The yellow strip is removable and doubles as a bookmark!
Even some George Perez art made the book.
There it is. Proof that it not only will exist — but that it’s been printed. Huzzah!
Seriously, though, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster the past few months. Back in May, we reported that the rare Style Guide, featuring art primarily by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano, was going to finally be released commercially after decades as a much-sought-after collectible. The response was, well, BANANAS! Standards Manual, in response, rushed pre-orders to try to make an August publication date.
Thing is, the book was originally planned for the holiday season but the publisher was eager to give the people what they wanted. Thankfully for fans like us, however, the folks at Standards Manual are graphic designers by trade. And if you know anything about graphic designers, they are perfectionists.
So between voyages back and forth across the Atlantic, from Standards Manual’s Brooklyn studio to Graphicom, the high-end printer in Verona, Italy, delays set in as the boutique publishing house’s co-founders, Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed, fine tuned and fine tuned.
This color doesn’t work? Gone. This isn’t sharp enough? Gone. This isn’t the right ink? Gone. “Standards” is in their name, folks.
At the same time, they were able to build out the book, with assists from former DC chief Paul Levitz, who wrote the introduction, and yours truly, who interviewed Garcia-Lopez and original project manager Mary Moebus Yedlin for the edition. (I also helped out as a technical adviser.)
The end result is prime, Grade A comics history, an art book by some of the best who have ever touched pencil or pen to paper. It gives the sense of an Artist’s Edition. Rather than a straight-up reprint, each page was scanned as-is, so you see notes, imperfections and other ephemera.
I may be biased but it doesn’t really matter because I firmly believe that you will be immensely satisfied once you get yours into your hands.
Ah, but when will that be? The vessel carrying the books will leave Europe at the beginning of November, en route to Savannah, Georgia, at the end of the month. From there, Standards Manual tells us, the books will be shipped out.
There’s no exact date yet, but the expectation is it will be out for the holiday season, which was the original plan to begin with.
So, no, the journey isn’t quite over yet. But the book you have been waiting for is on its way.
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The 1982 DC Comics Style Guide, which also includes pages from later editions, runs 384 pages and lists for $95. Your best option is to order it directly from Standards Manual. Click here.
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— A Major Update on the 1982 DC COMICS STYLE GUIDE Hardcover. Click here.
— THE 1982 DC STYLE GUIDE Is Delayed — But For Good Reason. Click here.
October 29, 2024
Dan, congratulations on your involvement. How awesome it must be to see your name on the cover, a part of some truly great comic book history there! (What was involved as a technical adviser?)
October 29, 2024
Thanks, Buck. It’s been a pretty heady experience, I have to say. Not what I expected when I first started reporting on it. Without getting into too much detail, I helped advise them on various aspects of the book. They wanted to make sure they were getting it right and wanted to give the readers what they wanted, so we had many conversations on that front. Plus, some other behind-the-scenes stuff. It was fun — and an honor — to be a part of it.
November 2, 2024
It’s got to be cool! Hey! There’s probably a 13th Dimension column in the behind-the-scenes story somewhere!
November 3, 2024
I’ve revealed most of it already, but yes, more to come!
November 4, 2024
Dan is being modest here! He was instrumental in taking the book up a few notches on the editorial side and his knowledge of seemingly EVERYTHING comic related helped us immensely in getting it right. We think you’ll like it!
November 11, 2024
Thank you to all involved for making this happen. I’ve dreamed of owning a copy for about 30 years but could never justify the expense when an original popped up for sale. I cannot wait to get this version in my grubby mitts. Again, thank you thank you thank you.
October 29, 2024
Of course, this is eagerly awaited and thanks for your advocacy and expertise on this project. Do you think it might be possible to use your influence to get the good folks at Standards to reach out directly with the consumer (i.e., purchasers of the product in pre-order) and update them? I’d appreciate an official response from them.
October 29, 2024
Absolutely, Laurence. But rest assured the availability information came directly from them.
November 4, 2024
Laurence thanks for your reply and yes, we’ll be sending an official update this week to anyone who purchased directly from us. This project has a lot of moving parts and we’ve tried to wait for things to become certain before making promises. We could have done better there so apologies if you’ve felt in the dark. Not long now and ultimately it was worth the extra time to get things just right!
October 29, 2024
Dan, I know from experience that writing and finally seeing the published results is like birthing an intellectual “child”. Congrats on this one and I can hardly wait to meet my own copy of it before the end of the year 😉 Your photos and articles related to it have helped make me very curious and interested to see it all.
October 29, 2024
Thanks, Steven! I really appreciate that!
October 29, 2024
Can’t wait to get this in my hands. Thanks for helping to get this pushed into existence Dan. So glad you got to participate in it as well.
October 29, 2024
It looks great, and congratulations to all involved. I’ll be happy when mine arrives, but I am confused by the new information here. Nowhere were buyers told the plan was to ship in the “holiday season.” The plan–as told to the buyers when ordering–was the end of August. Delays happen, and that’s okay… But to now say it was always intended to ship months later does not jibe with info provided in the spring.
Granted, I will forget about this the moment I receive my book… but it must be asked–if they never intended to ship in August then why the need to hide it from us? Why say it would be delayed a month, and then another month if it was never intended to ship in August, September, or October anyway? They could have just said “books will ship in November” or December or whenever.
October 29, 2024
The story’s pretty clear, as has been previous coverage. The book, before it went public, was intended to be a holiday release. Then when we reported it was coming, it led to huge interest and Standards Manual moved it up. But in the production, delays happened, as they often do, and the book ended up being a holiday release after all. No more delays are anticipated, though the vagaries of shipping from overseas can make it difficult to guarantee a date. Hope that helps.
October 29, 2024
Congratulations Dan!! Great work.
I can’t wait to recieve this!!
If only Marvel would do a style guide too!!
October 29, 2024
Thank Zod it’s book format rather than binder. (Harder to keep in shape.)
October 30, 2024
Looks great, can’t wait to get my copy.
November 2, 2024
My address has changed since I pre-ordered the book. Who should I contact to make sure it gets shipped to my new address? Thanks.
November 2, 2024
The company, Standards Manual. Their link is in the story.
November 4, 2024
Hi Matt, if you have not already please let us know the change at contact@standardsmanual.com and we’ll update it for the shipment.
November 11, 2024
Can’t wait to get it and get lost in it! The wait will be worth it for sure. I didn’t hesitate when I saw the pre-order and I knew it would be a while but just so glad it’s coming to fruition and that you all have taken such thorough care of it through the process!! Thank you all.
Um…any chance we could get a peek at the table of contents?
November 11, 2024
Got my email alert today from the publisher. More excited than ever as this gets closer and closer to shipping! Can’t wait, Standards.