Pretty dang comprehensive…
A bit of a catch-up here, folks.
Earlier in July, we reported that DC would be publishing Batman by Darwyn Cooke: The Absolute Edition, but details were scarce. Now the book has been solicited by DC but in my scramble to get ready for San Diego Comic-Con, I wasn’t able to do an update.
So, better late than never! Here’s the Batskinny:
BATMAN BY DARWYN COOKE: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION
(W) Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb, Various (A/CA) Darwyn Cooke
EXPERIENCE THE BRILLIANCE OF DARWYN COOKE’S BATMAN AND CATWOMAN ADVENTURES IN THE ABSOLUTE FORMAT, LIKE NEVER BEFORE! The masterworks of Darwyn Cooke printed in the biggest format ever! Escape into the brilliance of Darwyn Cooke (DC: The New Frontier) in this massive, one-of-a-kind Absolute Edition celebrating his life, work, and legacy. Collects Batman: Ego, Batman/The Spirit #1, Catwoman: Selina’s Big Score, Catwoman #1-4, Solo #5, stories from Batman: Gotham Knights #23 and #33, Detective Comics #759-762, Harley Quinn Holiday Special #1, Just Imagine Stan Lee with Chris Bachalo Creating Catwoman #1, and his first published story from Talent Showcase #19. Featuring an extensive gallery of covers and original art, along with an introduction and essays by artist and longtime editor for Cooke Mark Chiarello, essays by friends and collaborators, and so much more!
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A few thoughts:
— The slipcased hardcover is due April 7, 2026. It lists for $100 and runs 544 pages.
— It does include Batman and the Spirit! Wasn’t sure about that originally. Beyond that, this looks to be the most comprehensive Cooke Batman collection to date.
— A new printing of Cooke’s Batman: Ego and Other Tails — The Deluxe Edition is coming in October, by the way.
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MORE
— BATMAN BY DARWYN COOKE to Get Absolute Edition. Click here.
— CATWOMAN’s Essential Artists: DARWYN COOKE. Click here.
July 29, 2025
Qué interesante. Siempre me ha sorprendido su temprana muerte
July 29, 2025
Other than Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Moebius, Cooke emerged more fully formed on the comics scene than any other cartoonist that I can think of. This book, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit, and his Parker books (all of which will be available by the end of the year in Absolute or Absolute-equivalent volumes) represent the output of an amazing, unprecedented career, and one that only lasted 15 years (most other cartoonists would be lucky to have half that amount of comparable quality work created in twice the amount of time). And this was after having had a full career in animation, and then a full career in graphic design before that. For me, he’s the comics equivalent of Alfred Hitchcock or Stephen Sondheim or Saul Bass or Jorge Luis Borges: a complete and total master of his medium. I hope that someday someone writes a comprehensive, liberally illustrated biography about Cooke (much like that Alex Toth multi-volume biography from IDW).
July 29, 2025
I’m still waiting on TwoMorrows’ Comic Creators:Darwyn Cooke edition.
July 30, 2025
My understanding is that that book was solicited before they did the long-form interview with Cooke that was to make up the bulk of the book. So the book was never created.