Another chance at a prime, full-on reprint…
DC has a Facsimile Edition coming in May, and it’s a familiar one: 1966’s Batman #181, featuring Poison Ivy’s debut.
It’s at least the third DC Facsimile Edition re-release in recent months, which is actually a good thing since these full-on reprints have become collectibles in their own right. (More on that below.)
Dig the official solicitation, which will be officially released later Friday:
BATMAN #181 FACSIMILE EDITION
Written by ROBERT KANIGHER and GARDNER FOX
Art by SHELDON MOLDOFF, CARMINE INFANTINO, and others
Cover by CARMINE INFANTINO and MURPHY ANDERSON
Special foil variant cover by CARMINE INFANTINO and MURPHY ANDERSON
Blank sketch variant
REPRINTING THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF POISON IVY! In this historic issue, Batman and Robin encounter the irresistible Poison Ivy, who is out to prove that she should be public enemy number one! To accomplish this feat, she enacts a plan to turn the underworld’s other female villains against each other and attempts to seduce the Batman to her side. Will the Caped Crusader be entranced by her charms? Find out in this facsimile edition featuring all the original stories and ads from the 1960s.
Regular edition $3.99/Blank sketch variant $4.99/Foil variant $5.99/32 pages
On sale: May 2, 2023
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A few thoughts:
— Obligatory Price Comparison: As I noted above, Facsimile Editions have become so popular that some collectors even get them slabbed. I think that’s silly, but hey, that’s my own bias. Anyway, a slabbed, 9.8 copy of the first Batman #181 Facsimile Edition, which came out in 2019, recently sold on eBay for about $55. Unslabbed NM copies range from $10 to $25. Meanwhile, an unslabbed 1966 original in good condition recently went for $962.
— Another sign that Facsimile Editions have become collectibles: variant covers! Like the previously announced Batman #357, featuring Jason Todd’s first appearance, this will have a blank sketch variant and a foil variant. I’ll be getting the former because I love the idea of a cover with just that logo on it. It is, after all, the best Bat-logo ever.
— DC is really pushing Poison Ivy right now. Her current limited series will become an ongoing in June.
— While I am glad that Facsimile Editions are being re-released for the collectors who slept on them the first time around, I’m still eager to see issues that haven’t gotten the treatment yet. I could go on about that — and maybe I will at some point!
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MORE
— INSIDE LOOK: The BATMAN #181 Facsimile Edition. Click here.
— Marvelous! DC to Release WHIZ COMICS #2 As a Facsimile Edition. Click here.
February 17, 2023
There has been criticism of the reproduction quality in the first release. I wonder if this one will be improved.
February 17, 2023
Excellent point…I have the prior release and was very disappointed in the print quality, to include the pinup.
February 17, 2023
I’d like to see Batman #244 and 245 (August-September 1972) get the treatment!!!
February 17, 2023
Poison Ivy is truly one of Batman’s greatest enemies.
February 17, 2023
Can’t agree with you more that there are plenty of DC books that deserve their moment in the Facsimile Edition spotlight – one, in particular, being Green Lantern #76, a facsimile of which was scheduled to go on sale 5/20/20 but was cancelled because of the pandemic.