Including remastered Jim Aparo art from the vaults…
The most recent comics news to rock my world was last weekend’s announcement that DC would be publishing in December a reprint of the notorious Batman #428 — only in this edition, Jason Todd survives the Joker’s heinous attack.
The book will use art that was prepped but not published once DC’s editors knew the results of the infamous phone-in poll that determined the second Boy Wonder’s fate. At least some of that art has popped up in other contexts.
Anyway, DC on Friday released the official solicitation and it includes more info on what I imagine will be a very hot-selling comic:
BATMAN #428: ROBIN LIVES!
Written by JIM STARLIN
Art by JIM APARO and MIKE DeCARLO
Cover by MIKE MIGNOLA
Foil variant cover by MIKE MIGNOLA ($7.99 US)
Blank sketch variant
What if one of the darkest hours in Batman’s crime-fighting career never happened? Thirty-five years ago, fans voted on Jason Todd’s fate after his brutal encounter with the Joker, which set Jason on the path to becoming the gun-toting vigilante Red Hood. But suppose fans had voted differently… DC Comics transports you back in time with this special “faux-simile” edition of Batman #428 in which Robin lives!
Featuring pages reconstructed from artist Jim Aparo’s alternate art boards –which have been plucked from the DC vault and fully restored and remastered — this reedited version of “A Death in the Family, Book Three” turns the Dark Knight’s greatest tragedy into a moment of triumph. Adding to the immersive authenticity of this alternate-history comic book, this version includes all the ads from the original 1988 edition plus a rewritten letters column.
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
—
A few thoughts:
— That gruesome close-up (above) from Batman #428’s cover was the art that DC released with the solicitation. What’s not clear to me is whether that will be the actual cover or, perhaps, the foil variant. Since it’s not a bona fide Facsimile Edition, I suppose DC has some room to maneuver. But, hey, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Could just be a placeholder. Here’s the original:
— What I do dig about this being an alternate version of the comic is that it will have a re-written letters column — whatever that means. The original in #428 contains letters about the previous issues, with an editor’s note at the end that briefly discusses Jason’s death. The issue comes out Dec. 12.
— Once again, for the record, I voted for Robin to live.
— Obligatory Price Comparison: An unslabbed original in nice shape recently sold on eBay for $15. What are the chances this one will go higher on the secondary market — at least for awhile?
—
MORE
— ROBIN LIVES! DC to Publish ‘Faux-simile Edition’ That Reverses DEATH IN THE FAMILY. Click here.
— JIM APARO: THE ARTIST’S ARTIST — A Birthday Tribute. Click here.
October 20, 2023
It will be interesting to read. Hopefully Jim aparo’s family will get some proceeds from them using the art..for the record I voted for him to die, and we even share the same last name.
October 21, 2023
This should be the beginning of an amazing run of “fauxsimilies” based on alternate editions where art had previously been created and books created but never released. Congratulations to DC for recognizing the potential in one fan’s suggestion of releasing such editions. I’ve talked with three comic ship owners who have each said the recent facsimile editions have been the only books they quickly sell out of anymore. A new line of “fauxsimilies” should top those sales performances. The current leadership at DC should not only learn to value and mine the company’s past more often, they need to respect and lock in its history rather than making wholesale changes to beloved characters that undermine their IPs and disrespect the work of previous creators. DC would be in far better shape if only they would return to Bronze and earl Modern Age treatments of their characters.
October 30, 2023
The character has been alive in comics (for whatever reason) as Red Hood for the past 20 years. This just makes things right. Jason Todd never died.