UNTOLD LEGEND OF THE BATMAN Reprint Is a TREASURY EDITION

A major turning point in the DC reprint game…

We wondered why DC didn’t release this week’s reprint of 1980’s three-issue The Untold Legend of the Batman miniseries — by Len Wein, Jim Aparo and John Byrne — as Facsimile Editions.

Now we know: It’s a TREASURY EDITION.

Yep: For the first time in the current era, DC is reprinting in the treasury format a story that was originally standard size — in this case, comics’ first planned miniseries and an outright classic, to boot.

Nowhere is this mentioned in the solicitations, but listings have started popping up on ebay for the regular $12.99 version…

…and the $19.99 foil-cover version…

…with the notation that they are treasury size. (H/T to reader Joseph Holmes.) I confirmed the news Tuesday night with my local comics shop, Aw Yeah Comics in Harrison, N.Y.

It certainly would explain the choice of the term “Limited Edition” for this reprint — a play on Limited Collectors’ Edition, DC’s Bronze Age name for its treasuries. And it would certainly explain the $12.99 and $19.99 price points.

This is a very, very welcome surprise and naturally opens the door for the question: “What else should DC reprint as a treasury that wasn’t a treasury before?”

The mind reels. In fact, here’s a list of 13 suggestions!

MORE

— DC Sets FIVE Major FACSIMILE EDITIONS for APRIL. Click here.

— DC to Release ACTION COMICS #1 Facsimile Edition — in Full GOLDEN AGE SIZE. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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26 Comments

  1. This is actually great news to me. That beautiful art at a larger scale!

    As for what else DC could reprint in the treasury/tabloid size, I’d be up for any of the three- or four-part mini-series that DC published at that time. Secrets of the Legion of Super-Heroes would be a good choice. So would Tales of the Green Lantern Corps or the two Nathaniel Dusk minis (though I’d prefer either a Deluxe or Absolute edition to display that wonderful Gene Colan art). Maybe the JLA story that was planned and then printed as JLA #210-212. Or any of the three-part JLA/JSA crossovers.

    But I’d kind of like to see more of the original oversized treasury editions reprinted first, especially the Shazam! Issues.

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  2. WOW! That is huge news. My interest in this reprint was just enlarged. I have always treasured my original editions and even have liked the smaller TOR Comic version, a little bit. It is going to be a big day tomorrow at my LCBS. I’m going to absolutely need an extra-large, giant-sized treasury case for this collected edition which is compleat. All size puns aside-I have always enjoyed the series esp the debate about justice vs the law with Professor Rexford echoing the later debate about the law vs justice with Commissioner Gordon. This is one of my favorite mini-series. Now that it has become collected and embiggened maybe both “mini” and “series” are the opposites of what it has become.

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  3. Amazing! Very happy for this surprise, it seemed like a missed opportunity.

    And this is the way they can continue to sell me on reprints I probabaly have umpteen times 🙂

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  4. Some of the classic DC centennial issues would be AWESOME in this format. JLA 200, Batman 400, Superman 400, etc.

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    • JLA 200 in a Treasury format? I might actually die of joy.

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    • Those full page illustrations from JLA #200 in treasury size. YES!

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  5. Dark Knight Returns? Manhunter by Goodwin and Simonson?

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  6. Marvels, Kingdom Come,and Batman the Dark Knight Returns, would all be fantastic in a large format Treasury Edition

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  7. Legion of Super Heroes , Great Darkness Saga as well

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    • The original solicitations did not have them, neither the text nor in DC Connect. They must have been added later, by FOC. It happens, as I’m sure you know.

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  8. I’m sold. I love my 6×9 Batman Cereal reprints just fine, but if it’s $12.99 for tabloid size? Count me in.

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  9. I wasn’t going to buy it because I already own the Len Wein Batman book…but since it’s a Treasury Edition, I will definitely buy it.

    My off-the-wall idea for a Treasury Edition?

    Mademoiselle Marie

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  10. Action #500 was meant to be a treasury, and the subject matter was similar to The Untold Legend series. DC was redefining their characters’ history in the late 70s/early 80s with these special anniversary issues and projects. So, in addition to the Action one, Flash #300 and World’s Finest #271 would be great in this format too!

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    • World’s Finest #271 is a great idea!

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  11. Superman Annual #11 Amazing Dave Gibbons art would be awesome to see in this format!!
    Wouldn’t minde some Norm Breyfogle issues collected in this format either! Imagine Batman 451 (Machine gun Joker) or Detective comics 590 (London)

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  12. Anything with art by Marshall Rogers.

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  13. As I recall, the World Of Krypton comic book mini series was originally scheduled as a Treasury sized book. And then the DC Implosion began.
    If DC continues with publishing a Treasury sized facsimile edition every month maybe they’ll do the Summer Of Superman theme.
    They could reprint World Of Krypton, Action Comics 400, and Superman Salutes the Bicentennial ^_^

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  14. Geez….hope my LCS has a few. I didn’t reserve one because I thought it was going to be standard TPB size..

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  15. One question: what’s the proper storage method for these? Treasury bags exist, but I don’t know of a proper longbox to hold these. Right now my DC facsimile treasuries are piled on a bookshelf.

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    • Alas, there are only the bags. My LCS said there are no boards of that size, and suggested using a graded comic short box and store them sideways.

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      • There are bags and board for treasuries. You can order them online. I have them and they’re perfectly sized.

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    • I bag & board my treauries. Then I use the shortboxes meant for cgc/graded books & put them in those spine downwards packing them in there somewhat densely so there is a just a little wiggle room to get them in & out without damage. You can fit about 40 or so treasuries in each box.

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  16. I haven’t read this story in years (I used to have it one of those black and white mass market paperbacks that was released in the early 1980s), but isn’t this book and Darwyn Cooke’s Batman: Ego essentially the same story? Batman suffers some sort of mental trauma and starts to hallucinate being haunted by an alternate version of himself taking him to the verge of killing himself, which is then used as a framing device to tell a capsulized version of his life story?

    I’m personally not a fan of Treasury Editions, but if they released this as a hardcover Deluxe Edition, I would buy it.

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