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Batman: The Ultimate Guide: New Edition Book Review

“Batman: The Ultimate Guide: New Edition” is an informative recap of Batman DC comic book history.

With ”The Batman” now in theaters (go see it if you haven’t already), DK has released a new tie-in book titled “Batman: The Ultimate Guide: New Edition” written by Matthew K. Manning and Daniel Wallace. The hardcover book kicks off with a foreword by legendary Batman comic book writer Tom King before delving into the main content. While not comprehensive, this book covers a lot of ground and provides an insightful overview of Batman comic book history. Naturally, the various comic book eras of Batman are covered here with Golden, Silver, Bronize, Dark and Modern ages. Each of these eras touch on key stories/mini-series such as “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns,” “Batman: Year One,” “Batman: Hush,” and “Batman: The Killing Joke,” and, of course, the character’s introduction in “Detective Comics” issue 27. Character profiles are present throughout and touch upon the Bat Family (Robin, Batwoman, Alfred and so forth), allies, teams he was involved with (Justice League), and villains like The Joker, The Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, you get the picture. Of course, Batman’s numerous vehicles, gadgets, weapons and batsuits also get their own pages as well. The book closes out with an index and acknowledgments.

For those eager to learn about the history of Batman comic books but don’t have the time to devote to reading countless issues and or graphic novels, this book has you covered. Not only does it pay homage to the creators with writer Bob Kane, artist Bill Finger and inker Jerry Robinson, but it deep dives into the many interpretations of the characters over the years. Seeing how the character of Batman has evolved throughout the decades is really fascinating (especially seeing it laid out in a chronological fashion). The addition of hundreds of comic art images only adds to the appeal. Keep in mind this book only covers the comics and not the films and or other media. 

If you’re a Batman devotee, a lot of the written content within these pages is probably well known to you, but there’s still plenty of neat tidbits for fans like myself. It was interesting to learn about lesser known characters like Flamingo and Creeper, the plot of Batman #113, seeing a timeline of events, learning that Catwoman was first named Cat and seeing the crime family tree in particular. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Overall Thoughts: DK always knocks it out of the park with their guide books and “Batman: The Ultimate Guide: New Edition” is no exception. 

March 31, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Batman, Batman Comics, Batman Guide, Batman: The Ultimate Guide: New Edition Book Review, Catwoman, DC Comics, The Joker, The Riddler