Books

Batman: A Visual History Review

4th Nov 2014

It really is book season at the moment on Filmwerk. So anyone looking to compile a present list at the moment should probably have a good look at our book section at the moment as there are so many high quality books out at the moment. Not least is this full colour, heavy, text and picture friendly look at Batman’s history in the comics!

DK Books have again released a sterling effort: a weighty tome encased in its hard box exterior on the Dark Knight. 350 glorious pages of comic book history divided up by decade and written largely by author Matthew K Manning (with the 60’s segment by Matt Forbeck).

Frank Miller writes the introduction (Which considering the work he did in the 1980s that altered the future of the Dark Knight forever is patronage enough) which is balanced nicely with a piece of The Dark Knight Returns artwork on the facing page.

The book is then broke down into chapters surrounding each decade starting with the 1930s. Of course we are talking 1939 so expect this to be the shortest chapter. Like the decades that follow there is introductory text for the chapter lending word to the specific era of comic books. The pages that follow pick out specific comic book issues, print their cover art and then have accompanying text about why this was a significant issue in the Bat’s history.

It’s an exciting read down through the decades and you really get a sense of how stories changed as well as the artwork in each decade with incoming new artists, writers and the current events that surrounded them.

If anyone is looking for a grand overview then this is it. There have been many books on Batman, but this one stays true to the comics and is lavishly designed from start to finish. Oh and you also get a couple of removable Prints as well. This book was fine without these, so it comes as an added bonus. This is one you’ll want to mark shelf space for. It’s a vibrant