Batman Special Edition #1

Summer 1993. £1.50.
68 pages. Full color.
Fleetway Editions, Ltd.

Edited by Mike Butcher.

ISSN: 09683836

Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz. r: cover from Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

Contents:

.2 Contents / Introduction text by Mike Butcher.

.3 Resurrection Night! w: Doug Moench. a: John Byrne. c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by Elitta Fell.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

.4 Chapter I: Trading Darkness w: Doug Moench. p: Steve Lightle, i: Bruce D. Patterson, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

10 Chapter II: The Master Below w: Doug Moench. a: George Perez, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

14 Chapter III: First Steps w: Doug Moench. p: Paris Cullins, i: Larry Mahlstedt, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

17 Chapter IV: The Tempting... w: Doug Moench. a: Bill Sienkiewicz, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

24 Chapter V: "Pinocchio and Jonah's Too!" w: Doug Moench. p: Art Adams, i: Terry Austin, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

32 Why I Chose Batman text feature by Stephen King.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

34 Chapter VI: Barred w: Doug Moench. p: Tom Sutton, i: Ricardo Villagran, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

40 Chapter VII: A Small Itch Scratched! w: Doug Moench. a: Steve Leialoha, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

43 Chapter VIII: The Big Sticking w: Doug Moench. a: Joe Kubert, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by Joe Kubert.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

47 Chapter IX: Branches Like Bones w: Doug Moench. a: Ken Steacy, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

50 The Boys from the Dwarf Are Back... in-house advertisement for Red Dwarf Smegazine.

51 Batman full-color pin-up by Mike Grell.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

52 Chapter X: The Dark Trade w: Doug Moench. p: Rick Leonardi, i: Karl Kesel, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John COstanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

58 Chapter XI: Under The Wind w: Doug Moench. a: Brian Bolland, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

65 Epilogue: Fated Fete w: Doug Moench. a: Brian Bolland, c: Adrienne Roy. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

67 Announcing The 1993 Judge Dredd Mega-Special in-house advertisement.

68 Batman full-color pin-up by Bill Sienkiewicz. r: text-free cover from Batman (DC Comics) vol.1 #400 (Oct 1986).

Reproducing most of the contents of Batman #400 (there's a few pieces missing), this isn't an entry-level title for people to discover the character, but is worth hunting down for those who are familiar with the character and his enemies. Brilliantly white pages, unlike the muddy printing on offer from DC Stateside, makes the artwork really pop from the page, and even subtle details in Sienkiewicz's beautiful painting are clear.

Reading the story now, parallels to Knightfall are rather clear - a criminal mastermind breaks all of Batman's most feared enemies free from Arkham Asylum, and at one point Killer Croc even states "I'm doin' this for one reason only - to break the Batman's back." Had this been published in the late nineties it would have been regarded closer to parody, but here it works. Not a fantastic package, but it finds its' own rhythm.

Of course, being a plan by Ra's al Ghul, this is a slightly darker tale than the one which featured the overgrown wrestler Bane, and is all the better for it.

The inclusion of the Stephen King text piece is what most people will flick to first, in order to see if he really is "one of us". He is. It is interesting to see his reading choices (Blackhawk, Plastic Man, Turok), and to know that he watched the sixties Batman television series. His words, always a joy to read, also show just how important text features in comics are.

Strips may be the beating heart of comics, but text features are the soul.

The lingering puzzle is who the readers of the title were meant to be - ardent followers of the character would undoubtedly have already bought the US release, and it is a tad too complex for younger readers who might happen upon it, which must have diminished the possible audience.