November 27, 1996

Hi everyone. This will hopefully develop into a column on some sort of regular basis. But after events of today, I decided that I had to start it today.

Well, today my special Slipcase edition of The Dark Knight Returns arrived. Wow. I've been waiting for this since I ordered it in September, and really awaiting its arrival since it was supposed to have been released on November 6th. In case you've never heard of this special edition, let me tell you about it:

• A signed (by Frank Miller), numbered, smythe-sewn hardcover with a new cover, endpapers, and chapter headings by Frank Miller, plus 24 pags of unpublished sketches, covers, and the plot to Book Four
• A 48-page Prestige Format reproduction of the entire script for Part One
• A 48-page Prestige Format collection of unpublished notes and sketches
• A 48-page Prestige Format collection of news stories relating to the initial release of TDKR
• Two 6"x9" full color prints of the original and new TDKR retail posters

Only 10,000 of these have been made (mine's #383, by the way). And signed by Frank Miller! They come in a slipcase to protect the books. And it's incredible. The price was $100 USA, $140 Canada. I didn't feel bad paying for it, and after examining the contents, I'm very happy I got it. This special edition celebrates the tenth anniversary of the original release of The Dark Knight Returns. I already had first-print copies of the original run, and a hardcover of some Frank Miller stuff, but this is special.

Anyway, enough about that. If you see one, get it - it's not only a priceless collectible, but a great read, and a small way to celebrate the re-engineering of Batman as a dark character.

Other than special stuff like this, I'm hoping to try to talk every month about things happenning in the Batman world. Talking about recent events, hot topics, and upcoming items of interest is my goal for this series. I'll take the time to look at things that the characters have done recently, special one-shots that are worth getting, and special series. For example, look at Batman: The Long Halloween. If you haven't started colecting it, I suggest you do. This Tim Sale/Joseph Loeb maxi-series will spread out 13 issues over a year, and is just as amazing as their previous Halloween specials. I think that the story is spellbinding, the artwork is amazing, and the collectibility factor is high. I'm sure that this series will be worth a lot in the future, and even if it isn't, it's an amazing story.

Well, those are my deep, dark thoughts for today. I hope to write some more soon!

Patrick

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This file was last modified on June 30, 1997

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