Product Description

With unparalleled access to the archives of DC Comics, Batman: the Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight provides spectacular illustrations reveal the secret workings of key installations and equipment such as the Batcave, the Batmobile, Batman's suit, and the weaponry contained in his Utility Belt. Panoramic views of Gotham City and Arkham Asylum with its villainous inmates, allow readers to enter into Batman's world. Crucial events and characters of the Batman legend are illustrated with drawings from the original DC comic books.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77759 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Amazon.com Review
If you're already well versed in Bat-trivia, you probably won't find The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight anywhere near ultimate enough. But as a broad history of Batman's friends, foes, and high-tech hardware and hideouts, this oversized, illustration-filled DK guide just can't be beat.

Just as DK did with the people and paraphernalia of Star Wars in Star Wars: Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections and Star Wars: Episode I: Visual Dictionary, this guide pulls apart and pokes at the many gadgets and backdrops found in the Dark Knight's world. Exploded diagrams reveal the innards of the new and old Batcaves, and stat-packed tags and captions spell out everything from how the Bat-Signal works to where Catwoman stashes her bullwhip. Batman scholar Scott Beatty has compiled hundreds of excellent panels and covers from the original comic, and he displays commanding knowledge cataloging Gotham's most colorful characters in big, splashy spreads. (And no doubt future historians will appreciate his capsulized, 1939-on Batman timeline as an uncanny window into American pop consciousness.)

Die-hard fans will find much lacking here, though, like the near-omission of Frank Miller's genius Dark Knight Returns series and not even a passing reference to Batman's poignant love-hate relationship with the Man of Steel. But what DK's Ultimate Guide does, it does well--examining neat Bat-minutiae and providing a primer on the post-no-man's-land comic continuity. --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
Readers can uncover the secrets of two superheroes in Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight by Scott Beatty and Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide by Tom DeFalco. The first, for example, opens with the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, then tracks Wayne's transformation into the evil-avenging "Guardian of Gotham" and includes reproductions of many drawings from the archives of DC Comics. The latter chronicles the adventures of Peter Parker, who gains unusual powers after being bitten by an irradiated spider, with reproductions of drawings from the Marvel Comics archives. Each contains more than 700 illustrations.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-8. Only the most devoted fan will read every word of this Batman compendium, but many others will enjoy looking through this huge, heavily illustrated volume. Each colorful spread includes several illustrations, detailed captions, and a paragraph or two of introductory text. Topics include Batman's utility belt, Bruce Wayne, the Batcave, the new Batcave, Batmobiles, Wayne Enterprises, Alfred, Robin, Catwoman, The Penguin, monstrous mutations, and murdering maniacs. Size alone makes this volume, at 12 1/8 by 10 3/8 inches, a better fit for the coffee table than the average library shelf, but for the occasional research or for frequent browsing, it will find an audience in libraries. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A good starting point for new Bat fans.
As pointed out above, this is not a critical analysis of Batman, but a reasonable primer on the modern comicbooks featuring the character and his supporting cast. Very little account of the creation of Batman is given and virtually no mention of the various writers and artists who have developed his fiction is made. Unlike some other books in this series (the volume on the X-Men for example), no page-space is given to television or film adaptations of Batman. The standard of illustrations is generally high, Scott Beatty's text is clear and nicely written and the book is largely free of the weird annotations that blight other DK books (their Star Wars Visual Guides especially).

Les Daniels' "Complete History" remains the definitive book on Batman as whole. Those seeking a perspective on the character as a pop culture brand would be well served by Chip Kidd's "Batman Collected", and he and Paul Dini collaborated on "Batman: Animated", possibly the best art book about a single cartoon series ever printed, and certainly the best account of the greatest non-comics Batman ever.

More Lies from LexCorp
Well, well, what do you know, here comes yet another illustrated book claiming to expose all of Batman's technology and his secret identity. How many times must we say this? BRUCE WAYNE IS NOT BATMAN! Once again, Wayne Enterprises's corporate nemesis Lex Luthor has acquired a book publisher in order to continue his disinformation campaign against Bruce Wayne. Isn't there anybody out there who can see through the lies of DC Comics (another LexCorp subsidiary) when they claim to divulge the engineering secrets behind Batman's gadgets? Does the public really believe LexCorp when they defame Mr. Wayne, Gotham City's favorite dashing philanthropist and business genius?

Don't believe a word you read in this piece of calumny! We can only hope that Bruce Wayne comes to his senses and brings a libel suit against DK Publishing and DC Comics - and hopefully Luthor himself - to bring an end to their legacy of lies.

LIVES UP TO ITS GRAND TITLE!
Despite being around for over 65 years, Batman's popularity never seems to wane. The blockbuster Batman film in 2005 once again generated enormous interest in the character. "Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight" has been updated right up through 2005 to ride this crest of popularity. The book is really geared towards the more casual or new Batman fans, as old-timers will already be familiar with much of the material inside the 144 page, hardcover book. Still, the book moves the reader on a rapid fire history of the character beginning with his origin and creation by Bob Kane way back in 1939.

Techie fans will love the intense coverage of all of the "wonderful toys" that Batman uses. His utility belt includes such items as tear gas pellets, an acetylene torch, a palm top communicator, grappling hook, and more. The book also presents a look at each of the Batmobiles and how the style has changed over the years from a rather modest sedan to today's sleek, armored road-killer packed with the latest cutting-edge technology. There's also a look at the various other "bat vehicles" including the Bat-plane, Bat-sub, Bat-Copter, etc...There is also a nicely diagrammed, cut-away view of the Bat-cave.

Most of the major characters in Batman lore are featured including allies such as Commissioner Gordon, the various Robins, Batgirl, Oracle, loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth, and Azrael. Then there are the Batman romantic interests: Vicky Vale, Silver St. Cloud, Talia Al Ghul, and Julie Madison. But what would any Batman book that calls itself "Ultimate" be without a rundown of the caped crusaders rogues gallery of villains. Batman's villains are almost as famous as he is and have played a huge role in the character's long-lasting popularity. They are all here: The Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman, Bane, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Mad-Hatter, Two-Face, and many more. All with brief sections noting their real name and first comic book appearance.

The book covers some of the more well-known storylines in Batman history such as the Death in the Family storyline where the Jason Todd Robin was killed by the Joker. Unfortunately the book fails to mention that this gimmick storyline hinged on a fan vote via phone call to determine if Robin lived or died. Another notable storyline mentioned is Frank Miller's landmark mini-series The Dark Knight Returns.

Finally, there is a fantastic look at the Golden Age Batman as well as a timeline noting important events and stories in Bat-history along with the issue number where it took place. If I do have one nit about the book it's that issue numbers are not provided for some of these noted storylines although you can find most of them in the timeline section. The book features incredible artwork from the host of artists who have worked on the various Batman titles over the years including: Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Brian Bolland, Paul Gulacy, P. Craig Russell, Dick Giordano, and many, many more.

All in all, "Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight" definitely lives up to its grand title!

Reviewed by Tim Janson