shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:04:26 GMT -5
 I have an unusual attraction to Batman's "A Death in the Family" storyline. In addition to adoring those Mike Mignola covers, Batman #428 was the first comic book I ever read and understood, and as Robin has always been my favorite hero, that death meant so much to me even before I knew who Jason Todd was (and decided that the Pre-Crisis version was my favorite Robin of all). Over the years, I picked up a small compulsion. Whenever I saw any of these issues for sale cheap ($10 or less) I'd grab an extra copy. Why? I have no idea. I just couldn't stop myself. Well, as back issue prices have been on the rise over the past few years, I've no longer been able to find cheap copies of these issues so, only last year, I found a replacement obsession that I've grown to really love: I've begun avidly collecting foreign editions of this storyline. While Batman is a well-known property pretty much everywhere in the world, he doesn't have an ongoing comic in most parts of the world, so this major storyline was, in many cases, the first modern Batman comic to get printed in many countries that still knew Batman and Robin primarily for their 1960s antics. It's thus really fun to see how these comics made it to foreign shores, not just with variations on the cover designs, but sometimes even in the very formats in which they were published. Anyway, it's since occurred to me that my ever-expanding collection might be of interest to some, either for curiosity's sake or as a scholarly source for how this storyline brought the Modern Age Batman to various parts of the globe. And hey, if you're ever travelling abroad, please be on the lookout for more variations for my collection! Skip past all the loading images and jump to what you want to see: United States, 1988 (Direct Editions)United States, 1988 (Newsstand Editions)United States, 1988 (trade paperback edition) and 2020 (DC Dollar Comics edition)Mexico, 1988Finland, 1989Portugal, 1989Spain, 1989Germany, 1990Argentina, 1992Italy, 1993Thailand, 1994Brazil, 2021United States, 2023 (Robin lives! alternate version)United States, 2024 (Robin Lives! 2nd printings) |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:05:37 GMT -5
United States, 1988 (Direct Editions) |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:09:22 GMT -5
United States, 1988 (Newsstand Editions)  Normally, I don't really concern myself with newsstand/direct edition differences but, in this case, the newsstand versions of #427 and #428 used the barcode to block key information on the cover. #427, most significantly, leaves off the part about "You will decide," and omits the ad for the phone number in the back of the book. ...and yes, that #426 is signed by Mike Mignola. No, I can't prove it (and I didn't pay any extra for it), but I choose to believe! |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:10:13 GMT -5
United States, 1988 (trade paperback edition) and 2020 (DC Dollar Comics edition) |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:11:49 GMT -5
Argentina, 1992  Numbered 5-8. I'm guessing Year One made up 1-4. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:13:47 GMT -5
Italy, 1993  The whole story in two over-sized volumes (roughly Golden Age dimensions). These were #6 and 7 in an ongoing Batman series. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:16:05 GMT -5
Mexico, 1988  Two volumes reprinting the entire story, as well as the supplemental articles from the trade paperback. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:19:34 GMT -5
Portugal, 1989  Probably the most impressive one of the bunch. They condensed the entire thing into one digest-sized volume. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:24:08 GMT -5
Finland, 1989  This one gave me a headache at first. Apparently, the numbering restarts every year, and "A Death in the Family" was reprinted across two years, so the numbering is all wrong. I'm missing part two. Meanwhile, these volumes contain a lot of supplemental Batman articles (some of which I'm confident I've never seen in English), and the logo is clearly trying to cash in on the 1989 Tim Burton film. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:35:01 GMT -5
Thailand, 1994  These definitely win the coolest covers award. I just can't get enough of that foreign text in the familiar font. These were part of a longer running Batman series (#48-51) including original text stories and even fan art submissions. I'm guessing the series began in the wake of the 1989 Batman film. Odd how the DC Bullet changes after the first issue. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:39:31 GMT -5
Germany, 1990  These volumes are HUGE. They have the same width as a standard magazine, but the height is an inch and a half taller. They are made of THICK paper pages that feel like backing boards, and the front and back covers are solid cardboard. I am missing the third and final issue of this storyline. These are also from an existing Batman run (they are #10 and 11), but this is a straight reprint/translation with no added content. Not even advertisements. Odd that the first part gets the Joker cover when the idea of his being dressed like an ambassador/dignitary doesn't really make sense until the final chapter. |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 9:40:31 GMT -5
And that's all for now. I do have a Spanish edition on its way and will post that once it gets here. There is also a very recent Peruvian version on ebay selling for far more money than I'd ever pay. Beyond that, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more!
|
|
|
|
Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 30, 2022 10:17:31 GMT -5
This might interest you; a few years ago a Serbian publisher released a hardcover edition of the complete Death in the Family:  |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,864
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 30, 2022 10:21:43 GMT -5
This might interest you; a few years ago a Serbian publisher released a hardcover edition of the complete Death in the Family: Thank you!! For the moment, I'm limiting my scope to volumes published within a few years of the actual event, but, if my wallet permits, I hope to venture into the later international tpb variants eventually. I've even considered getting each printing of the American tpb at some point. |
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Sept 30, 2022 23:44:30 GMT -5
I know what happens in Death in the Family and I’ve seen the most important panels in one form or another over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually read all four issues from start to finish.
I’ll see if the library has it.
|
|
