Batman: A Visual History...

I think I've been training for this book since the 5th grade. Out today is Batman: A Visual History, a complete month-by-month history of the Dark Knight Detective from 1939 until 2014. This project was a huge labor of love for me, and a chance to dig into the character's background more than I ever have before. I even learned a few things along the way. Your life just cannot be considered complete until you discover the existence of the Bat-Train and characters like Ally Babble.

I first started working on this format of book for DK Publishing with Marvel Year by Year, originally titled The Marvel Chronicle. That book took four of us to write. Then came the DC edition, DC Comics Year by Year, and five of us handled the writing and research on that particular book. As a big fan of Spidey, when I had the chance to write half of the Spider-Man Chronicle alongside the talented Alan Cowsill, I jumped at it. But when Batman came around, things were different. This was the character that first truly brought me into the world of comic books. I had to try to write the whole thing.

I say try, as there were a few deadline alterations, and suddenly, I just couldn't fit the entire book into my schedule. Luckily, Matt Forbeck stepped up and turned in the great 1960s chapter, helping get the book finished in time.

If you're a Batman fan, casual or diehard, this book is for you. I included everything that was fit to print about the Caped Crusader, from little known gems like Bob Kane's "biographical" comic in Real Fact Comics # 5 (November/December 1946) to large modern events like the "Hush" storyline.

You can buy the book here, or come see me at the New York Comic Con where I'll have plenty on hand at the DK Publishing booth. More details on that to come next week. In the meantime, here's a sneak a peak at a few of the book's interior pages: