The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave [Hardcover]

Matthew Manning (Author), Robert Greenberger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

Jump in the Batmobile and get ready for a wild ride—this is a complete and in-depth look at the development of America's most popular super hero. From his vigilante days to his television stardom, from Dark Knight to mentor, this memorabilia- and anecdote-packed collection follows the masked man on his crime-fighting career, and charts the history of the comics and movies that bear his name.

How can one man be at times so vengeful, compassionate, determined, inspirational, and a true hero when he doesn’t possess special powers? Over the decades since his first appearance in the 1939, Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne have thrilled readers with their adventures, close calls, dramatic storylines, and even death! Ultimately, the history of Batman is the history of America from the twentieth century to today.

With removable artifacts and never-before-seen sketches, notes, and plans, The Batman Vault is the perfect gift for the genuine fan of all ages.

Editorial Reviews

Review

San Francisco Book Review, January 2010
“…at once a primer on the character, a retrospective on his history in pop culture, and an impressive assemblage of timeless images, stories, and reproductions of collectibles.”

About the Author

Robert Greenberger was given his first comic book at age six. Since then he’s been a passionate fan, and made a professional career out of comics. He has been a writer and editor at the major comic houses, and his adult nonfiction titles include The DC Comics Encyclopedia and The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Matthew K. Manning can’t remember a day when he wasn’t writing and drawing comics. After attending the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he settled on writing. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and ten thousand DC Comic books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Running Press; Spi edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762436638
• ISBN-13: 978-0762436637
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 13.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > History & Price Guides

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular presentation..short on extras, November 24, 2009

By 

Tim Lasiuta "Comic Fan 42" (Red Deer, Alberta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave (Hardcover)

How do you examine the Batman mythos in less than a thousand pages effectively?

Robert Greenberger and Matthew K Manning have taken a look at the Dark Knight from his 'creation'/evolution to the present day complex incarnation. To say that Bob Kane 'created' the Batman, would be a quick lie. Batman is the result of years of influences from the Black Bat (pulp magazine), Mary Reinhart (novel), Lew Merril, the Shadow, and many others. In Detective Comics #27, he first appeared, and overshadowed all of his influences.

The Museum includes chapters on

The Coming of the Caped Crusader
Bruce Wayne and His Family
Batcave and Gear
Robin
Gotham
Women of the Knight
the Allies
Batman Beyond
Essential Reading

Each covers complex matters with different storylines in a compelling manner. The graphics have been chosen with care. For instance, the Dick Sprang inside piece is stunning! Scans of existing original art rocks. The promotional items included in the plastic pockets are cool too. The neatest item is the signed Jewish Theatre playbill.

The book is heavy in 'newer' graphics (post 1980) and that is a weakness. There are many artists that I do not see represented that should be, and identification of many of them is not done. For instance, the Batman A to z Book, (pocket) was done by Tom Gill. This is not marked. Page 14 features a tryout by an unidentified artist, if I were a betting man, I would say it is Jack Sparling or Tom Gill again.

That aside, I enjoyed the book and our journey through history. I do understand the difficulty in choosing what to include, and the limitations of space.

With that, I highly recommend this book and await the opening of a DC Museum that has ongoing displays of artifacts, art, and rare items for those so inclined.

Tim Lasiuta

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not Excellent, November 30, 2009

By 

J. Smith "JThree" (Williston, North Dakota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave (Hardcover)

The Batman Vault is the latest in these "Museums in Books" series that both DC, Marvel, and various other studios such as Hanna-Barbara have embraced. They include reproductions of supposedly "lost," or rarely seen items that many fans may have missed coming across over the years.

2009's entry is DC's flagship character -- The Batman. One presumes that next year's will be Superman, but moving on, Robert Greenberger has done an excellent job in researching the DarkKnight Detective's many, many products which have entertained both kids and adults in his sixty year history.

Standouts include the previously unseen Sheldon Mayer (who previously wrote kid's comics Sugar and Spike)booklet "How to Draw Batman," which must have raised quite a few eyebrows in the seventies when the writers and editors were trying to make Batman more dark and gritty.

This eighteen page story is a highlight and should be required reading for all Bat-writers.

Other rarely seen illustrations include: Bob Kane's Christmas cards featuring the Bat-family, the 1960 Bat-family portrait done for that year's Bat-Annual, the Bruce Timm early design for Catwoman that was scrapped during production, a sixties Batman record cover.

While I give kukos for these items, I really wish Mr. Greenburger could have included some more photos of the sixties Bat-toys, which are now commanding thousands of dollars on ebay. For example, the Ideal Batman Utility Belt had some great box art, maybe some more of Joe Gielisa's newspaper strips from the late sixties. Maybe even a CD of some of Bat children's records or one of the appearances of Batman on the 40's Superman radio program.

I even seem to recall some Bat postcards that were called "Bat-o-Grams" that featured sixties art that I picked up at a Custer, SD store.

Again. A nice collection and should provide hours of entertainment, but me being the nit picker that I am would have liked a bit more.

JThree
[e-mail]
Williston, ND

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME!!!, August 8, 2011

By 

MissNHL - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Batman Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the Batcave (Hardcover)

Got this for a gift for someone who is a huge Batman fan. They loved it!Would recommend for any Batman fan.