First released by DK Publishing in 2004, THE DC COMICS ENCYCLOPEDIA now has been updated, revised and expanded by a good 45 pages (for a grand total of 400) in this new edition, sporting a nifty cover by Alex Ross. Like a true encyclopedia, it’s an alphabetical look at ostensibly every character in the ever-sprawling DC universe, no matter how obscure … although I didn’t see Captain Carrot or the Wonder Twins.
Each character’s entry is supplemented with at least one image of him, her or it, plus you get the details on their first appearance, any alias and current status, in addition to fanboy-obsessive minutiae on hair color and height.
I’ve been reading DC Comics since I can remember (always preferring them to Marvel’s considerably darker outlook in my ’70s childhood), and yet a random flip to any full-color spread reveals more than one character I know absolutely zip about, or possibly have ever heard of. André Chavard? Little Boy Blue? Red Bee? (For the record, they first appeared in BOY COMMANDOS, SENSATION COMICS and HIT COMICS, respectively.)
But no worries: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of your favorites are included, too, with tons of art and write-ups from Daniel Wallace, Phil Jimenez, Scott Beatty and Robert Greenberger. ‘Tis a four-color feast for the eyes. Sidebars tackle such topics as alternate Earths, memorably superhero team-ups and notable headquaters.
I don’t want to meet the person who reads a book like this start to finish, but I bet I’ve seen him at the comic book store. He’s the guy plunking down $85 a week on singles, right? —Rod Lott
Related posts:
- The Vertigo Encyclopedia
- The Encyclopedia of Exes: 26 Stories by Men of Love Gone Wrong
- Sherlock Holmes on the Stage: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Plays Featuring the Great Detective
- Virgin Comics #0
- I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the review, Rod! I worked on the original and did all the updates for the new edition, and I’m glad to see you liked it. For the record, while there’s no entry on Captain Carrot, he is mentioned in the spread on Alternate Earths.
If you’re interested, I blogged some thoughts on the new edition that can be read here:
http://snipurl.com/4ze9j
I bought the original back in ’04 and was surprised by how many images were lifted directly from the 80s Who’s Who in the DC Universe. This wasn’t a bad thing, since that was my favourite series from that era (I was a weird kid) and it was from reading it that I was totally familiar with the likes of the Red Bee and the Blue Boys. And though I didn’t read it from start to finish, I have come pretty close sometimes.