TITLE: The Batman Files
AUTHOR: Matthew K. Manning
PUBLISHER: Andrews McMeel Publishing
PRICE: $100
RELEASED: October 25, 2011

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

In his printed page adventures it’s been established, particularly in recent years, that Batman keeps a journal at the insistence of Alfred. The Batman Files uses that concept to present us with a guide to The Dark Knight’s world, as seen from his point of view. The book also presents mock newspaper clippings, photographs (the latter of which are mostly panels from comic books), and dossiers of the inhabitants of Gotham City.

As far as Batman guide books/encyclopedias go, The Batman Files is pretty good. It’s 13.5 x 10.5 size and leather cover with a magnetized clasp make for an impressive looking book. In terms of the information provided, there was enough in here to educate even the most devout Batman fan. I’m speaking from experience on that one. Nothing amazingly eye-opening, but there were some little character tidbits that I hadn’t known.

The Batman Files is a lovely tribute to the Caped Crusader and his history. But whether or not you want to buy it really depends on what kind of book you’re looking for. As it’s formatted like an actual journal/scrapbook, it doesn’t break the fourth wall by offering first appearance dates for characters, a publishing history, or anything like that. It cheats a bit by presenting characters’ most notable stories (or at least the once in continuity) as “Related Case Files.” For instance, such files for Two-Face would include “The Long Halloween, The Eye of the Beholder, Dark Victory, etc. So if you’re looking for a more complete view of Batman’s history, you don’t want The Batman Files.

It’s also worth noting that by the time this book was released, much of its content was rendered obsolete by the DC Universe reboot. We’re not quite sure how much of it is gone, but we’re definitely looking at outdated version of Batman’s continuity.

I’m obviously being nitpicky here. One of the things that really impressed me about The Batman Files was the way Manning was able to effectively duplicate Bruce Wayne’s “voice” in this book. If you’ve read enough of his comics over the years, I wouldn’t say it’s incredibly difficult to determine things that Batman would or wouldn’t say, or to figure out how he’d say them. But doing a book like this requires the writer to not only get inside Batman’s head, but to do it at various points in the character’s life. Top that off with the task of writing in the voices of Jeremiah Arkham and the various newspaper writers and Gothamites that we hear from this book, and you’ve got a task that would be challenging for even the best of writers, and Manning deserves a lot of credit for it.

The Batman Files is a gorgeous book jam-packed with information and beautiful color artwork from (give or take) the last two decades. It’s a solid gift for Batman buffs, particularly those interested in the ins and outs of the recent mythology. From that standpoint, it’s got just about everything you’d want to know. It’s not for everyone, and the price is a bit steep, but it’s a lovely tribute to Batman and his world.

RATING: 8/10

Front page image from playeraffinity.com. Image 1 from matthewkmanning.blogspot.com. Image 2 from blog.indigo.ca.