Witness The Dark Knight’s first meeting with Joker in Folio Society DC Batman preview

Dexerto can share preview pages for Folio Society’s DC: Batman reprint of Batman #1, featuring the debut of The Joker.

We’ve spoken a lot about Batman in recent months, from The Dark Knight’s best stories to his stark new relationship with Robin.

But the fact remains that with 85 years of Batman history, there are a ton of stories that fall through the cracks. Readers will have their own tastes and preferences, and as such new fans and die-hards looking for something new may miss some of the best Batman tales.

Fortunately, that’s where Folio Society comes in. They’ve been releasing gorgeous comic book collections for years now, covering everything from character-specific collections like Captain America and Spider-Man to more broad genre collections, like Marvel’s Bronze Age or DC’s Golden Age collections. Now they’re dipping into The Dark Knight’s history with a curated collection of Batman comics.

Folio Society’s DC: Batman details & Batman #1 Facsimile preview

The recently announced Folio Society DC: Batman collection includes a number of reprinted Batman stories from throughout The Dark Knight’s history. Stories range from 1940’s first appearance of Robin all the way to the beginning of 1993’s classic Knightfall arc.

The collection also includes a facsimile reprint of 1940’s Batman #1, which includes the first appearance of The Joker. For those unaware, a facsimile reprint is an exact reprint of the issue as it was originally released, including original ads and content. You can view the preview in the scroller below.

Folio Society’s DC: Batman includes a total of 11 reprinted Batman stories by some of the greatest creators in the world, including Alan Moore, Bill Finger, and Frank Miller.

• Facsimile: Batman #1 (Spring 1940)
• The Bat-Man – Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) 
• Robin—the Boy Wonder – Detective Comics #38 (April 1940)
• The Crimes of Two-Face! – Detective Comics #66 (August 1942) 
• Batman and Green Arrow: The Senator’s Been Shot! – The Brave and the Bold #85 (September 1969)
• Daughter of the Demon – Batman #232 (June 1971)
• The Dead Yet Live – Detective Comics #471 (August 1977)
• The Dark Knight Returns – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 (June 1986)
• Batman: Year One—Chapter One: Who I Am—How I Come to Be – Batman #404 (February 1987)
• Batman: The Killing Joke (July 1988)
• The Last Arkham (Part One) – Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992)
• Knightfall Part 1: Crossed Eyes and Dotty Teas – Batman #492 (May 1993)

Those picks were selected by none other than Jenette Kahn, who made history in 1976 as the first female publisher at DC Comics, a role she held until 2002. A lifelong Batman fan, Kahn speaks in the book’s introduction about the painstaking process of choosing the collection’s contents.

“With my lifelong love of Batman, it was easy to say yes when the Folio Society asked if I would curate a deluxe edition of the Caped Crusader’s adventures. But with decades of invention and thousands of stories, how could I ever choose what to include—or even more challenging, what to leave out? Since his debut in 1939, Batman has attracted the very best artists and writers, each one bringing something distinct to deepen the Dark Knight œuvre. In the end, I opted to include at least one pivotal story from each decade of the twentieth century, but there remains a brilliant Batman saga in the outtakes.”

The collection is available to pre-order exclusively at The Folio Society’s site beginning February 20 with a retail price of $100.