A, B, DC (The DC Comics Encyclopedia - Scott Beatty)

Member Name: SWSt

Product:	The DC Comics Encyclopedia - Scott Beatty
Date:	11/11/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic attention to detail, very comprehensive survey, beautifully illustrated

Disadvantages: Some minor omissions, will date badly over time

The DC Comics Encyclopedia does exactly what it says on the tin, providing a comprehensive guide to the DC Universe of over 1,000 heroes and villains from the early days of comics through to early 2004.

It's an ambitious task, but one which mostly comes off. It's clear that the various contributors to this book are massive comic fans themselves, not just "jobbing" authors hired to write to this title. Each page has such attention to detail that it drips with love and devotion, with every page containing some fascinating information.

The book is logically laid out in A-Z format (and further arranged chronologically within that). This makes it but a moment's work to leap straight to an entry on a particular character. Alternatively, there is a traditional index if you prefer to work using page numbers. This makes the book a joy either to browse through, or for locating information on a specific character. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed browsing it, and have spent many hours looking through the pages, finding out a whole range of facts and details of which I was previously unaware.

The length of the entries vary; key characters like Batman, Superman, The Joker etc, get a double spread; minor characters a smaller panel. Yet they all provide essentially the same information, including biographical details (real name, powers etc.), the date of that character's first appearance and a brief history. Some also have key comics picked out, pointing the interested reader in the direction of the important storylines for that character. This was one of the few sources of mild irritation. I appreciate it's difficult to pick one or two stories from a 50 year history, but I did find some of the selections slightly odd. Occasionally, storylines featuring major, life-changing events for a character would be passed over in favour of something relatively minor.

Of course, many of the characters have had major revisions over the years and this can cause some problems for anyone trying to document their history. On the whole, the writers deal with this in a logical way. Character biographies are based on current DC continuity, so if characters have had a previous history which was since been re-written, this is usually ignored. Again, this can cause frustration if you're looking for an exhaustive character history, but to be fair, that's not what the book is trying to do - and "alternative" histories are mentioned when it is relevant to do so.

Although the book has been written by several different authors, it has a consistent tone. It's virtually impossible to pick out which entries were written by which authors (although each one has author initials). This helps it feel like a proper encyclopedia, rather than a collection of separate articles.

It's not just the text which has had attention lavished on it, either. Obviously, comics are a highly visual medium and the book reflects this. Almost every entry has at least one image. In some cases, these have been reproduced from the comics; in others, they have been specially drawn for this book. The important thing is that they were all drawn by genuine DC artists and so look the part. Indeed, some sections of this book are so visually stunning, it's almost worth recommending for the images alone.

This is a title which should have wide appeal for many different types of reader. If you're new to the DC Universe, this is a handy, quick way to bring you up to speed with a whole range of characters and events. Casual comic readers can catch up on things they have missed, whilst even "experts" will find out things they didn't know. I'm quite clued up about the DC Universe, but was amazed how much more I learned from browsing this. Of course, you have to be interested in comics to find this book interesting, but I'd kind of been assuming that that rather went without saying!

Of course, for a book which claims to be "Definitive" in the sub-title, there are a couple of issues. If you're a fan of a more minor character in the DC Universe, you might be disappointed. Thanks to continuity re-writes there's no reference, for example, to the infamous Batman character Aunt Harriet (who briefly replaced Alfred to counteract insinuations of some sort of gay relationship between Batman, Robin and Alfred). Ace the Bathound is similarly absent (although for that, we should be grateful). Finally, the size of the DC Universe is so big that no book can hope to be definitive. One of my favourite minor villains from the early 90s - The Rat-Catcher - for example, does not feature. These are a few examples I'm aware of and I'm sure there are others.

In fairness the authors do point out that, with a history stretching back over 70 years, it would be impossible to include everyone and the omissions will only be obvious to serious comic geeks... Still, it's a bit cheeky to call itself "definitive" and then openly admit to leaving things out!

There is a less forgivable aspect. Some characters are mentioned in entries for other characters, but then do not have an entry in their own right. The Swamp Thing entry, for example, refers to DC anti-hero John Constantine, yet he is not otherwise featured and there are others. Someone reading one of these entries may want to cross-reference it with the fuller character information and find themselves frustrated when they cannot do so. It's a small black mark in a book which otherwise pays such attention to detail.

There is, inevitably, the serious problem that this book will date badly over time. In its current edition, it goes as far as early 2004. For many characters, this is not a problem, as their key characteristics have remained fairly static. However, for major characters, there have been some major developments in that time. Batman, for example has been shocked by the return of the supposedly dead Jason Todd, whilst Bruce Wayne has been "killed". A book like this is pretty much out of date as soon as it is published, so fast-moving is the comic world, and it's unlikely to be the kind of book that will be updated with a new edition anytime soon, since it's obviously a relatively niche market publication. Still, this is being rather nit-picky. If you're a casual comic reader, you'll find it a fascinating read and not really be aware that it's slightly out of date. If you're a regular reader, you'll be up-to-date anyway, so can fill in the gaps for yourself.

At £30 (although it can be picked up for less), this Encyclopedia is not cheap. However, it is packed with great drawings, fascinating facts and is very well-researched. It deserves a place of honour on the shelves of any self-respecting comic book fan.

Basic Information
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The DC Comics Encyclopedia: the definitive guide to the characters of the DC Universe
Various authors and artists
Dorling Kindersley, 2006
ISBN: 978-1-4053-3491-4

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Summary: Comic geek heaven!