Keep in mind I scripted this to be read over 3 separate 58 second instagram videos...
So we're finally looking at the Batman Knightfall Volume 1 hardcover edition by Omnibus. I know many are going to wonder right away; why should I buy this when I just bought the 2012 edition? Well,I'm about to go over a few of the differences and additions right now...
This new edition includes the following issues...
Vengeance of Bane
Batman 484-500
Detective Comics 654-666
Showcase '93 7-8
Batman: Shadow of the Bat 16-18
This new edition includes Batman issues 484-491, and Detective Comics 654-658. The 2012 edition only had 491-500 of Batman, and 659-666 of Detective Comics.
One gripe, though small, is that the dust cover is the same as the actual hard cover. Personally I think they could have made the actual cover black with the Knightfall bat symbol embossed in white or gold.
The book starts with a nice intro from Doug Moench. Moving into the book is where these additional issues come into play as they show the initial breaking down of Batman starting in issue 484 which also introduces Black Mask (Pg 73), the beating taken by Metal Head in 486 (Pg 133) to his run in with The General (Pg. 201) in Detective Comics issue 655. A biggie to me is the inclusion of Batman 488 which literally starts with Bruce introducing Azrael and asking Tim to help train him (232-235). Why is this such a big deal? Because for whatever reason, again, Sword of Azrael is not included in this collection. One can argue; why does it have to be? Well, they put Vengeance of Bane in here and both of these characters were solely created for this storyline. If anything I would think the origin story of the guy who Batman asks to replace him as just as important as the origin story of the guy created to beat him. Of course Batman issue 489 (328) is the famous issue where Batman finds out just how strong Bane is with the pummeling of Killer Croc. This was somewhat imitated in Batman the Animated Series as well. The rest of the issues contained you get in the 2012 edition so we wont go into those.
A few additions at the end of the book come in the form of a few costume designs which ou may have seen me post a few weeks ago, as well as a few others that are completely new to the light of fans, so that's cool. There are also a few preliminary sketches of Bane and his gang, as well as art by Joe Quesada. Also, there is an uninked version of the infamous Wizard Magazine cover that Joe Quesada did and was later asked to darken up the detailing on.
All in all, this is a great revised edition.
Considering that we still have to wait for Volume 2 of Knightquest, and KnightsEnd in Volume 3, they could have made some sort of design for the spines to connect when on a book shelf like they do with other collected editions.
Volume 2 is released in October, so we'll see if they include the proper issues that were left out in 2012; more specifically 'The Search.' Also, the coloring is definitely a bit crisper than the 2012 edition.
So was this book worth 70.00? Totally. Go for it.