This is a beautiful, if unnecessarily oversized and pricey, package. It consists of a large reinforced cardboard box containing a softcover reprint of Batman #1, an abbreviated hardcover version of Les Daniels' Batman: The Complete History, and a great 9" Mego-style Batman figure, with cloth outfit and the best head sculpt I've ever seen, recalling his first appearance in Detective Comics. The box lid opens like a book, and the arrangement of the items within is very nice, giving them maximum visibility. This great display, however, causes the box to be about twice the size of what it needs to be. And because of its large size, is it really necessary for it to be priced so high? While it looks impressive, this material is honestly not worth the retail price

In the wake of the success of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," which revived popularity in the character of Batman and resulted in four blockbuster movies, it is difficult to remember that the original comic book characters. For many, before there was Miller's Dark Knight there was Adam West's campy television Batman. However, the "Batman Masterpiece Edition" celebrates the Golden Age of the Master Detective (1939-1954). The "Batman Masterpiece Edition" consists of an illustrated hardcover book, "The Caped Crusader's Golden Age" by Les Daniels, an accurately sized reprint of the very first "Batman" comic book (not to be confused with the character's debut in "Detective Comics" #27), and a 9-inch action figure of the 1939 Batman that is the least impressive part of this boxed collection (which is now available at a greatly reduced price from its original cost).

"Batman" #1 has a concise 2-page origin story and four Batman stories including two dealing with the Joker, all of which were drawn by creator Bob Kane, who is featured on a "Meet the Artist!" page. There are also a couple of two-page cartoon strips, "Major Bigsbe an' Botts" by Paul Gustavson and "Ginger Snap" by Ted Raye, and a "Fantastic Facts" page that is a second rate version of "Ripley's Believe It or Not." Still, it is fascinating not just to read these Batman stories but also to see what else were put in comic books then.

The book "Batman: The Golden Age" has a very interesting look because it takes panels of old comics and blows them up, as well as having reproductions that are based on lesser condition old comics rather than original art (does Billy Rice know what happened to his old "Batman" comic?). Even if you have read about how Bob Kane came up with the idea for Batman you will appreciate the depth and detail that Les Daniels provides at the beginning of this volume. Every source of inspiration ever mentioned is documented with photographs of pulp covers, movie stills, and such. There are a few complete stories, as well as dozens of other pages and panels, including various advertisements, examples unpublished cover art and the daily strip that ran for a while. Batman at the movies is also part of this informative historical survey, which also provides some nice analysis of the evolution of the Joker's character. The only complaint is that it stops with the Golden Age. The "Batman Masterpiece Edition" is for those who have been fans of the Caped Crusader for decades because of the actual comic books as opposed to being turned on by what they saw on television or at the movies.

This boxed set is great reading for comic collectors and caual readers alike. The book gives a lot of information on The Dark Knight's early years and shows us what the creators were thiking when they originally developed the character. In additon. the collector's action figure is a great display or play peice and depicts the golden age version of the character. Unlike the Superman or Wonder Woman MEs, the 9 inch Batman figure is articulated and nicely detaled.he even has a golden age batarang to fling at his "foes"... You won't regret picking this masterpiece up!