Can you ever have too much Batman in your life? Science says no, even if you plan on reading this massive 1,648-page hardcover collection of comic book stories based on Rocksteady’s brilliant Arkham trilogy. Batman: The Arkham Saga is available for pre-order now for $150 and is set to be released on September 24. It’s an essential companion piece for any fans of the Arkham games developed by Rocksteady and Warner Bros. Montreal. And the new omnibus edition wraps up the entire saga in one volume that you may or may not need Batman strength to pick up.
If the price seems high, just tell yourself that it’s only 11 cents per page, which is a pretty good deal. All kidding aside, the anthology could realistically be split into five volumes (at least) at $30 each, which sounds very reasonable. Plus, Amazon often discounts books before release, and you won’t be charged for your pre-order until the book ships. If Amazon drops the price beforehand, which often happens with large comic book anthologies, you’ll pay the lowest price it’s offered since you ordered.
Since Batman: Arkham Asylum was a huge success after its release in 2009, DC Comics wasted no time in creating additional content for fans. This omnibus volume contains all the backstories of the Arkham comics, from the Dark Knight’s first years on the streets in Batman: Arkham Origins to the dark and deadly stories of Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis and everything in between. The full list in this collection includes:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum: The Road to Arkham
- Batman: Arkham City #1-5
- Batman: Arkham City: Endgame #1
- Batman: Arkham Knight #1-12
- Batman: Arkham Knight Annual No. 1
- Batman: Arkham Knight: Batgirl and Harley Quinn #1
- Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis #1-6
- Batman: Arkham Knight: Robin Special #1
- Batman: Arkham Origins Special
- Batman: Arkham Origins
These are all great miniseries and one-shots with some of DC’s best creators at the helm, and Batman: Arkham Unhinged is notable for being a digital first edition addition to this collection. Although it was later reissued in traditional comic book form, it’s nice to have it along with the other series in this omnibus volume. Another cool thing about this hardcover is that the Arkham City series was illustrated by Carlos D’Anda, who worked with Rocksteady to create several unique redesigns for Batman and his rogues gallery in the Arkham games.
It’s worth looking into how these games came to be, and there’s an excellent book detailing all of this work, although it’s expensive because it’s out of print. Alternatively, there’s nothing wrong with going back to the original source material, as you can get Batman: The Arkham Collection for PC for just $8.40 from Fanatical.
The collection includes Arkham Asylum, Arkham City City, and Arkham Knight—sorry, folks, no Arkham Origins—and an 86% discount is hard to beat. Not only do you get a selection of games that have aged well, but you also get all the DLC and expansion pass content. If you fancy a replay, these games will unlock some excellent concept art, character models, and more.
Batman: The Arkham Saga is not the only anthology or graphic novel featuring the Caped Crusader and his enemies from Gotham City to be released in 2024. One of the highlights is the Absolute Batman Edition of Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s Arkham Asylumwhich, not surprisingly, served as the inspiration and title for Rocksteady’s first Batman game. Absolute Batman: Arkham Asylum is out later this month. The Dark Knight: The Master Race by Frank Miller will also receive the Absolute Batman treatment on September 17th.
The Absolute Batman premium hardcover series is great, but it’s not the only series that reimagines classic Batman stories. DC also publishes some outstanding Batman books in collections called DC Finest. Batman – Years One and Two is the first book in the new DC Finest series. The $40 paperback has nearly 600 pages and is scheduled for release on November 5th.
Below we have listed other upcoming Batman graphic novels, anthologies and reissues of legendary stories in chronological order.
More pre-orders for Batman comics and graphic novels
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both properties of Fandom.
