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| The DC Comics Encyclopedia | 
 enlarge | Author: Dk Publishing
Publisher: DK ADULT
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $17.99
You Save: $22.01 (55%)
New (22) Used (23) from $13.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  68 reviews
Sales Rank: 52365
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.3
Dimensions (in): 12.1 x 10.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 075660592X
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.50973
UPC: 690472005926
EAN: 9780756605926
ASIN: 075660592X
Publication Date: October 4, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Best elements of DC's Who's Who in a snazzy new package October 11, 2004
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you are a DC comics fan, or just a superhero fan in general, this book is for you. These creators have covered everyone from the modern-day big guns to the golden age greats, and tossed in any number of obscure characters from the '70s, '80s, '90s and beyond. If you look really really really hard, you can find some omissions, like Erik Larsen-designed Superman/Suicide Squad baddie Shrapnel, but you won't find any major omissions, and you will be astounded by the number of smaller characters who are represented. I know I was. The art is also beautiful, as work by a variety of legendary artists from a variety of eras is to be found here, and somehow they've picked perfectly for 90% of the characters in here. There are pinups drawn from both eras of DC Who's Who as well as art taken from comics dating from the Golden Age through just the last couple of months. The characters who get larger entries, which includes a lot of them, even get some well-chosen panels showing them in action. Throw in a great index and some clear love behind the project, and you've got an amazing reference book for diehard fans and a joyous look at the DC Universe for newbies.
Oh, and don't worry too much about the spoilers other reviews have mentioned. There are maybe two, and they're *everywhere* on the Internet anyway, and won't be relevant in a month or two after they've come to pass. This book will remain useful for much, much longer than that.
 AN ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR THE FANS October 22, 2004
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
The poor photo layout aside, the DC COMICS ENCYCLOPEDIA is a beautiful and elaborate guide to the characters that have endeared themselves to comic fans for generations. DC Comics Heroes have had such an influence on pop culture that this tome delivers on the origins of such old legends as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman with detailed backgrounds and colorful art. As well as inspiring looks at new heroes making their own marks in DC History like the new Robin, Supergirl or even Aztek.
 OK for some, satisfying for no one. December 27, 2004
6 out of 13 found this review helpful
It is almost an impossible job to create a useful encyclopedia of the entire 60-plus-year-old DC Universe, with as many characters, teams, places and stories as it encompasses. The Alex Ross illustrations are gorgeous and worth the price of admission alone, but it's an unsatisfying work overall. Dedicated comic book fans will be sorely disappointed by the lack of attention to detail in many entries and of the overall lack of depth and breadth of the coverage of the material. Neglecting to mention John (Hellblazer) Constantine, especially with release of the movie due in 2005, is inexplicable. For casual fans, unfamiliar with the DC Universe beyond the Superman and Batman movies and perhaps some of the animated series, this tome will be a bewildering jumble of information that lacks entries for some DC heroes familiar to the general public (such as the Wonder Twins or, more obscurely, Isis).
The DC Encyclopedia won't be a great gift for a person who is already deeply into comics; it will be one of those gifts that people buy for people who have serious interests in a subject of which they know very little, destined to sit on a shelf collecting dust.
But, if you're seeking to spark interest in comics with a young comics-fan-to-be, they might just be intrigued enough by the great illustrations and the array of heroes, heroines and villains to make his or her way to the comics' racks and check out what the DC Universe has to offer.
It is great, but wheres Constantine?!? December 5, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
You have Swamp Thing, you have the Sandman, you have Death, you even mention John as one of the great team ups (with the Swamp Thing) but Constantine doesnt have an entry of his own? Come on!
In reality the DC Comics Encyclopedia is a great resource, I recently recieved it as a gift and I love it. The only reason it does not get 5 stars is that it has a few strange omissions and here and there the information seems lacking. Overall its a great effort and a worth addition to your library, be it as a reference guide to the DCU or simply as a coffee table book with a fantastic Alex Ross cover.
Recommended. :)
A totally enjoyable experience for the DC comics fan! December 27, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
As other reviewers have pointed out, this is a re-imagining of the old "Who's Who" concept that DC ran in the '80s. That said, this is probably as brilliant and well-executed a collection as you're ever going to find.
There are errors, and there are a few omissions, but overall the effect is astounding. The major characters are given their just due, while even folks who appeared in one-off series long ago get a mention. The biographies are solid and make for compelling reading, and just seeing how rich the history of DC is is enough to give any fan an appreciative pause.
In short, this is simply an incredible book. Highest recommendations, and one that you'll treasure for a long time to come.
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