Batman Signet Book (1966)

The Beatles sang about ‘em. We’ve all read ‘em. Today we celebrate ’em. Today is Paperback Book Day.

Paperbacks have been around since the 19th century. Reduced manufacturing costs allow for a smaller price point and more affordability. This has made paperbacks popular since their introduction to a mass market. They also allowed publishers to offer books that normally wouldn’t be top sellers without fear of big losses.

Again, we’re not worried about marketing trends other than how they benefit our collecting habits.

Newspaper strips were the first to receive the paperback treatment. Reprints of favorites became spin rack fodder at drug stores and other non traditional outlets. Mad Magazine followed offering a huge library including both original material and reprints.

I looked and couldn’t find much information for Signet’s Batman reprints. They are, really, the forerunners of the trade paperbacks that didn’t become popular until the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Signet’s first outing capitalized on the popularity of the 1966 Batman television show. Batman, the initial book, was released the same year as the TV series using Golden Age material to fill the interior. First up is/was a brief origin as originally told in Batman (1940) issue one. Next, The Batman Wars Against the Dirgible of Doom from Detective Comics (1939) 33, Web of Doom from Batman 90, Fan-Mail of Danger! from Batman 92, Crazy Crime Clown! from Batman 74, The Crime Predictor! from Batman 77, The Man Who Could Change Fingerprints! from Batman 82 and The Testing of Batman! from Batman 83.

Signet’s second outing was the novelization of three previous comic books: The State-Bird Crimes! From Batman (1940) 58, The Crime Parade from Detective Comics (1939) 124 and The Black Cat Crimes from Detective Comics 122.

For the third and fourth volumes, Signet returned to reprinting comic books. The third book featured Joker stories including The Challenge of the Joker from Batman (1940) 136, The Joker’s Winning Team (Batman 86), The Joker’s Millions (Detective Comics 180, The Joker’s Journal (Detective Comics 193) and Batman, Clown of Crime (Batman 85).

Penguin took top billing for book four with a Catwoman tale to finish the book. Stories included The Parasols of Plunder (Batman [1940] 90, The Golden Eggs (Batman 70), The Penguin’s Fabulous Fowls (Batman 76), The Return of the Penguin (Batman 155) and The Sleeping Beauties of Gotham City (Batman 84)

A fifth book was released adapting the 1966 Batman movie.

Other books would follow, Marvel with Lancer Publishing the same year. Both comic companies would continue to release paperback reprints through the 1970s and into the 1980s with Tempo, Pocket, Tor and others.

Each foray is a curious venture offering previously hard to find books to fans as well as tapping markets maybe untouched before.