Review: DC Comics Super Heroes Character Encylopedia
Posted by Huw,
The first DK LEGO book of the year of interest to AFOLs is out now. DC Comics Super Heroes Character Encyclopedia is the seventh such encyclopedia DK has published.
It features this Batman minifigure in pirate garb on the cover which will be the main draw for some.
The book
If you have any of the other character encylopedias you will know exactly what to expect. Each page features a minifigure or vehicle, along with relevant facts and figures about it.
The book is in chronological order, starting with the 2006 Batman sets and ending with the Batcave that was released this month. I think I would have preferred to have all Batmans, for example, together for comparison purposes but I guess that could make for a boring book for some.
The minifig pictures appear to be a mixture of CGI renderings and photographs.
The back of the book is perhaps the most interesting from an AFOL's point of view: interviews with John Cuppage and Adam Corbally, Super Heroes model designer and graphic designer, respectively.
These are followed by a gallery of DC Comics sets, from 2006-date, which includes SDCC exclusives and polybags and appears to be complete.
Overall, it's a nice book to flick through.
The minifigure
This is what many will be buying the book for: Pirate (Buccaneer) Batman. I'm told he appears in this guise in the LEGO Justice League: Cosmic Clash film. It's the only version of Batman to have the chinless cowl in dark blue, apparently.
The head has an alternative expression and the back of the torso is printed with utility belt with bat symbol underneath.
You can order the book from Amazon.co.uk for the very reasonable price of £7.00 and from Amazon.com for $13.40.
24 likes
31 comments on this article
Ahoy Matey! Aye Batman!
Just curious, but does this book have pages for the Mighty Micros characters?
To The Bat Pirate Ship!
^^^ yes it does.
This is so awesome, I really want it.
A pirate Batman just seems silly and superfluous to me. Jumping the Shark maybe?
Pirate Batman appeared in a comic called Leatherwing in 1994, so it's been around a while.
I didn't care about this minifig till I watched Cosmic Clash. In that, he appears on the Imperial Flagship. Can't wait to add Batman to my ship.
I want this book! Minifig is alright, but the book itself I want!
Ah, the set gallery isn't quite complete... No Mr Freeze Poly included for the 2016 list.
The figure is awesome and nicely done. Asda have the book for £7 aswell
I got this yesterday at asda for £7.00! Which is very reasonable and the book is great all in all. All of the dc figures appears in it ( however I can't seem to find the 1960's mr freeze) from 2006 batman- mighty micros and the recent figs!
The figure is amazing it would have been great to have double moulded legs but hey what can you do :D such a great book and figure. Just like the other dk books!
Is this item in the database yet? If so, can you add to these type of articles (books/movies) in the future so we can quickly mark the item as wanted/owned. Thanks!
When we will get the Marvel one????
I'm more interested in the book than the figure... i love these books!
^^ That's my kind of question as well...
I only buy these DK books for the figures. Usually buying the figure alone is almost as much as the book, so I might as well get it all for the same price.
The books can be okay, but when I've looked at the set images and figure images on brickset so many times before the release of the set, I don't really need a book to look at them also.
And I agree, I'd like all of the Batmans to be in a row, to compare all of them together. Just like I do with my Iron Mans.
Yes I agree. We need a marvel book. What figure could/ would be included?
Cool but not in my alley for now.
The book is worth if for just the mini-fig.
I pre-ordered for £5 from Amazon, not sure if it's still that price now though
Does this include Lego Movie Batman? Super Angry Kitty Attack had a slight variation.
Book actually sounds pretty cool... however, the Batman pirate fig doesn't really do it for me.
And I do believe that cowl in dark blue with no printing is exclusive to this figure.
@Silversurfer0586, @Alonzo Brickovsky, My same exact thought upon hearing of the book ... Marvel is so much better than DC these days...
@bbeck018, really? I strongly disgree I mean DC is just COOLER than Marvel nevermind the movies or TV shows. DC just has way more cool stuff. Anyways though I won't get into a Fandom war with you. (well anymore than I already have)
It looks like the Batman pirate suit, or a variation of it, appears very briefly in the trailer for the new Lego Batman Movie as "Buccaneer Batman"
See here: http://i.imgur.com/fNzQxQo.jpg
third from left at the bottom
I would have received my book today, but my wife decided to leave the package on top of the car and go driving around Los Angeles with it.
The cowl in that color is not exclusive to this figure. That cowl has been molded in dark blue for 1966 Batman. However, this is the only appearance of the piece in dark blue without printing.
I would hope that if they produced a book like this for Marvel we'd finally get that Agent Coulson Minifigure. This book is great, part of me, the more cynical side, wonders when we'll get the Updated and Expanded edition with different variant Batman in a few years time to coincide with all the future releases of DC sets.
Interestingly I believe no mention is given to the LEGO Dimensions Fun Packs or other packs featuring DC characters, though I could be wrong, haven't read the book yet.
@CHAINSAW @bbbeck018 guys, guys... let's not fight! let's just appreciate how much awesome stuff is now available thanks to both DC AND Marvel. (though, just to stir the pot, the wave immediately prior to the Captain America: Civil War sets really let the side down compared to DC's offerings...)
also, does anyone know how to add this minifigure to a collection? as in, how do I make it appear amongst my owned mini figs?
Finally, really sharp article that really captures the same thoughts I had on the book and minifig. :)
I want that batman fig and I want to see a marvel character encyclopedia