Over the past few years, DC Comics and Kodansha have teamed up on a few occasions to produce authentic, original manga stories starring DC’s biggest heroes and villains. Some of these stories have been downright weird, while others have been surprisingly wholesome. All three arcs starring Batman, Superman, and Joker have been a lot of fun, though. Soon, these will be collected in a 10-volume box set. Priced at a bargain-friendly price of $50–only five bucks per book–the DC Manga Box Set is available to preorder at Amazon ahead of its October 28 release.
$50 | Releases October 28
In total, you’re getting three series across 10 volumes, all packaged in the slipcase shown above.
Superman vs. Meshi sees the Man of Steel make a quick detour in Japan to try a new chain restaurant. Taking on the culinary delights of Japan, Superman also recruits members from the Justice League to join him for servings of conveyor-belt sushi, bowls of curry, and more. You’ll probably want to avoid reading this if you haven’t eaten.
Hopping over to Gotham, Joker: One Operation Joker is easily the weirdest entry in this collection. The story revolves around Batman accidentally falling into a chemical vat that transforms him back into a baby, leaving the Joker in a depressed state since he no longer has an archnemesis to torment. Fortunately, the Joker realizes that he can become baby Batman’s dad and raise him into the ultimate crimefighter, but the clown prince of crime might not be ready for the perils of fatherhood in this three-volume set of manga paperbacks. We’re being serious: Joker rocks baby Batman to sleep.
Finally, all four volumes of Batman: Justice Buster round out the collection. With Gotham City reeling from a crime wave that has grown more destructive over time, Batman–a grown man, not a baby–is forced to try out new methods to wage his war on crime. Developing a computer system codenamed ROBIN, the Dark Knight uses it to analyze and counter criminals in this slick and action-packed series.
Each book costs $10, so the box set saves you 50%.
If you don’t feel like committing to all of the manga above, we have listed the individual trade paperbacks that you can pick up right now. The box set is by far the most economical option here–all three series on their cost $100 total. You’re saving 50% on each volume by purchasing them together. Plus, since this is the first-ever DC Manga Box Set, it could become a collector’s item down the line. Probably not, but it’s still a cool moment in DC Comics history.
Superman vs. Meshi
Joker: Operation One Joker
Batman: Justice Buster
Volume 1 of X-Men: The Manga Remastered released last fall, and Volume 2 arrived in March of this year. Each paperback volume is 512 pages and both are steeply discounted at Amazon. The manga adaptation of X-Men: The Animated Series covers the early seasons of the show, and as you’d expect, they have slick art that puts a new visual spin on the fan-favorite cartoon.
For a visual love-letter to all things Marvel, grab Marvel Comics: A Manga Tribute, a stunning collection of illustrations by legendary Japanese artists, including Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) and Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy).
