Can someone tell me what I have 1 1

[Joseph eaker]

I have this set of 4 dark knight books but they have no logos or numbers or serial numbers was told they was never mass produced any help would be appreciated my email is josepheaker3986@yahoo.com

Edited October 9, 2022 by Joseph eaker

[Galen130]

Is there anything on the back cover that states whether it's a comic store exclusive?

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/6/2022 at 8:32 PM, Galen130 said:

Is there anything on the back cover that states whether it's a comic store exclusive?

No the top pics is the front cover and back cover the guy I bought from said they were giving to the cast of the Batman vs Superman movie but can't confirm 

[flchris]

you have a close up of the title page and inside cover? trying to see what's on it

[theCapraAegagrus]

I have never heard anything about these, and I can't find anything about them. They look like individual issues of the Noir edition (which is a hardcover). I wonder if the seller is telling the truth about them being BvS gifts.

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:03 AM, 850chris said:

you have a close up of the title page and inside cover? trying to see what's on it

On 10/6/2022 at 8:32 PM, Galen130 said:

Is there anything on the back cover that states whether it's a comic store exclusive?

Just says the dark knight returns .dedicated to will jungaintz 1955 to1985 but can't find that name anywhere 

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:11 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I have never heard anything about these, and I can't find anything about them. They look like individual issues of the Noir edition (which is a hardcover). I wonder if the seller is telling the truth about them being BvS gifts.

If these are real and was never massed produced are they rare or extremely rare cause I want to slab them to keep safe but I need to be able to tell cgc what they are unless u know someone on the inside and can shoot the pics to to find out 

[Galen130]

On 10/7/2022 at 8:19 AM, Joseph eaker said:

If these are real and was never massed produced are they rare or extremely rare cause I want to slab them to keep safe but I need to be able to tell cgc what they are unless u know someone on the inside and can shoot the pics to to find out 

Honestly, if these are rare, I personally wouldn't trust CGC with them.  A mylar bag and backing board would be fine. 👍

[shadroch]

On 10/7/2022 at 7:19 AM, Joseph eaker said:

If these are real and was never massed produced are they rare or extremely rare cause I want to slab them to keep safe but I need to be able to tell cgc what they are unless u know someone on the inside and can shoot the pics to to find out 

No you don't want to slab them, 

[Qalyar]

On 10/7/2022 at 9:18 AM, Joseph eaker said:

Just says the dark knight returns .dedicated to will jungaintz 1955 to1985 but can't find that name anywhere

That actually reads "Will Jungkuntz", and isn't unique to ... whatever these are. Will Jungkuntz was a comic artist who died of a sudden heart attack at age 30. He had cited Frank Miller as a major influence, and Miller dedicated the first volume of The Dark Knight Returns to him.

If you want to see his work, the most representative example is probably his "Blood n' Gutz" series, serialized in issues 1-4 of the 1985 Savage Tales magazine. It was intended to be a 5-part story, but he died before completing it, and despite efforts to get other artists to finish the story on his behalf, the magazine was cancelled shortly afterward, and that never happened. He's probably better known for his work on Echo of Futurepast and Crazyman, but for both of those, he just did pencils with Neal Adams following up with ink work (and it's pretty clear that the finished product owes more to Neal Adams).

None of that gets us any closer to identifying what these are. I agree that they look like the contents of the Batman Noir: The Dark Knight Returns hardcover, except that, you know, they're not a hardcover.

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:19 AM, Joseph eaker said:

If these are real and was never massed produced are they rare or extremely rare cause I want to slab them to keep safe but I need to be able to tell cgc what they are unless u know someone on the inside and can shoot the pics to to find out 

I wouldn't slab them, but they do seem to be extremely rare. Rare enough that the only information I can find is from you, here. Really wish I could get my hand on a set, especially if they're related to BvS (I love that movie).

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:54 AM, Qalyar said:

That actually reads "Will Jungkuntz", and isn't unique to ... whatever these are. Will Jungkuntz was a comic artist who died of a sudden heart attack at age 30. He had cited Frank Miller as a major influence, and Miller dedicated the first volume of The Dark Knight Returns to him.

If you want to see his work, the most representative example is probably his "Blood n' Gutz" series, serialized in issues 1-4 of the 1985 Savage Tales magazine. It was intended to be a 5-part story, but he died before completing it, and despite efforts to get other artists to finish the story on his behalf, the magazine was cancelled shortly afterward, and that never happened. He's probably better known for his work on Echo of Futurepast and Crazyman, but for both of those, he just did pencils with Neal Adams following up with ink work (and it's pretty clear that the finished product owes more to Neal Adams).

None of that gets us any closer to identifying what these are. I agree that they look like the contents of the Batman Noir: The Dark Knight Returns hardcover, except that, you know, they're not a hardcover.

The story the guy told me about these were giving to cast of Batman vs Superman would u believe that story ? Could these be a one of a kind cause there is no dc logo no number no serial number or copyright.so that leaves these are fake or limited to just a few copies to cast members 

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/7/2022 at 11:04 AM, theCapraAegagrus said:

I wouldn't slab them, but they do seem to be extremely rare. Rare enough that the only information I can find is from you, here. Really wish I could get my hand on a set, especially if they're related to BvS (I love that movie).

That's what I'm saying cause there is no logo or serial number or anything just a dedicated to a person who died and worked on the series if only the cast of bvs got these then I got something but if there are fakes then why isn't more copies out there to find or buy seems like I got the only set wonder what a price would be on these 

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 10/7/2022 at 11:08 AM, Joseph eaker said:

That's what I'm saying cause there is no logo or serial number or anything just a dedicated to a person who died and worked on the series if only the cast of bvs got these then I got something but if there are fakes then why isn't more copies out there to find or buy seems like I got the only set wonder what a price would be on these 

I was actually wondering if maybe someone deconstructed the Noir book, and made 4 custom covers for these. They're cool, nonetheless, but it's a valid concern.

[Qalyar]

On 10/7/2022 at 10:06 AM, Joseph eaker said:

The story the guy told me about these were giving to cast of Batman vs Superman would u believe that story ? Could these be a one of a kind cause there is no dc logo no number no serial number or copyright.so that leaves these are fake or limited to just a few copies to cast members 

Off the top of my head, there are a few possibilities for what these are. These are probably not exhaustive:

• They could be privately produced (that is to say, not an actual DC product). For these books, that would probably mean that someone took apart a copy of the hardcover and converted it into individual "comic books". This is the worst outcome in terms of collector interest.
• They could have been produced for internal distribution. Publishers sometimes produce exclusives to give away to their own employees (or, perhaps, to a film cast...). There's rarely any acknowledgement that these exist, and sometimes the general public does not learn about them until well after the fact. This would be the most interesting possibility, obviously.
• It's possible that DC considered releasing Batman Noir as individual books and these are printer's tests or plate proofs or something of that nature from a project that was ultimately cancelled (or, less likely, from pre-production of the hardcover). This probably wouldn't be as exciting as if these were internally released, but would be better than a privately-created product.

I pretty much never take sellers of weird stuff at their word without confirmation, and it's going to be ... difficult to determine their origin without more information than we currently have.

[marvelmaniac]

I do not follow Batman but you peaked my curiosity, after doing some research I found the inside front cover and the dedication are from the "Return Of The Dark Knight" issue #1 from 1986 (4 issue series), are the stories the same? This was the only book with the dedication to Will Jungkuntz. This however still does not answer the question as to where they came from.

Does Overstreet list anything?

"Probably the only place that all of us here have heard the name Will Jungkuntz is Frank Miller's dedication to the artist in the opening pages of BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS # 1 in 1986."

 Quote:   

"Dedicated to Will Jungkuntz"
"1955-1985"

 

[revat]

I mean, if you genuinely think there's a CHANCE these were given out to cast members of movie, why not tweet at (or message in some other way) some of the cast members or publicly known staff of some of that movie and ask.  

It might or might not work, but someone affiliated who follows that person might see it and confirm/deny as well or provide more info.

And/or tweet/dm DC publishing or comics or movies directly.  Again, it may not work, but no downside I can see.

Or look for possibly relevant employees on linkedin and try to connect and ask.  Again no downside.

You get the point, there's a world of 'possible connections' and ways to connect out there, and no negative consequences to trying.

Good luck, I hope you find your answer.

[David Buck]

On 10/7/2022 at 3:18 PM, Joseph eaker said:

Just says the dark knight returns .dedicated to will jungaintz 1955 to1985 but can't find that name anywhere 

The bottom book in the pile appears to have staple holes in the middle of the spine - that suggests it was originally bound into a bigger item via a third staple, not seeing any indication of that on the others though.  

Edited October 7, 2022 by David Buck

[Joseph eaker]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:35 PM, Joseph eaker said:

No these books are mint what your looking at is the back pic of batman's cap extends over the spine u seeing those 2 lines 

 

[ExNihilo]

what's the publishing page say?