Batman Poche #51
Batman Poche #51 is historically significant as one of the very first foreign-language editions to bring the Jason Todd Robin-investiture story to non-English-speaking readers: it reprints Batman #368, the February 1984 Doug Moench/Don Newton issue in which Dick Grayson formally passes the Robin identity to Jason Todd, a generational handoff that would define the Batman mythos for years. Alongside that narrative landmark, the issue also delivers to French audiences 'The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne' from Brave and the Bold #197, Alan Brennert's celebrated Earth-Two tale of Batman and Catwoman's marriage — one of the most emotionally sophisticated Batman stories of the Bronze Age. As the penultimate issue of Sagédition's 52-number Batman Poche run, it represents the final flourish of the publisher's eight-year effort to keep contemporary DC storytelling before French readers, arriving just months before the series closed.
In "La folle revanche," Count Florian—once bested by Batman and Robin in London—returns to wreak havoc, this time crossing the Atlantic to steal a civilian invention and turn it into a tool for spying on America. Written by Bill Finger and brought to life by Bob Kane’s art with Charles Paris’s inks, this 1984 issue delivers a classic caper with a European flair, while Ed Hannigan’s cover pencils and Dick Giordano’s inks capture the menace of the returning villain.
In "La folle revanche," Jason steps into the role of Robin with Dick's approval, unaware that the elusive and vengeful Crazy-Quilt is still at large—his rage still fixed on the former Robin, not the new one. Meanwhile, in Canada, Alfred and Julia must confront a deadly threat as Julia becomes the target of a calculated assassination plot.
In "Tel est pris...", Jason stumbles through the aftermath of Crazy-Quilt’s attack, disoriented and unaware he’s been manipulated into turning on Batman. While Jason struggles to piece together what happened, Alfred lends his steady hand to Julia as she digs into the mysterious murder of her stepfather, unraveling secrets that may tie the two cases together.
In "L'homme aux mille regards," the elusive Count Florian—once a foe of Batman and Robin in London—reemerges in America with a new scheme, using a stolen civilian invention to launch a covert surveillance operation. The story follows the Dark Knight and Robin as they track the count’s shadowy moves, uncovering a web of espionage that threatens to expose the nation’s secrets.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Batman Poche was Sagédition's flagship DC reprint pocket-book, launching in June 1976 and running through October 1984 for a total of 52 issues — a remarkably sustained commitment to Batman material for the French market. The series drew stories from across DC's Batman-related titles including Batman, Detective Comics, Brave and the Bold, and World's Finest, packaging four to six translated stories per issue in a compact digest format. Sagédition, which had been the dominant conduit for DC characters in France throughout the Bronze Age, was already in commercial decline by the time issue #51 appeared; the company dissolved entirely in 1987. Issue #51 was assembled without credited French editorial staff in the surviving records, consistent with Sagédition's practice of listing anthology issues as collective works.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 1984 by Sage/Sagédition (Paris, France) as volume 51 of 52 in the Batman Poche anthology series.
- Lead story reprints Batman (vol. 1) #368 (February 1984), written by Doug Moench, penciled by Don Newton, and inked by Alfredo Alcala — the issue in which Dick Grayson officially transfers the Robin name and costume to Jason Todd.
- The Jason Todd/Robin story continues directly into the second feature, which reprints Detective Comics #535 (February 1984), also by Doug Moench with art by Gene Colan and Bob Smith.
- Also reprints Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983) — Alan Brennert and Joe Staton's 'The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne,' the Earth-Two story depicting Batman and Catwoman's marriage, later collected in The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told and multiple DC retrospective editions.
- Rounds out its page count with two Catwoman backup stories from Batman #350 and #351 (1982), written by Bruce Jones with art by Tony DeZuniga and Adrian Gonzales respectively.
- Includes a Batman-and-Lois-Lane team-up from Brave and the Bold #175 (1981), written by Paul Kupperberg with art by Jim Aparo.
- The series ran 52 issues from June 1976 to October 1984, making Batman Poche #51 the second-to-last issue Sagédition published in this title.
- The Batman #368 story reprinted here was later included in the English-language Robin: 80 Years of the Boy Wonder: The Deluxe Edition (DC, 2020), confirming its enduring canonical weight.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints World's Finest Comics #43 (1949), The Brave and the Bold #175 (1981), Batman #350 (1982), Batman #351 (1982), Batman #368 (1984), Detective Comics #535 (1984)
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