Under a cover by Neal Adams, The Batcave Companion is 240 pages of amazingly thorough research, history and opinion about two pivotal periods in the history of DC Comics’ Batman, 1964 to 1969 and 1970 to 1979. Writers Michael Eury and Michael Kronenberg chronicle the momentous changes and character evolution of the Silver Age and Bronze Age Batman comic books from his campy “New Look” of the mid-1960s to his “creature of the night” reinvention of the 1970s.

The authors interviewed many of the key contributors from those periods including Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella, Dennis O’Neil, and Adams, and researched those who are no longer with us. Additionally, Batman writer Mike W. Barr and comics historian Will Murray aprovided additional essays for the volume.

With 2009 marking the Dark Knight’s 70th anniversary, Eury (the writer-editor of Back Issue magazine and books like The Krypton Companion) and Kronenberg (the designer of the Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu: The Art of Paul Gulacy) deserve their own salute. This book is an incredible work, something that no serious Bat-fan will want to be without.

Its even-handed approach to the history, its dedication to getting beyond the often-repeated, commonly accepted wisdom about the character makes The Batcave Companion stand out. Further, it just talk about the changes, it shows them with copious illustrations, highlighting the points made by its interview subjects.

TwoMorrows continues to produce wonderful books for fans, and this latest example is one of their best.