The Big, Big Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #52 Set for July Release

Hunt Valley, Maryland – In the 1990s, when DC Comics licensed the Archie Comics superhero characters for their Impact line, artist Rick Burchett teamed with writer Mark Wheatley to launch a new incarnation of The Black Hood. Though the experiment ended after a year, the impact – so to speak – of the series still remained with its fans. Now Burchett has returned to the character in epic fashion for the cover of The Big, Big Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #52.

The Black Hood has a long history at Archie Comic Publications and its predecessor, MLJ, dating back to the Golden Age and running through the present era. Due in comic shops on July 20, 2022, this edition will be offered in the April PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors. It can be already seen on Page 323 of the March PREVIEWS, now on sale.

The Bible of serious comic book collectors, dealers, and historians since it was first published in 1970, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is released each July by Gemstone Publishing. The Big, Big version (BBCBPG) includes none of the articles or advertising and just focuses on the price listings in the Guide. It’s become a regular purchase for dealers and serious collectors.

Each year, the BBCBPG seems to sell through quicker than the previous year. This square bound, oversized, limited edition version of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #52 will be available in soft cover. It will carry a cover price of $54.95.

An Eisner Award-winner in 1996 for The Batman and Robin Adventures, and again in 1999 for Batman: The Gotham Adventures, Burchett is also known for his work on E-Man, American Flagg!, The Phantom, Blackhawk, The Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Justice League, Green Lantern, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, She-Hulk, and even Funky Winkerbean.

“This job came with two surprises attached. First, it’s an honor to be asked to do a cover for the Overstreet Guide, one I was certain would never come my way. Sometimes it’s good to be wrong. Second, if people know my work at all, it’s invariably the Batman Adventures line of books that comes to mind. It was a thrill to be asked to reconnect with the Black Hood. This has to be one of the highlights of my 40 years in the business,” said Rick Burchett.

Burchett joins a line-up of Guide cover artists this year that already includes Butch Guice and J.G. Jones. Historically, the roster includes more than five decades worth of talent including such contributors as Joe Kubert, Will Eisner, Carl Barks, Wally Wood, Alex Schomburg, C.C. Beck, Murphy Anderson, Joe Simon, George Pérez, Mark Chiarello, Darwyn Cooke, Amanda Conner, Walter Simonson, Don Newton, Adam Hughes, J. Scott Campbell, Ryan Sook, and Todd McFarlane, among others.

“The obvious thing to gravitate to in Rick Burchett’s work is his highly successful animated-style versions of the Batman family of characters, but if you stop there, you miss so much truly great comic book work,” said J.C. Vaughn, Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone Publishing. “To see him flip a switch, jump back to the 1990s Black Hood, and to do it even better than he did back in the day, well, that’s a real joy.”

When it arrives, BBCBPG #52 will join a strong line-up of books due out this year from Gemstone Publishing. The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide To Lost Universes #1, a brand new price guide/Photo-Journal hybrid, is set to debut on Wednesday, February 16. The Guide will also be preceded by The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics – Free Comic Book Day 2022 Edition, a special 48-page comic about collecting comics, which will arrive on Saturday, May 7, Free Comic Book Day. Following the Guide, due out October 26, will be the full book-length second edition of The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics, a prose/comics hybrid showcasing many different aspects of collecting.