Batman: The Ultimate Guide

Scott Beatty. DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley), $24.99 (128pp) ISBN 978-0-7894-7865-8

Readers can uncover the secrets of two superheroes in Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight by Scott Beatty and Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide by Tom DeFalco. The first, for example, opens with the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, then tracks Wayne's transformation into the evil-avenging ""Guardian of Gotham"" and includes reproductions of many drawings from the archives of DC Comics. The latter chronicles the adventures of Peter Parker, who gains unusual powers after being bitten by an irradiated spider, with reproductions of drawings from the Marvel Comics archives. Each contains more than 700 illustrations. ( Oct.)

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