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Batman comics

Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939, from DC Comics, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

First appearance
Detective Comics #27
Cover date
May 1939
Publisher
DC Comics
Creators
Bob Kane and Bill Finger

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Key issueLast copy

DC Comics · Modern Age

Batman Adventures #12

CGC 9.8 · Universal Blue

First comic-book appearance of Harley Quinn

(0)
$2,500
Key issueLast copy

DC Comics · Modern Age

Detective Comics (2011) #20

CGC 9.8 · Signature Series

We Can Be Heroes variant, signed and sketched by Frank Miller

(0)
$999

Batman guides

First appearance, key issues and what drives the prices.

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  • News

    The most expensive comic books ever sold: documented record sales

    The record for a single comic is 6 million dollars, paid for a CGC 8.5 copy of Action Comics #1 (1938) at Heritage Auctions in April 2024. Other documented milestone sales include a CGC 7.0 Superman #1 at 5.3 million dollars (private sale, 2022), a CGC 9.6 Amazing Fantasy #15 at 3.6 million dollars (Heritage, September 2021), a CGC 8.5 Action Comics #1 at 3.25 million dollars (ComicConnect, April 2021) and a CGC 9.4 Captain America Comics #1 at 3.12 million dollars (Heritage, April 2022).

    Updated Sep 14, 2026

  • Characters

    What is the first appearance of Batman?

    Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939, in a six-page story titled “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate”, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and published by Detective Comics, Inc. (DC). Finger, who wrote the story and shaped the costume, was officially credited by DC as co-creator from 2015. A CGC 8.0 copy sold for 1.5 million dollars at Heritage Auctions in January 2022.

    Updated Sep 14, 2026

  • Characters

    What is the first appearance of Harley Quinn?

    Harley Quinn's first comic-book appearance is The Batman Adventures #12, cover-dated September 1993, by Kelley Puckett, Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett, in the tie-in series to Batman: The Animated Series. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for the television episode “Joker's Favor”, first broadcast in September 1992, a year before she reached print.

    Updated Sep 14, 2026

  • Key issues

    Batman Adventures #12 explained: Harley Quinn's first comic appearance

    The Batman Adventures #12 (September 1993) is Harley Quinn's first appearance in comics, a year after her television debut in Batman: The Animated Series. It is the most valuable comic of the 1990s after New Mutants #98 and a standard Modern Age key. Because it was printed in large numbers, the value sits almost entirely in 9.8 copies, newsstand copies and the scarcer second printing.

    Updated Sep 14, 2026

  • History

    A short history of DC Comics

    DC traces to National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1934, whose New Fun #1 (February 1935) was among the first comics of all-original material. Detective Comics, Inc. (1937) gave the company its initials and, with Action Comics #1 (June 1938), Superman. Sister company All-American Publications added Wonder Woman, the Flash and Green Lantern; the firms merged as National Comics Publications in 1946, became part of Kinney National (later Warner) in 1967, and adopted the name DC Comics officially in 1977.

    Updated Sep 14, 2026