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

Published Sep 14, 2026 · Updated Sep 14, 2026 · 1 min read

Short answerThe 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.

The issue

"Batgirl: Day One" by Kelley Puckett, Mike Parobeck and Rick Burchett: Harley and Poison Ivy against a rookie Batgirl, in the animated series' art style. Harley wears the red-and-black harlequin costume from the show.

Editions

  • First printing, direct edition — the common copy.
  • First printing, newsstand — same printing, UPC barcode, scarcer in high grade. See Newsstand vs direct edition.
  • Second printing (1993) — scarcer than the first; identified in the indicia.
  • Reprints and facsimiles from 2015 onward — clearly marked and not valuable.

Where the value is

Most surviving copies were bought by collectors and bagged, so 9.4 and 9.6 copies are plentiful. The premium is at 9.8 — see Why is a 9.8 worth so much more? — and for newsstand and second-printing copies in high grade. A CGC 9.8 is in the store.

See First appearance of Harley Quinn, the Harley Quinn character page and the Modern Age collection.

Written by the Rare Comics Collectors grading team. Spotted an error or have a question this guide does not answer? Tell us.

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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

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$999

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