Batman #1

Apr 1940 · DC · 0.10 USD

📊 ~280,360 copies sold its debut month

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“The Legend of the Batman--Who He Is and How He Came to Be!”

★ 1st appearance — Joker★ 1st appearance — The Joker

About this Issue

Batman #1 (Spring 1940) is one of the most consequential single issues in the history of American comics: it launched the Dark Knight's first self-titled solo series and, across its four stories, introduced two of the most enduring characters in the medium — the Joker and Catwoman (then known only as "the Cat"). The Joker's debut alone redefined what a comic-book villain could be, deploying a delayed-action poison to murder victims with a ghastly rictus grin and announcing his crimes over the radio, a theatrical menace unlike anything that had preceded him. The issue also established narrative and ethical tensions — Batman saving the Joker's life in their very first encounter, and editorial stepping in to prevent the villain's death — that have driven the Batman mythos for over eight decades. DC had previously granted a solo series to only one character before this, Superman, making Batman #1 a direct measure of how quickly the character had captured the public imagination.

In this landmark 1940 issue, Batman confronts a mysterious killer who targets celebrated figures, stealing their most treasured items and leaving them with an unsettling grin—setting the tone for the Dark Knight’s grim, methodical pursuit of justice. Written by Bill Finger and brought to life by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, and the Strauss Engraving Company, this story marks a pivotal moment in the character’s early development, with Kane and Robinson sharing full artistic and inking duties on the interior. The cover, a striking collaboration by Kane and Robinson, captures the eerie, iconic menace of the Bat’s first full origin tale.

writer Bill Finger · artist, inker Bob Kane · artist, inker, letterer Jerry Robinson · colorist Strauss Engraving Company · cover Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson

More listings for this title

3rd print $3.99 NM · 2nd print $4.75 2nd print $4.99 11th print $5 Newsstand $5.09 3rd print $5.59 NM $12.99 NM $12.99

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History

Less than a year after Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), the character's popularity prompted DC (then publishing under the Detective Comics, Inc. imprint) to fast-track a solo quarterly title. The stories collected in Batman #1 were largely pulled from the pipeline of material already being prepared for Detective Comics — the two Joker stories had been slated for Detective Comics #40, and the Hugo Strange story predated Robin's arrival — meaning the issue was assembled quickly to capitalize on Batman's momentum rather than developed as a unified project. The primary creative team was writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, though Jerry Robinson contributed pencils (including the Joker's playing-card splash), background inks, and lettering, and Sheldon Moldoff and others also contributed interior art; despite their substantial work, only Kane received a published creator credit at the time. Editor Whitney Ellsworth oversaw the issue, and it was Ellsworth who, troubled by Batman's lethal violence against Hugo Strange's monster men in this very issue, subsequently issued the editorial directive that Batman would no longer kill — a rule that shaped the character's moral identity going forward.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of the Joker: Batman #1 contains two separate Joker stories — 'The Joker' and 'The Joker Returns' — marking the villain's debut; both were originally intended for Detective Comics before being diverted to launch the new title.
First appearance of Catwoman: She appears in 'The Cat,' a cruise-ship jewel-theft story, and is not yet named Catwoman — she is identified only as 'the Cat,' a mysterious burglar revealed at the story's end to be a young woman in disguise.
The Joker was nearly killed off: At the end of his second story, the Joker was scripted to die from a stab wound, but editorial intervention required the final panels to be redrawn to show him surviving — a last-minute save that preserved one of fiction's greatest villain–hero rivalries.
Hugo Strange appears but does not debut here: Strange's story in this issue — in which he injects Batman with a growth serum and unleashes giant 'monster men' on Gotham — is a return appearance; the character first debuted in Detective Comics #36 (February 1940).
Batman's origin is reprinted, not original: The two-page 'Legend of the Batman — Who He Is, and How He Came to Be,' which includes the Wayne murders and Bruce's vow, is a reprint of the origin strip from Detective Comics #33, featuring Joe Chill (unnamed) as the mugger.
The Batplane debuts in this issue, replacing the Bat-Gyro that had been destroyed in Detective Comics #33.
The issue's violence prompted an editorial rule change: Batman's lethal actions against Strange's henchmen in this issue disturbed editor Whitney Ellsworth enough that he subsequently instituted a formal 'no killing' edict for Batman — a foundational moment for the character's moral code.
The issue has been widely reprinted: Notable editions include the Famous First Edition tabloid reprint (1974), the Millennium Edition (2001), Batman: The Dark Knight Archives Vol. 1, Batman: A Celebration of 75 Years (2014), and DC Facsimile Editions published in 2023 and 2025.