Cover: Ed Hannigan & Dick Giordano

Batman #365

Nov 1983 · DC · 0.60 USD; 0.25 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“Ruins”

About this Issue

Batman #365 is the penultimate chapter in the three-part Guatemala arc that leads directly into the first pre-Crisis appearance of Jason Todd as Robin in the very next issue (#366), making it the essential setup issue for that landmark moment in the second Robin's history. Written during Doug Moench's first, often-underappreciated run on the Batman titles, the issue also deepens the soap-operatic character work that defined this Bronze Age era — most notably Harvey Bullock's guilt-ridden bedside apology to a comatose Commissioner Gordon, a moment that begins rehabilitating Bullock from dirty cop to conflicted ally. Vicki Vale is written here as a serious investigative photojournalist rather than merely a romantic foil, which was a notably progressive treatment for the character in 1983. The issue's Cold War political backdrop — a Joker-sponsored Guatemalan revolution rooted in Soviet-Cuban arms smuggling — reflects the era's anxieties and distinguishes Moench's run as one with genuine literary ambition.

writer Doug Moench · artist Don Newton · inker Alfredo Alcala · colorist Adrienne Roy · letterer John Costanza · cover Ed Hannigan, Dick Giordano

More listings for this title

FINE $3 FN $3.99 Direct $4.99 VF $5 VERY FINE $5.99 VF/NM $6 VG $6.3 NM $6.49

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History

Doug Moench joined the Batman titles in early 1983, picking up from Gerry Conway, and immediately launched a sustained, cross-title serialized narrative shared between Batman and Detective Comics under editor Len Wein. Batman #365, titled 'Ruins,' is the first half of a two-part story that concludes in Detective Comics #532; the Guatemala setting and the Joker's plan to destabilize the country as a personal fiefdom carry through both issues. Moench had left Marvel after a dispute with editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in late 1982 and brought his densely plotted, character-driven style directly to DC's flagship hero, beginning a run that would stretch to Batman #400.

Trivia · 7 facts

Story title: 'Ruins' (23 pages); written by Doug Moench, penciled by Don Newton, inked by Alfredo Alcala, colored by Adrienne Roy, lettered by John Costanza.
Cover penciled by Ed Hannigan, inked by Dick Giordano; edited by Len Wein with Nicola Cuti as assistant editor.
This issue is the direct setup for Batman #366 (December 1983), in which Jason Todd first appears in the Robin costume — one of the most significant character transitions of the Bronze Age.
Jason Todd appears in civilian clothes alongside Bruce Wayne at Wayne Manor and then at Gotham Hospital; he pleads to accompany Batman to Guatemala but is refused, leaving him behind — a story beat that makes his unauthorized appearance in the Robin suit next issue even more dramatic.
Harvey Bullock's subplot: he visits the comatose Commissioner Gordon and silently registers genuine remorse for the prank (ordered by corrupt Mayor Hamilton Hill) that caused Gordon's heart attack — a turning point in Bullock's arc from antagonist to reluctant ally.
The Joker is revealed as the mastermind financing the Guatemalan rebel conflict, with the goal of seizing control of the entire country once rebel and government forces have decimated each other.
The issue was reprinted in Batman Superband (Egmont Ehapa, 1984, #19) and in DC's The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus (October 2019). The issue exists in three print variants: Direct, Newsstand, and Canadian.