Cover: David Mazzucchelli

Batman #404

Feb 1987 · DC · 0.75 USD; 1.00 CAD; 0.40 GBP

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“Batman: Year One Chapter One: Who I Am How I Came to Be”

★ 1st appearance — Holly Robinson

About this Issue

Batman #404 opens 'Year One,' the four-part arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli that became the definitive Post-Crisis origin for the Dark Knight — a street-level, noir-drenched retelling that reframed Bruce Wayne as a fallible young man and Jim Gordon as a co-protagonist navigating institutional corruption. The issue simultaneously introduces Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, Holly Robinson, Commissioner Gillian Loeb, Detective Arnold Flass, and the modern interpretation of Selina Kyle, none of whom had Pre-Crisis counterparts, yet all of whom went on to anchor films, television series, and decades of subsequent comics. Its dual-narrator structure — toggling between Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon's internal monologues — established a template for gritty superhero storytelling that influenced virtually every Batman writer and filmmaker who followed. It also pioneered what is now a standard format: a self-contained arc embedded within an ongoing monthly title, designed from the start for eventual collection as a trade paperback.

In the gritty dawn of Gotham City, a new cop and a new vigilante each arrive with purpose—Gordon, fresh to the GCPD and already tested by its rot, and Bruce, whose first test in the streets ends in a brutal defeat. As he recovers from the fight, a bat bursts through his window, igniting a moment of clarity. Written by Frank Miller and illustrated with stark, cinematic precision by David Mazzucchelli, this is the first chapter of a landmark origin, with cover art by Mazzucchelli.

writer Frank Miller · artist, inker David Mazzucchelli · colorist Richmond Lewis · letterer Todd Klein · cover David Mazzucchelli

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $12

CGC 9.8 · 973 in census $156

CGC 9.6 · 1131 in census $71

CGC 9.4 · 684 in census $51

CGC 9.2 · 382 in census $51

CGC 9.0 · 263 in census $51

CGC 8.5 · 172 in census $46

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CGC 8.0 · 99 in census $34

CGC 7.5 · 53 in census $34

CGC 7.0 · 53 in census $34

CGC 6.5 · 21 in census $29*

CGC 6.0 · 16 in census $25

CGC 5.5 · 7 in census $24*

CGC 5.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Newsstand $6 VF/NM $11.95 VF $13.5 VF+ $14.99 FN $15 Newsstand $15 VF/NM $17.99 Newsstand $18

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History

After the overwhelming success of The Dark Knight Returns (1986), DC publisher Jenette Kahn and newly installed Batman editor Denny O'Neil were eager for Miller to deliver a canonical in-continuity prequel; the monthly Batman title was underperforming badly enough that O'Neil had been warned one of the two Batman books might face cancellation. Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli — fresh from their acclaimed 'Born Again' collaboration on Marvel's Daredevil — had already conceived the story as a prestige-format graphic novel titled 'The Batman,' but O'Neil persuaded them on a walk in Los Angeles to serialize it across four monthly issues instead, arguing that Crisis on Infinite Earths had cleared the continuity slate and guaranteed Miller the same creative freedom he'd enjoyed on Dark Knight Returns. Colorist Richmond Lewis originally painted the pages for newsprint, but when the 1988 trade paperback was approved, DC allowed Lewis to fully recolor the art for higher-quality paper, producing a noticeably richer palette that distinguishes the collected edition from the original monthly issues.

Trivia · 8 facts

Written by Frank Miller, penciled and inked by David Mazzucchelli, colored by Richmond Lewis, and lettered by Todd Klein; edited by Denny O'Neil with Dick Giordano as Executive Editor.
Cover-dated February 1987 (published December 1986); part one of a four-issue arc running through Batman #407.
First appearance of Holly Robinson (later the second Catwoman), created by Miller and Mazzucchelli — she debuts as a teenage associate of Selina Kyle and plays an indirect role in triggering Bruce Wayne's decision to adopt the Batman persona.
First appearance of Carmine 'The Roman' Falcone, Gotham's dominant crime boss whose visual design was modeled on Marlon Brando's portrayal of Vito Corleone; the character later became central to Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman Begins (2005), and The Batman (2022).
First appearances of Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Detective Arnold Flass, and Sarah Essen in Post-Crisis continuity — none of these characters had Pre-Crisis counterparts.
Established as the official Post-Crisis New Earth origin story for Batman, presenting Bruce Wayne as 25 years old at the start of his crime-fighting career; remained in-continuity canon until Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's 'Batman: Zero Year' arc (2013–2014) replaced it under the New 52.
Adapted as a DC Universe Animated Original Movie in 2011, directed by Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery, with Ben McKenzie voicing Batman and Bryan Cranston voicing Jim Gordon.
DC released facsimile editions of Batman #404–407 in late 2023, reprinting the issues with original covers and period advertisements, alongside a planned David Mazzucchelli Batman: Year One Artist's Edition hardcover.