Cover: Mike Mignola

Batman #428

Dec 1988 · DC · 0.75 USD; 1.00 CAD; 0.50 GBP

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“A Death in the Family, Chapter 5”

★ Death — Death of Robin (Jason Todd) — A Death in the Family

About this Issue

Batman #428 is one of the most consequential single issues in DC's history: it is the issue in which the second Robin, Jason Todd, is confirmed dead — beaten savagely by the Joker with a crowbar and left to perish in a warehouse explosion — making it the first time a major, ongoing Batman supporting character was permanently killed during the modern era. What makes the issue structurally unique in comics publishing is that its outcome was literally decided by reader vote: DC set up competing 900-number telephone lines after the cliffhanger ending of Batman #427, tallying 10,614 calls over 35 hours before the narrow margin of 72 votes settled Jason's fate. The death reverberated through the Batman mythos for decades, shaping Batman's guilt-driven psychology, catalyzing the introduction of Tim Drake as the third Robin, and eventually fueling Jason's resurrection as the Red Hood in the 2005 'Under the Hood' arc — one of the most celebrated Batman storylines of the 2000s. As a document of reader participation reshaping a superhero narrative in real time, it remains without direct parallel in mainstream comics.

In "A Death in the Family, Chapter 5," Batman confronts the aftermath of tragedy as the burial of Sheila Haywood coincides with the final moments of Jason Todd. With the Joker now claiming a shocking new identity as the Iranian Ambassador to the U.N., the weight of loss presses hard on Gotham’s protector. Written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Jim Aparo, with inks by Mike DeCarlo and colors by Adrienne Roy, this pivotal issue builds toward a devastating climax, underscored by a guest appearance from Superman. The cover, by Mike Mignola, captures the grim intensity of the moment.

writer Jim Starlin · artist Jim Aparo · inker Mike DeCarlo · colorist Adrienne Roy · letterer John Costanza · cover Mike Mignola

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $32

CGC 9.8 · 315 in census $264

CGC 9.6 · 803 in census $111

CGC 9.4 · 646 in census $71

CGC 9.2 · 466 in census $67*

CGC 9.0 · 336 in census $56

CGC 8.5 · 256 in census $52

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 144 in census $49

CGC 7.5 · 77 in census $49

CGC 7.0 · 60 in census $49

CGC 6.5 · 27 in census $42*

CGC 6.0 · 18 in census $38*

CGC 5.5 · 13 in census $34*

CGC 5.0 · 9 in census $29*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $21*

CGC 4.0 · 3 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

More listings for this title

2nd print $4.99 Sketch $5.99 2nd print $5.99 Variant · 2nd print $10.99 Newsstand $13 FINE $15 Newsstand $21.99 NM $24

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 52 total · seen 28 days ago

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Writer Jim Starlin had openly disliked the Robin concept from the moment he took over the Batman title alongside penciler Jim Aparo in 1987, initially avoiding Jason Todd at editorial request before eventually leaning into the character's unpopularity in his scripts. Editor Denny O'Neil, grappling with how to resolve Jason's poor reception among readers, was inspired by a 1982 Saturday Night Live sketch in which Eddie Murphy used 900 numbers to poll the audience — O'Neil and DC president Jenette Kahn adapted the concept into a genuine reader vote on a character's life or death. Two complete versions of Batman #428 were prepared — Starlin and Aparo producing alternate pages and panels that could be swapped depending on the outcome — and after the 'death' result was confirmed, production director Bob Rozakis had colorist Adrienne Roy finish the 'real' version in secrecy, with the finished pages taken to a private basement to avoid leaks before the October 18, 1988 on-sale date. Cover art was supplied by Mike Mignola, who had been suggested for the run by assistant editor Dan Raspler; lettering was by John Costanza.

Trivia · 8 facts

Batman #428 is part 3 of the four-part 'A Death in the Family' arc (Batman #426–429), written by Jim Starlin, penciled by Jim Aparo, inked by Mike DeCarlo, colored by Adrienne Roy, lettered by John Costanza, and with cover art by Mike Mignola.
The issue contains the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin — beaten with a crowbar by the Joker and killed in a warehouse explosion — making Jason the first Robin to die in continuity.
Jason's biological mother Sheila Haywood, who had betrayed him to the Joker, also dies in this issue and is buried alongside Jason, resolving the 'search for Jason's birth mother' subplot that opened the arc.
The issue's published outcome was determined by a 900-number telephone poll run for approximately 35 hours; 10,614 votes were cast and the 'Jason dies' result won by only 72 votes (5,343 to 5,271).
DC simultaneously prepared a complete alternate version of Batman #428 in which Jason survives; that version remained unpublished for decades, with select alternate pages surfacing in Batman Annual #25 (2006) and in the 2021 Deluxe Edition hardcover, before a full 'faux-simile' edition was commercially released on December 12, 2023.
Superman appears as a guest in this issue, an appearance shared with the arc's concluding chapter, Batman #429.
The storyline was published during a commercial peak for Batman: monthly sales were at their highest since the early 1970s, The Killing Joke had just been released, and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) was in production — meaning Jason's death landed in front of the largest Batman readership in roughly two decades.
The story was adapted as an interactive animated film, Batman: Death in the Family (2020), directed by Brandon Vietti, which allowed viewers to choose Jason's fate — a direct homage to the original reader poll mechanic of the comic.