Batman and the Signal #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeBatman and the Signal #1 marks the formal codename debut of Duke Thomas as The Signal — DC's first certified metahuman in Batman's inner circle and the Bat-Family's dedicated daytime protector of Gotham City, a narrative space no prior Batman ally had occupied. The issue gave the publisher's most prominent new Black protagonist his own spotlight title, explicitly positioning Duke not as another Robin but as a distinct hero whose light-manipulating powers and daylight beat set him structurally apart from every other Bat-Family member. Writer Tony Patrick brought a lived-in, diverse supporting cast — including new characters Detective Alex Aisi and the villain Null — that expanded Gotham's world in ways that carried forward into Batman and the Outsiders and beyond. As the only solo title to spin directly out of Scott Snyder's New 52-to-Rebirth-to-Metal throughline for Duke, it remains the definitive origin statement for a character who has since anchored Outsiders, multiple Secret Files one-shots, and ongoing Batman runs.
In "Gotham by Day Part One: Morning," Batman hands over a new base to Duke as the two confront the sudden rise of metahuman teens in Gotham—something Duke has already faced firsthand. Meanwhile, Detective Aisi is quietly investigating the same phenomenon under Commissioner Gordon’s orders, setting the stage for a city on edge. Written by Scott Snyder and Tony Patrick, with bold artwork by Cully Hamner and vibrant colors by Laura Martin, this 2018 issue introduces a fresh chapter in Gotham’s ongoing struggle, with a cover by Cully Hamner.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Duke Thomas had been seeded across Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman run since his cameo in 'Zero Year' (Batman vol. 2 #21, 2013/2014) and was groomed through We Are Robin, Robin War, Batman: Rebirth, and All-Star Batman — where a backup strip called 'The Cursed Wheel' served as his direct pre-Signal training arc — before earning his own title. Snyder co-plotted the miniseries but handed primary scripting duties to Tony Patrick, a graduate of DC's New Talent Development Workshop for whom this was his professional debut at the publisher; Patrick has stated in interviews that seeing a Black Robin on a convention T-shirt and reading We Are Robin inspired him to pitch a story expanding Duke's world. The series was published as a tie-in to the Dark Knights: Metal event, which had established Duke's photokinetic powers in its lead-up issues, and the three-issue miniseries was later collected in a trade paperback that also reprinted the All-Star Batman backup stories to give the complete Duke Thomas training arc in one volume.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Duke Thomas in the costumed role of The Signal (previously he had operated under no codename; the name 'Lark' had been considered and rejected in-story).
- Creative team: story by Scott Snyder & Tony Patrick, script by Tony Patrick, pencils and inks by Cully Hamner, colors by Laura Martin, letters by Deron Bennett; variant cover by Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire.
- Tony Patrick — the series' primary writer — was a DC New Talent Development Workshop alumnus, and Batman and the Signal was his first DC Comics series.
- First appearances of Detective Alex Aisi (an amputee GCPD detective who becomes Signal's key GCPD ally) and the metahuman villain Null, as well as Duke's cousin Jay Thomas.
- The issue establishes Signal's headquarters 'The Hatch' (located beneath the Fox Center), his upgraded armor with a reflective bat insignia and stealth mode, and his supporting crew of former We Are Robin members Riko Sheridan and Izzy Ortiz.
- The central mystery — a surge of dead metahuman teenagers in the Narrows connected to a juvenile Arkham detention facility — introduces the 'Juvie Arkham' concept that writer Patrick continued to develop in later Signal appearances.
- Reprinted in the Batman and the Signal trade paperback (ISBN 978-1401279677), which also collects the 'Cursed Wheel' backups from All-Star Batman #1–4 and #6–9.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Batman and the Signal #[nn] (2018), Batman & Sinal #[nn] (2019)
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