Detective Comics #27

History

In early 1939, following the runaway commercial success of Superman in Action Comics #1, editor Vin Sullivan tasked freelancers to deliver new superhero concepts; Bob Kane responded quickly, conceiving the initial visual idea for 'The Bat-Man,' while his studio collaborator Bill Finger — then working as an uncredited ghost writer — rewrote the script, devised the character's civilian name Bruce Wayne, and redesigned the costume from a caped red-and-black figure into the gray-and-black cowled silhouette that would define the character. Kane brought the concept to Sullivan and negotiated a contract solely in his own name, locking Finger out of any official credit; Kane remained Batman's sole credited creator for over seven decades until DC formally recognized Finger as co-creator in 2015. The debut story's plot is widely recognized by historians as closely paralleling — some say plagiarizing — Theodore Tinsley's 1936 Shadow novel 'Partners of Peril,' which shares nearly the same chemical-company murder scheme.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Batman (referred to in-story as 'The Bat-Man') and Commissioner Gordon, in the six-page lead story 'The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,' written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane; published on newsstands March 30, 1939, with a cover date of May 1939.
• First appearance of Bruce Wayne as Batman's secret identity — revealed on the story's final page — marking the first time the dual-identity superhero structure was used for this character.
• Commissioner Gordon appears here for the first time but is identified only by his surname; his first name is not established until later issues.
• The issue is a multi-feature anthology whose other strips include: Speed Saunders ('Killers of Kurdistan,' script by Gardner Fox, art by Fred Guardineer), Buck Marshall Range Detective ('Bullet Bluff,' art by Homer Fleming), a Spy story (script by Jerry Siegel, art by Joe Shuster), the Crimson Avenger (script and art by Jim Chambers), Bruce Nelson (script and art by Tom Hickey), The Mysterious Doctor Fu Manchu (adapted from Sax Rohmer, art by Leo O'Mealia), Cosmo the Phantom of Disguise (script and art by Sven Elven), Plain Clothes Pete (script and art by Russell Cole), Slam Bradley with Shorty Morgan (script by Jerry Siegel, art by Joe Shuster), and a prose text story 'Death on the Airwaves' by Gardner Fox (writing as Paul Dean).
• The Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis) and his sidekick Wing How appear as a continuing feature; both characters had debuted seven issues earlier in Detective Comics #20 (October 1938), making the Crimson Avenger DC's first masked hero — predating Batman by four months.
• Slam Bradley and his partner Shorty Morgan, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, appear as an ongoing feature; both characters had debuted in Detective Comics #1 (March 1937), two years before Batman's introduction in this issue.
• The Batman story's plot closely parallels the November 1936 Shadow prose novel 'Partners of Peril' by Theodore Tinsley, a connection noted by multiple comics historians.
• The issue has been reprinted in full at least twice in exact facsimile format: Famous First Edition #C-28 (1974) and the Millennium Edition: Detective Comics #27, as well as a 2022 Facsimile Edition; the Batman story alone has been reprinted in Batman Annual #5, Detective Comics #387, #627, Batman Archives Vol. 1, Batman Chronicles Vol. 1, and other collected editions.

Cast · 15 characters

Full credits

Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers