first appearance
In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status.
Reader interes ...
debuts from
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
A man named Lambert has been stabbed to death, and his son's fingerprints have been found on the knife. Commissioner Gordon goes to the crime scene, taking his young, wealthy socialite friend,
Bruce Wayne
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
with him. Gordon interviews Lambert Jr., who says that someone else had murdered his father and that his fingerprints got on the knife as he was pulling it out of his father's back. He also says that his father had three other business partners: Steven Crane, Alfred Stryker and Paul Rogers.
Just then, Steven Crane calls and speaks with Commissioner Gordon, telling him that Lambert had received an anonymous death threat the previous day, and that he has received another one today and is now fearing for his life. Wayne leaves, saying that he is going home. The police go to Crane's house but are too late, as he has already been shot dead.
Crane's murderer meets his accomplice and shows him the contract he stole. Suddenly, a dark, terrifying masked figure dubbed "the Bat-Man" looms over them before he defeats the two criminals and proceeds to investigate the contract.
Later, Paul Rogers goes to Alfred Stryker's house after hearing about the murders on the radio. Stryker's assistant, Jennings, forces Rogers into a makeshift
gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
History
...
in order to kill him. The Bat-Man arrives, saves Rogers and defeats Jennings. Stryker then arrives, reveals himself to be the mastermind behind Lambert and Crane's murders, and attacks Rogers, but the Bat-Man subdues him too.
The Bat-Man then reveals that Stryker wanted total control over the Apex Chemical Corporation without having to pay for it and that he, in order to obtain it, had hired the murderers to kill his business partners and steal the secret contracts he had with them. Stryker tears free and tries to shoot the Bat-Man who, in turn, punches Stryker, knocking him into an acid tank where he is killed instantly. The Bat-Man says "A fitting end for his kind", before disappearing through an open skylight.
The next day, Commissioner Gordon talks to Wayne and tells him about the Bat-Man's caper. Wayne acts incredulous and goes home, where it is revealed to the reader that he is in fact the Bat-Man.
Mike Friedrich
Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an a ...
was published in ''Detective Comics'' #387 with art by
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...
and
Joe Giella
Joe Giella (born June 27, 1928) at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved February 11, 2012 generational gap, playing on a small aspect of the original in which the victim’s son was suspected of the crime.
Another remake was included in ''Secret Origins'' #6 (1986) by Roy Thomas and
, more closely mirroring the original’s plot, with updated art.
''Detective Comics'' #627 was a special issue that included four different versions of the story: the 1939 original, the 1969 update (retitled "The Cry of Night is -- Kill!"), and two new takes on the story, one by
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...
and
Jim Aparo
James N. Aparo (August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories ...
Norm Breyfogle
Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratca ...
.
Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer (born April 1, 1970) is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author. His novels touch on the political thriller, legal thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, while he has also written superher ...
wrote an updated version of this story with art by
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence on American titles ...
for ''
The New 52
The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new serie ...
''s ''Detective Comics'' volume 2 #27 which was released in January 2014 as part of Batman's 75th anniversary. The plot and characters are largely the same as the original, with a twist ending implying Stryker becomes the Joker after falling into the vat of acid.
Legacy
Though not being the first of the '' Detective Comics'' series, the issue is considered a landmark as the
first appearance
In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status.
Reader interes ...
of Batman. Originally starting out of an anthology series focusing on original crime series stories, the iconic superhero known as Batman would be introduced by
Bob Kane
Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...
and
Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...
to
National Comics Publications
National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...
(now
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
) with inspiration to create a new Superman that first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1. Due to the character being a household name, the original comic has endured as one of the most valuable comic books of all time alongside the likes of ''Action Comics'' #1 and Spider-Man's first appearance in '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15. The comic book is cited to be very rare to find in mint condition in
comic book collecting
Comic book collecting is a hobby that treats comic books and related items as collectibles or artwork to be sought after and preserved. Though considerably more recent than the collecting of postage stamps (philately) or books (bibliophilia), it ...
The Man Behind the Red Hood!
"The Man Behind The Red Hood!" (1951) is a comic book story originally appearing in ''Detective Comics'' #168. It features Batman and a few university students trying to crack a decade-old case, and has the earliest origin story for the Joker.
...