''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #27 ( cover-dated May 1939). A second series of the same title was launched in September 2011, but in 2016, reverted to the original volume numbering. The series is the source of its publishing company's name, and—along with ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'', the series that launched with the debut of

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

—one of the medium's signature series. Between 1937 and 2011, there were 881 issues of the series. It is the longest-running comic book series in the United States.

Publication history

''Detective Comics'' was the final publication of the entrepreneur

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, whose comics company, National Allied Publications, evolved into

, one of the world's two largest comic book publishers, though long after its founder had left it. Wheeler-Nicholson's first two titles were the landmark '' New Fun: The Big Comic-Magazine'' #1 ( cover-dated Feb. 1935), colloquially called ''New Fun Comics'' #1 and the first such early comic book to contain all-original content, rather than a mix of

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

and comic-strip-style new material. His second effort, ''New Comics'' #1, was retitled twice to become ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

'', another seminal series that ran for decades until issue #503, in 1983, and was later revived in 2009. The third and final title published under his aegis was ''Detective Comics'', advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936, but eventually premiering three months later, with a March 1937 cover date. Wheeler-Nicholson was in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld, who was, as well, a pulp-magazine

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and a principal in the magazine distributorship

Independent News Independent News Co. was a magazine and comic book distribution business owned by National Periodical Publications, the parent company of DC Comics. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, ...

. Wheeler-Nicholson took Donenfeld on as a partner to publish ''Detective Comics'' #1 with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack Liebowitz, Donenfeld's

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

, listed as owners. Wheeler-Nicholson was forced out a year later. Originally an anthology comic, ''Detective Comics'' #1 (March 1937) featured stories in the " hard-boiled detective" genre, with such stars as Ching Lung (a

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...

-style " Yellow Peril" villain); Slam Bradley (created by

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He was the co-creator of ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster ( ; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992) was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938). Shuster was involv ...

before their character ''Superman'' saw print two years later); and Speed Saunders, among others. Its first editor,

Vin Sullivan Vincent Sullivan (June 5, 1911 – February 3, 1999Vincent Sullivan
at the

, also drew the debut issue's cover. The

Crimson Avenger The Crimson Avenger is the name of three separate superheroes and supervillains in the DC Comics Universe. The character debuted in 1938 and is notable as the first masked hero in DC Comics. The first Crimson Avenger, Lee Walter Travis, first app ...

debuted in issue #20 (October 1938). Early issues of the series have been criticized for their racism and xenophobia.

Batman / Bruce Wayne

''Detective Comics'' #27 (released March 1939, with a

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

of May 1939) marked the

first appearance In 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 interest in fir ...

. He eventually became the star of the title, the cover logo of which is often written as "Detective Comics featuring Batman". Because of its significance, issue #27 is among the most valuable comic books in existence, with one copy selling for $1,075,000 in a February 2010 auction. Batman's origin is first revealed in a two-page story in issue #33 (Nov. 1939). Batman became the main cover feature of the title beginning with issue #35 (Jan. 1940). Issue #38 (April 1940) introduced Batman's

sidekick A sidekick is a close companion or colleague who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to those whom they accompany. Origins The first recorded use of the term dates from 1896. It is believed to have originated in pickpocket slang of ...

Robin, billed as "The Sensational Character Find of 1940" on the cover and the first of several characters that would make up the "Batman Family." Robin's appearance and the subsequent increase in sales of the book soon led to the trend of superheroes and young sidekicks that characterize the era that fans and historians call the "

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

." Several of Batman's best known villains debuted in the pages of ''Detective Comics'' during this era, including the

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

in issue #58,

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring e ...

in issue #66, and the

Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...

in issue #140.

Batwoman Batwoman is a name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies of Batman similarly to Batgirl. The original version of the character, Kathy Kane (eventually given t ...

first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #233 (July 1956). Since the family formula had proven very successful for the

franchise, editor Jack Schiff suggested to Batman co-creator Bob Kane that he create one for the Batman. A female was chosen first, to offset the charges made by

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

that Batman and Robin were homosexual. Writer

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – ) was an American comic book writer who co-created the DC Comics character Batman with Bob Kane. Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world ...

and artist Sheldon Moldoff introduced

Bat-Mite Bat-Mite is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Bat-Mite is an imp similar to the Superman villain Mister Mxyzptlk. Depicted as a small, childlike man in an ill-fitting copy of Batman, Batman's costume, ...

in issue #267 (May 1959) and

Clayface Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them are List of Batman family enemies ...

in #298 (Dec. 1961). In 1964,

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz ( ; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was an American comic book editor, and a science fiction agent. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he ...

was made responsible for reviving the fading Batman titles. Writer John Broome and artist

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

jettisoned the sillier aspects that had crept into the franchise, such as Ace the Bathound and Bat-Mite and gave the character a "New Look" that premiered in ''Detective Comics'' #327 (May 1964). Schwartz,

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

, and Infantino introduced, from the

William Dozier William McElroy Dozier (; February 13, 1908 – April 23, 1991) was an American film and television producer, writer and actor. He is best known for two television series, ''Batman'' and '' The Green Hornet''. Early life Dozier was born in Omaha, ...

produced TV series,

Barbara Gordon Barbara Joan Gordon is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character was created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Ga ...

as a new version of

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in issue #359 (Jan. 1967).

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 ar ...

wrote the 30th anniversary Batman story in ''Detective Comics'' #387 (May 1969) which was drawn by Bob Brown. Writer Dennis O'Neil and artist

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

had their first collaboration on Batman on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" in issue #395 (Jan. 1970). The duo, under the direction of Schwartz, revitalized the character with a series of noteworthy stories reestablishing Batman's dark, brooding nature and taking the books away from the campy look and feel of the 1966–68 ABC

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

. Goulart, Ron, ''Ron Goulart's Great History of Comic Books'' (Contemporary Books, Chicago, 1986) , p. 297 Comics historian Les Daniels observed that "O'Neil's interpretation of Batman as a vengeful obsessive-compulsive, which he modestly describes as a return to the roots, was actually an act of creative imagination that has influenced every subsequent version of the Dark Knight." Adams introduced the

Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...

with writer

Frank Robbins Franklin Robbins (September 9, 1917 – November 28, 1994) was an American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his ...

in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970). O'Neil and artist Bob Brown crafted Batman's first encounter with the League of Assassins in ''Detective Comics'' #405 (Nov. 1970) and created Talia al Ghul in issue #411 (May 1971). After publishing on a monthly schedule throughout its run, ''Detective Comics'' became a bi-monthly book from issues #435 (June–July 1973) to #445 (Feb.-March 1975). Issues #438 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) to #445 (Feb.–March 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. O'Neil and artist

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

created the Batman supporting character Leslie Thompkins in the story "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" appearing in issue #457 (March 1976). Writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and artist Marshall Rogers produced an acclaimed run of Batman stories in ''Detective Comics'' #471–476 (Aug. 1977 – April 1978), and provided one of the definitive interpretations that influenced the 1989 ''

'' film and was adapted for the 1990s

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

. The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian Robert Greenberger as "one of the greatest" creative teams to work on the Batman character. In their story "The Laughing Fish", the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin, then expects to be granted a federal

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

on them, only to start killing the bureaucrats who try to explain to him that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible. Writer

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...

and Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain

in ''Detective Comics'' #478 (July–Aug. 1978). From issue #481 (Dec. 1978 – Jan. 1979) through #495 (Oct. 1980), the magazine adopted the expanded Dollar Comics format used by the canceled '' Batman Family'', adding solo features including "Robin: the Teen Wonder", "Batgirl", the " Human Target" and the anthology "Tales of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

", which featured stories of the city's ordinary people. Julius Schwartz, who had edited the title for most of its run since 1964, left the series as of issue #484 (June–July 1979) The original Katherine Kane also known as "Batwoman" was killed in the lead story in issue #485 (Aug.–Sept. 1979) by the League of Assassins. The title's 500th issue (March 1981) featured stories by several well-known creators including television writer Alan Brennert and Walter B. Gibson best known for his work on the

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

character ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

''. Also used during the 1980s was the use of serialization of the main Batman story, with stories from ''Detective Comics'' and ''Batman'' directly flowing from one book to another, with cliffhangers at the end of each book's monthly story that would be resolved in the other title of that month. A single writer handled both books during that time beginning with

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

and followed up by

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...

. The supervillain Killer Croc made a shadowy cameo in issue #523 (Feb. 1983).Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 200: "Killer Croc made his mysterious debut in the pages of ''Detective Comics'' #523, written by Gerry Conway, with art by Gene Colan...Croc would soon become a major player in Gotham's underworld." Noted author

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

wrote the Batman story in issue #567. Writer Mike W. Barr and artists

Alan Davis Alan Davis (born 18 June 1956) is an English comic book writer and artist, known for his work on ''Captain Britain'', ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''The ClanDestine, ClanDestine'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Excalibur (comic book), Excalibur'', ''JLA: ...

and Todd McFarlane crafted the " Batman: Year Two" storyline in ''Detective Comics'' #575–578 which followed up on Frank Miller's " Batman: Year One". Writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle introduced the

Ventriloquist Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

in their first Batman story together and the Ratcatcher in their third (#585). Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

'', wrote the "Blind Justice" story in ''Detective Comics'' issues #598–600.

Chuck Dixon Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...

became the writer of the series with issue #644 (May 1992). He and Tom Lyle co-created the Electrocutioner in ''Detective Comics'' #644 (May 1992) and Stephanie Brown in ''Detective Comics'' #647 (August 1992). The " Batman: Legacy" storyline began in issue #700 (August 1996). The " No Man's Land" storyline crossed over into ''Detective Comics'' in issues #730–741. Writer Greg Rucka and artist Shawn Martinbrough became the creative team as of issue #742 (March 2000) and created the

Sasha Bordeaux Sasha Bordeaux is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was at first primarily associated with superhero Batman, and she has subsequently evolved an association with Checkmate in two of its i ...

character in issue #751 (Dec. 2000). Issue #800 (Jan. 2005) was written by Andersen Gabrych and drawn by

Pete Woods Peter Woods is an American comic book artist, known for his work on titles such as ''Backlash (Marc Slayton), Backlash'', ''Deadpool (comics), Deadpool'', ''Robin (comics), Robin'', ''Catwoman'', ''Amazons Attack'', and ''Action Comics''. Career ...

. Paul Dini became the writer of the series as of issue #821 (Sept. 2006) and created a new version of the

in #827 (March 2007).

Scott Snyder Scott Snyder (born January 15, 1976) is an American comic book author. He is known for his 2006 short story collection ''Voodoo Heart'', and his work for DC Comics, including series such as ''American Vampire'', ''Detective Comics'', a highly acc ...

became the writer of ''Detective Comics'' with issue #871 (Jan. 2011).

Back-up features

In addition to the Batman stories, the title has had numerous back-up strips. The Boy Commandos by Joe Simon and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #64 (June 1942) and were then soon spun off into their own title. The character Roy Raymond first appeared in issue #153 (Nov. 1949). The

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" in ''Detective Comics ...

was created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in ''Detective Comics'' #225 (Nov. 1955). After issue #326 (April 1964), the Martian Manhunter was moved to '' House of Mystery'' and in issue #327 the Elongated Man and his wife, now remodeled after Dashiell Hammett's

Nick and Nora Charles Nick and Nora Charles are fictional characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel ''The Thin Man''. The characters were later adapted for film in a series of films between 1934 and 1947; for radio from 1941 to 1950; for television from 19 ...

, took over. The characters crossed over with Batman three times. The Elongated Man run lasted until issue #383 (Jan. 1969) and his feature returned sporadically 15 times until issue #572, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the title by teaming him up with Batman, Robin, Slam Bradley and

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

against Edgar Moriarty, the great-grandnephew of Professor Moriarty. After the Elongated Man back-up feature ended, Batgirl held the role until issue #424. She returned from issues 481–519 after being moved to Batman Family.

Jason Bard Jason Bard is a fictional character in the DC Universe. He first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #392, which was published in 1969. He appeared in several back-up stories throughout the 1970s and 1980s in ''Detective Comics''.. Fictional charact ...

appeared as the backup feature in the odd-numbered issues of ''Detective'' from #425–435. The Manhunter was resurrected in a story by Archie Goodwin and

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

in issue #437 (Oct.-Nov. 1973). With the last episode of the series, Manhunter moved to the front of the book in a full-length team-up with Batman. The

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

became the back-up feature starting with issue #521 (Dec. 1982) and running until #567 (Oct. 1986). The

Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...

received a new costume in the back-up story in issue #554 (Sept. 1985). '' DC Comics Bonus Book''s were included in issues #589 (August 1988) and 595 (Jan. 1989). After a lengthy absence, the backup features returned for issues #746–810. These were more closed-ended stories featuring new and established characters in the Batman mythos. The first was "The Jacobian" in issues #746–757, followed by a one-issue Batman story in #758. The following issues, #759–762, featured Slam Bradley and were a lead-in to the 2002 ''Catwoman'' series. Issues #763–772 featured Josephine "Josie Mac" MacDonald, a Gotham police detective. Issues #773–775 were titled "Tales of Gotham" and feature Detectives Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya. Batman starred in "Spore" from issues #776–780. #781 featured a special ''

Elseworlds Elseworlds is the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that take place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that ...

'' tale, while #782 featured a Batman solo tale. Issue #783 featured a prelude to the "Death and the Maidens" miniseries, and issue #784 featured a Josie Mac tale. The "Tales of Gotham" stories resumed in issues #785–788 with "The Dogcatcher", and #789–794 featured "The Tailor". "Polished Stone", featuring the

and Onyx, ran in issues #795–796. "Low", featuring the Riddler and Poison Ivy, ran from issues #797–799. ''Under the title "Tales of Gotham," Detective Comics #800 had a short Batman back-up story.'' A four-issue (#801–805) story featuring the Barker entitled "When You're Strange" was next and "Mud" in issue #805. The last back-up was a three-issue (#808–810) story about Killer Croc. It came after a two-issue (#806–807) story about Alfred. The " Manhunter" series that ran as a backup in ''Detective Comics'' from 1973 to 1974 won the Shazam Award for "Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic)" in 1974 for the story "Cathedral Perilous" in issue #441, written by Archie Goodwin and

Batwoman

In 2009, as part of a planned reorganization of the Batman universe due to the events shown in '' Batman R.I.P.'' and ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'', ''Detective Comics'' went on hiatus for three months while DC Comics published the '' Battle for the Cowl'' miniseries. Upon its return, the series featured the newly reintroduced (in '' 52'')

as the new star of the book, as well as a 10-page back-up feature starring Renee Montoya as the new Question. The series returned Batman to a starring role in early 2010.

The New 52

DC Comics relaunched ''Detective Comics'' with issue #1 in September 2011, as part of an initiative called

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

. The series was written and drawn by Tony Daniel until the 12th issue, with the team of John Layman and Jason Fabok beginning with issue #13. The first issue of the relaunched ''Detective Comics'' has received six printings, second only to the relaunched ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'' which had seven printings. The series' 7th issue was also DC Comic's 6th highest selling digital comic, ranking above many other series in the Batman category. Scott West of Sciencefiction.com gave the series' third arc a positive review, stating that "After last month's disappointing 'Night of the Owls' tie-in issue, it's nice to see 'Detective Comics' getting back to where it should be...good detective stories." The relaunched ''Detective Comics'' received the award for "Best Series" at the 2012 Stan Lee Awards. The series' first collected edition reached the number 1 spot on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Best Seller list in the category of "Hardcover Graphic Books". Daniel wrote and penciled the series until the ''

Night of the Owls "Batman: Night of the Owls" is a comic book fictional crossover, crossover storyline published by DC Comics in mid-2012, and featuring the Batman family of characters. Primarily written by Scott Snyder, the arc is the first major crossover storyl ...

'' crossover, at which point

Ed Benes José Edilbenes Bezerra (born November 20, 1972), better known by his professional name Ed Benes, is a Brazilian comic book artist, known for his work for DC Comics, on such titles as ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Supergirl (comic b ...

, Julio Ferreira, and Eduardo Pansica began drawing the series for a three-issue arc. The price of ''Detective Comics'' was increased due to the addition of a backup feature starring Batman villain

, which was written by Daniel and illustrated by Syzmon Kudranski, this followed a similar backup featuring Professor Hugo Strange. Daniel left the series with issue #12 being his last as writer and the "0" issue his last as penciller. DC celebrated the first anniversary of The New 52 in September 2012 by publishing a number "0" of each original ''New 52'' title which act as prequels to the series and reveal previously unexplained plot elements. Gregg Hurwitz wrote the "0" issue. Hurwitz was approached by Daniel to write the "0" issue due to Daniel's busy schedule. To follow up on the ''Night of the Owls'' elements in ''Detective Comics'', Daniel wrote ''Detective Comics Annual'' #1, which was pencilled by Romano Molenaar and inked by Sandu Florea. Following Daniel's tenure on the series, John Layman became the new writer and Jason Fabok the new artist with James Tynion IV writing the backup features and Syzmon Kudranski remaining as artist for Tynion's first feature. With issue #19 of ''Detective Comics'' vol. 2, released on April 3, 2013, the series reached 900 issues as combined with the first volume of the series, and was a special oversized celebratory issue. Under Layman, the series featured its first crossover, ''Gothtopia'' after which Layman and Fabok moved to the '' Batman Eternal'' series and ''Detective Comics'' was taken over by Brain Buccalleto and Francis Manapul. In commemoration of the second anniversary of The New 52, DC Comics announced " Villains Month" with ''Detective Comics'' getting four issues. The issues starred

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, PhD) is a fictional American character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as a henchwoman for the ...

, the Scarecrow, and the

, and, respectively, being numbered #23.1, #23.2, #23.3, and #23.4, by an ensemble of writers and artists. For the 75th anniversary of Batman, issue #27 was a larger-sized issue featuring new stories by Brad Meltzer and

Bryan Hitch Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and comic book writer, 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 o ...

and Sean Murphy, Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram, John Layman and Jason Fabok, Gregg Hurwitz and

, Mike W. Barr and Guillem March, and one written and drawn by Francesco Francavilla. In addition, variant covers to the issue were by Greg Capullo, Frank Miller, Chris Burnham,

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

, Jason Fabok, and Tony Daniel. Single page artwork included work by Kelley Jones,

Mike Allred Michael Dalton "Mike" Allred (born 1962) is an American Comics artist, comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his Alternative comics, independent comics creation Madman (Mike Allred character), Madman and for co-creating and dra ...

, Patrick Gleason, and Jock.

2016–present

In February 2016, DC Comics announced that as part of the company's continuity relaunch called

DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...

, ''Detective Comics'' would resume its original numbering system with June 2016's issue #934. The 52 issues of ''Detective Comics'' volume 2 (2011–2016) were added to the original count of 881 issues from ''Detective Comics'' volume 1 (1937–2011), making ''Detective Comics'' #934 the premier issue following the end of the DC Rebirth initiative. The series was published twice-monthly. The creative team beginning with issue #934 included writer James Tynion IV and artists

Eddy Barrows Eduardo Barros (born October 29, 1974) is a Brazilian comic book artist, better known by his pen name of Eddy Barrows. He is best known for his work at DC Comics on such titles as ''Birds of Prey (comics), Birds of Prey'', ''Countdown to Adventure ...

and Alvaro Martinez. The series featured a team led by Batman and

(Kate Kane), operating out of a secondary base in the heart of Gotham known as the Belfry. Team members initially included Red Robin ( Tim Drake), Spoiler ( Stephanie Brown), Orphan (

Cassandra Cain Cassandra Cain (also known as Cassandra Wayne and Cassandra Wu-San) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandr ...

) and

(Basil Karlo), with Batwing (Luke Fox) and Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) later recruited as new members.

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara (), known mononymously as Zatanna, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (N ...

also briefly joins the team as a guest star in several issues. This status quo ended with the conclusion of Tynion's run on the series in issue #981, published May 2018. During the interim period without a permanent writer, Bryan Edward Hill wrote the story arc "On the Outside" starring Batman, Orphan,

Signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

and Black Lightning over issues #983–987 as a prelude to his ongoing series '' Batman and the Outsiders''. The next regular writer, Peter Tomasi, began on the series with issue #994, published December 2018. Tomasi's run as writer continued for two years until issue #1033, published December 2020. On March 27, 2019, DC Comics released the series' 1,000th issue, marking the second American comic book in history to reach that milestone after ''

'' in 2018. The issue, which coincided with Batman's 80th anniversary, is an anthology featuring several stories from a variety of different creative teams. Writer Mariko Tamaki began on the series with issue #1034 as part of the

Infinite Frontier Infinite Frontier is a 2021 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. It is the follow-up to the 2018 New Justice relaunch. The relaunch and event was shepherded by ...

line-wide relaunch. In April 2022, it was announced that Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque would serve as the new creative team starting with issue #1062.

Significant issues

First appearances

Notes

Collected editions

Volume 1 (1937–2011)

The ''Detective Comics'' series has been collected into a number of trade paperbacks and hardback collections.

Batman Archive editions

All DC Archive Editions are hardback only and printed on high quality archival paper.

Batman Chronicles

'' The Batman Chronicles'' series plans to reprint every Batman adventure in color, in chronological order, in affordable trade paperbacks. It is not to be confused with the now-finished series of the same name.

Showcase Presents

All ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' is a line (comics), line of black-and-white paperback books that were published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' ''Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually incl ...

'' collections are large (over 500 pages), softcover, black and white only reprints.

Celebration hardcovers

Starting in 2014, DC began releasing character retrospective anthologies, several of which feature issues of ''Detective Comics''

Tales of The Batman/Legends of the Dark Knight

These hardcover books reprint issues by particular creators and contain many issues of ''Detective Comics'', as well as other Batman titles.

Other editions

Many of these other editions are anthologies containing comics from titles other than ''Detective Comics''. Titles here are presented as close to chronologically as possible.

''
The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...
''

saw every DC Comics series collected in its entirety in trade paperback form. Notably, collected volumes of ''Detective Comics'' vol. 2 were published in hardcover editions first, with paperback editions being delayed until the release of the next hardcover volume. Material from ''Detective Comics'' vol. 2 was also included in several collections of crossover events, each printed in both hardcover and softcover. In each case, the material consisted of tie-ins to the main event.

''
DC Rebirth DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 (2011–2016) initiative in May 2016 as its launching point ...
'' to present

Volumes 1–5 were published with DC Rebirth trade dress on the cover. This was dropped from volume 6 onwards, coinciding with the end of "DC Rebirth" branding on the series from issue #970 onwards. Numbering on the collected editions was restarted from volume 1 with the start of Peter Tomasi's run as writer in issue #994. The first three volumes were published in hardcover editions first, before being reprinted in paperback.

''Millennium Editions''

In 2000 and 2001, DC reprinted several of its most notable issues in the '' Millennium Edition'' series. Seven issues of ''Detective Comics'' were reprinted in this format.''Millennium Edition: Detective Comics''
at the Grand Comics Database

References

External links

''Detective Comics''
at DC Comics official site
''Detective Comics''
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

* {{DC Rebirth, state=collapsed 1937 comics debuts 2011 comics endings 2011 comics debuts Comics magazines published in the United States DC Comics imprints DC Comics titles Comics anthologies Comics by Alan Grant (writer) Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Dennis O'Neil Comics by Doug Moench Comics by Ed Brubaker Comics by Gardner Fox Comics by Greg Rucka Comics by Len Wein Comics by Michael Fleisher Comics by Neal Adams Comics by Paul Dini Comics by Paul Kupperberg Comics by Peter J. Tomasi Comics by Steve Englehart Comics by Walt Simonson Golden Age comics titles Magazines established in 1937 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Magazines established in 2011