Detective Comics

Detective Comics is the title used for two American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1937 to 2011, which was best known for introducing the superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939), and a second series of the same title that launched in the fall of 2011. It is the source of its publishing company's name and with Action Comics, the comic book launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series. Its original series published 881 issues between 1937 and 2011, and was the longest continuously published comic book in the United States.

Publication history

Detective Comics was the final publication of the entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, whose comics company, National Allied Publications, would evolve into DC Comics, 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 February 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 comic strips and comic-strip-style new material. His second effort, New Comics #1, would be retitled twice to become 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 would be 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 and a principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News. Wheeler-Nicholson took Donenfeld on as a partner in order to publish Detective Comics #1 through the newly formed Detective Comics, Inc., with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfeld's accountant, listed as owners. Wheeler-Nicholson was forced out a year later.

Originally an anthology comic, in the manner of the times, Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) featured stories in the "hard-boiled detective" genre, with such stars as Ching Lung (a Fu Manchu-style "yellow peril" villain); Slam Bradley (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster before their character Superman saw print two years later); and Speed Saunders, among others. Its first editor, Vin Sullivan, also drew the debut issue's cover. The Crimson Avenger debuted in issue #20 (October 1938).

Batman

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) featured the first appearance of Batman. That superhero would eventually become 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 widely considered one of 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 (November 1939). Batman became the main cover feature of the title beginning with issue #35 (January 1940). Issue #38 (April 1940) introduced Batman's sidekick 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 fans and historians call the Golden Age of Comic Books. Several of Batman's best known villains debuted in the pages of Detective Comics during this era including the Penguin in issue #58, Two-Face in issue #66, and the Riddler in issue #140.

Batwoman first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956) Since the family formula had proven very successful for the Superman franchise, editor Jack Schiff suggested to Batman creator, Bob Kane, that he create one for the Batman. A female was chosen first, to offset the charges made by Fredric Wertham that Batman and Robin were homosexual. Writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff introduced Bat-Mite in issue #267 (May 1959) and Clayface in #298 (December 1961).

In 1964, Julius Schwartz was made responsible for reviving the faded Batman titles. Writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino 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, and Infantino introduced Barbara Gordon as a new version of Batgirl in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in issue #359 (January 1967).

Writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams had their first collaboration on Batman on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" in issue #395 (January 1970). The duo, under the direction of Schwartz, would revitalize 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. 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 Man-Bat with writer Frank Robbins in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970). O'Neil and artist Bob Brown 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 #435â€"#445 (June/July 1973 â€" Feb./March 1975). O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano 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 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 Batman movie and would be adapted for the 1990s animated 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 on them, only to start killing bureaucrats who try to explain that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible. Writer Len Wein and Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain Clayface in Detective Comics #478 (July-Aug. 1978). From issue #481 (December 1978-January 1979) through #495 (October 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", 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 (Juneâ€"July 1979) The original Batwoman was killed in the lead story in issue #485 (Augustâ€"September 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 character The Shadow. 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 and followed up by Doug Moench. The supervillain Killer Croc made a shadowy cameo in issue #523 (February 1983). Noted author Harlan Ellison wrote the Batman story in issue #567.

Writer Mike W. Barr and artists Alan Davis and Todd McFarlane crafted the "Batman: Year Two" storyline in Detective Comics #575-578 which followed up on Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One". Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for Tim Burton's Batman, wrote the "Blind Justice" story in Detective Comics issues #598-600. 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. Issue #800 (January 2005) was written by Andersen Gabrych and drawn by Pete Woods.

Scott Snyder became the writer of Detective Comics with issue #871 (January 2011).

Backup features

In addition to the Batman stories, the title has had numerous back-up strips. The Boy Commandos by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby 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 (November 1949). The Martian Manhunter 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. After issue #326, the Martian Manhunter was moved to House of Mystery and in #327 the Elongated Man and his wife, now remodeled after Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, took over. The characters crossed over with Batman three times. The Elongated Man run lasted until #383 (January 1969) and his feature returned sporadically 15 times until #572, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the title by teaming him up with Batman, Robin, Slam Bradley and Sherlock Holmes against Edgar Moriarty. After the Elongated Man backup feature ended, Batgirl held the role until #424. After moving her to Batman Family, she was returned from #481 to #519. Jason Bard appeared as the backup feature in the odd-numbered issues of Detective from #425 though #435. Manhunter was resurrected in a story by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson 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. Green Arrow became the backup feature starting with issue #521 (Dec. 1982) and running until #567 (Oct. 1986) Black Canary received a new costume in the back-up story in issue #554 (September 1985). DC Comics Bonus Books were included in issues #589 (August 1988) and #595 (January 1989).

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 Walt Simonson.

Batwoman

In 2009, as part of planned reorganization of the Batman universe due to the events shown in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, 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) Batwoman 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 The New 52. The series was written and drawn by Tony Daniel until the twelfth 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 which had seven printings. The series seventh issue was also DC Comic's sixth 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 would reach the number one spot on The New York Times Best Seller list in the category of "Hardcover Graphic Books".

Daniel wrote and penciled the series until the Night of the Owls crossover, at which point Ed Benes, 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 Two-Face, which was written by Daniel and illustrated by Syzmon Kudranski, this followed a similar backup featuring 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 star Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, and Man-Bat, and respectively being numbered #23.1, #23.2, #23.3, and #23.4. John Layman and Jason Fabok are not contracted for these issues and are instead replaced 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, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy, Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram, John Layman and Jason Fabok, Gregg Hurwitz and Neal Adams, 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, Jason Fabok, and Tony Daniel. Single page artwork included work by Kelley Jones, Mike Allred, Patrick Gleason, and Jock.

Character debuts

Notes

1. ^ Action Comics amassed more individual issues, 904 in total, despite launching a year after Detective due to 42 issues (#601-642) in 1988â€"89 that were published weekly, and because of Detective Comics '​ bimonthly run from 1973 to 1975. The American record-holder for most issues published is Dell Comics' Four Color series, which amassed more than 1,300 issues over a 23-year run.
2. ^ There was a shadowy cameo in Detective Comics #523 (February 1983) and his first full appearance is credited to Batman #357 (March 1983)

Collected editions

Volume One

The Detective Comics series has been collected into a number of trade paperbacks:

• Batman Archives (eight volumes):
  • Vol. 1, collects #27â€"50, November 1997, ISBN 978-0-930289-60-7
  • Vol. 2, collects #51â€"70, November 1997, ISBN 978-1-56389-000-0
  • Vol. 3, collects #71â€"86, November 1997, ISBN 978-1-56389-099-4
  • Vol. 4, collects #87â€"102, December 1998, ISBN 978-1-56389-414-5
  • Vol. 5, collects #103â€"119, April 2001, ISBN 978-1-56389-725-2
  • Vol. 6, collects #120â€"135, August 2005, ISBN 978-1-4012-0409-9
  • Vol. 7, collects #136â€"154, November 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1493-7
  • Vol. 8, collects #155-171, July 2012, ISBN 978-1401233761
• The Batman Chronicles (eleven volumes):
  • Vol. 1, collects #27â€"38 and Batman #1, April 2005, ISBN 978-1-4012-0445-7
  • Vol. 2, collects #39â€"45, Batman #2â€"3, and The New York World's Fair Comics #2, September 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-0790-8
  • Vol. 3, collects #46â€"50, Batman #4â€"5, and World's Best Comics #1, May 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1347-3
  • Vol. 4, collects #51â€"56, Batman #6â€"5, and World's Finest Comics #2â€"3, October 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1462-3
  • Vol. 5, collects #57â€"61, Batman #8â€"9, and World's Finest Comics #4, April 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1682-5
  • Vol. 6, collects #62â€"65, Batman #10â€"11, and World's Finest Comics #5â€"6, October 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1961-1
  • Vol. 7, collects #66â€"70, Batman #12â€"13, and World's Finest Comics #7, March 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2134-8
  • Vol. 8, collects #71â€"74, Batman #14â€"15, and World's Finest Comics #8â€"9, October 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2484-4
  • Vol. 9, collects #75â€"77, Batman #16â€"17, and World's Finest Comics #10, March 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2645-9
  • Vol. 10, collects #78â€"81, Batman #18â€"19, and World's Finest Comics #11, December 2010 ISBN 978-1-4012-2895-8
  • Vol. 11, collects #82-85, Batman #20-21, and World's Finest Comics #12, January 2013 ISBN 978-1-4012-3739-4
• Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives (two volumes):
  • Vol. 1, collects #327â€"333 and Batman #164â€"167, March 2003, ISBN 978-1-56389-932-4
  • Vol. 2, collects #334â€"339 and Batman #168â€"171, June 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-0772-4
• Showcase Presents: Batman (four volumes):
  • Vol. 1, collects #327â€"342 and Batman #164â€"174, August 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-1086-1
  • Vol. 2, collects #343â€"358 and Batman #175â€"186, June 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1362-6
  • Vol. 3, collects #359â€"375 and Batman #189â€"202, July 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1719-8
  • Vol. 4, collects #376â€"390 and Batman #202â€"215, July 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2314-4
  • Vol. 5, collects #391â€"407 and Batman #216-228, December 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3236-8
• Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter (two volumes)
  • Vol. 1, Collects #225-304, July 2007, ISBN 978-1401213688
  • Vol. 2, Collects #305-326, May 2009, ISBN 978-1401222567
• Showcase Presents Robin, the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 collects Robin stories from #386, 390, 394-395, 398-403, 445, 447, 450-451, January 2008, ISBN 978-1401216764
• Showcase Presents Batgirl Vol. 1 collects Batgirl stories from #359, 363, 369, 371, 384-385, 388-389, 392-393, 396-397, 400-401, 404-424, July 2007, ISBN 978-1401213671
• Showcase Presents Enemy Ace Vol. 1 includes Enemy Ace story from #404, February 2008, ISBN978-1401217211
• Manhunter: The Special Edition, collects Manhunter backup stories from #437â€"442 and the Batman/Manhunter crossover in #443, Manhunter #1, and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #100, June 1999, ISBN 978-1-56389-374-2
• Tales of the Batman: Archie Goodwin collects the Batman stories from #437-438 and 440-442, the Manhunter stories from #437-442, and the Batman/Manhunter team-up from #443; Detective Comics Annual #3; Showcase '95 #11; Batman Black and White #1 and 4; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #132-136; and the Batman: Night Cries graphic novel, 480 pages, July 2013, ISBN 978-1401238292
• Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers, collects #468, 471-476, 478-479, 481; DC Special Series #15; Secret Origins #6; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #132-136; and Batman: Dark Detective #1-6, 496 pages, November 2011, ISBN 978-1401232276
• Batman: Strange Apparitions, collects #469â€"476, #478â€"479, December 1999, ISBN 978-1-56389-500-5
• Tales of the Batman: Don Newton, collects #480, 483â€"497; Batman #305â€"306, 328; and The Brave and the Bold #153, 156 and 165, 360 pages, December 2011, ISBN 978-1401232948
• Tales of the Batman: Gene Colan, Volume One, collects #517, 520, 523, 528-529 and Batman #340, 343â€"345, 348â€"351, 288 pages, August 2011, ISBN 978-1401231019
• DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, includes #549â€"550: "Night Olympics" by Alan Moore and Klaus Janson, featuring Green Arrow and Black Canary, January 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-0927-8
• Batman: Year Two, collects #575â€"578, January 1990, ISBN 978-0-930289-49-2
• Batman: Blind Justice, collects #598â€"600, May 2005, ISBN 978-1-56389-047-5
• Batman: Anarky, collects #608â€"609, Batman Chronicles #1, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #40â€"41, and Anarky #1â€"4, February 1999, ISBN 978-1-56389-437-4
• Batman: Evolution, collects #743â€"750, August 2001, ISBN 978-1-56389-726-9
• Batman: The Man Who Laughs, collects #784â€"786 and Batman: The Man Who Laughs (one-shot), February 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-1626-9, hardcover: January 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1622-1
• Batman: War Drums, collects #790â€"796 and Robin (vol. 2) #126â€"128, October 2004, ISBN 978-1-4012-0341-2
• Batman: City of Crime, collects #800â€"808, #811â€"814, July 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-0897-4
• Batman: Face the Face, collects #817â€"820 and Batman #651â€"654, September 2006, ISBN 978-1-4012-0910-0
• Batman: Detective, collects #821â€"826, April 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1239-1
• Batman: Death and the City, collects #827â€"834, November 2007, ISBN 978-1-4012-1575-0
• Batman: Private Casebook, collects #840â€"845 and DC Infinite Halloween Special, November 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2015-0 hardcover: December 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-2009-9
• Batman: Heart of Hush, collects #846â€"850, March 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2124-9 hardcover: April 2009, ISBN 978-1-4012-2123-2
• Batwoman: Elegy, collects #854â€"860, June 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3146-0 hardcover: July 2010, ISBN 978-1-4012-2692-3
• Batman: Impostors, collects #867â€"870, August 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3144-6
• Batman: The Black Mirror collects #871â€"881, November 2011, ISBN 978-1-4012-3206-1

Volume Two

• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death, hardcover, collects vol. 2 #1â€"7, June 2012, ISBN 1-4012-3466-6
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 2: Scare Tactics, hardcover, collects vol. 2 #8â€"12, #0, Annual #1, April 2013
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 3: Emperor Penguin, hardcover, collects vol. 2 #13-18, November 2013
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 4: The Wrath, hardcover, collects vol. 2 #19â€"24, Annual #2, June 2014
• Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 5: Gothopia, hardcover, collects vol. 2 #25-29, November 2014

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.

References

Further reading

• Jones, Gerard (2004). Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-03657-0. 

External links

• DC Comics official site
• Detective Comics at the Grand Comics Database
• Detective Comics at the Comic Book DB
• Detective Comics at the Big Comic Book DataBase