.
Detective Comics was the final publication of the entrepreneur
Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, whose comics company, National Allied Publications, evolved 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 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 comic strips and comic-strip-style new material. His second effort,
New Comics #1, was 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 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 and a principal in the magazine distributorship
Independent News. Wheeler-Nicholson took Donenfeld on as a partner to publish
Detective Comics #1 with Wheeler-Nicholson and
Jack Liebowitz, Donenfeld's
accountant, 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-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). Early issues of the series have been criticized for their racism and xenophobia.
Batman / Bruce Wayne ), the first appearance of the Riddler. Art by
Win Mortimer.
Detective Comics #27 (released March 1939, with a
cover date of May 1939) marked the
first appearance of
Batman. 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 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." 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 co-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 (Dec. 1961). In 1964,
Julius Schwartz was made responsible for reviving the fading 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, from the
William Dozier produced TV series,
Barbara Gordon as a new version of
Batgirl in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in issue #359 (Jan. 1967).
Mike Friedrich 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 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. 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 with writer
Frank Robbins 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 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 film and was 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 the bureaucrats who try to explain to him 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 (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", 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 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 (Feb. 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". Writer
Alan Grant and artist
Norm Breyfogle introduced the
Ventriloquist in their first Batman story together and the
Ratcatcher in their third (#585).
Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for
Tim Burton's
Batman, wrote the "Blind Justice" story in
Detective Comics issues #598–600.
Chuck Dixon 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 character in issue #751 (Dec. 2000). Issue #800 (Jan. 2005) was written by
Andersen Gabrych and drawn by
Pete Woods. Paul Dini became the writer of the series as of issue #821 (Sept. 2006) and created a new version of the
Ventriloquist in #827 (March 2007).
Scott Snyder 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 became the back-up feature starting with issue #521 (Dec. 1982) and running until #567 (Oct. 1986). The
Black Canary received a new costume in the back-up story in issue #554 (Sept. 1985).
DC Comics Bonus Books 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 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
Green Arrow 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
Walt Simonson.
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,
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 an initiative called
The New 52. 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 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 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
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,
Harley Quinn, the
Scarecrow, and the
Man-Bat, 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,
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.
2016–present at a 2019 signing for the series' 1,000th issue at
Midtown Comics in Manhattan In February 2016, DC Comics announced that as part of the company's continuity relaunch called
DC Rebirth,
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 and Alvaro Martinez. The series featured a team led by Batman and
Batwoman (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) and
Clayface (Basil Karlo), with
Batwing (Luke Fox) and
Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) later recruited as new members.
Zatanna 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,
Katana 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
Action Comics in 2018. The issue, which coincided with Batman's 80th anniversary, is an anthology featuring several stories from a variety of different creative teams. 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==