Comic Profile: Batman #1, Featuring the 1st Appearance of Catwoman and the Joker

batman-1

Release Date
May 1940
Overstreet 39 NM- Value
$215,000
Best Known Copy
Mile High/Edgar Church? If nicer than 9.0, it would be worth $350-500,000
Highest Unrestored CGC Grade
9.0
Record Price Paid
$280,000 in October 2001 at the MastroNet auction
Significance
1st appearance of Catwoman and the Joker. 1st Batman in his own title.
Why it's profiled
I think this book is unappreciated. The fact that it's one of the most plentiful Golden Age keys doesn't help its cachet, but the plain fact is, it features the two most significant first appearances in the entire Batman canon aside from Batman and Robin, themselves. For the public at large, Catwoman and the Joker are the Batman villains and even inside of comics only Ras al Ghul probably comes close to these two in terms of importance to Batman.

Personally, I also just fancy the cover. I love yellow Golden Age covers and this one is a great example. The bold primary yellow, the classic bat-symbol logo and the simple, but iconic swinging pair all come together to make for a historic, recognizable cover.

With the price of unrestored Detective 27s going crazy, Batman #1 might start to look like a nice little alternative. It's looking that way for me at least 🙂

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