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crm/ow pgs, Coverless: 1st wrap, cf missing, 25th-28th pages missing, affects story, 2nd, 3rd, 4th wrap damaged. Incomplete
1st app. Dr. Death; 2nd Batman cover


The looming castle, the night gloom, the dark cape, the evil scientist —- the influence of pre-code horror cinema on Bob Kane's nocturnal creation is nowhere more evident than on this classic (and painfully rare) cover. It's no secret that top collectors have chased after the pre-Robin run of Detective #28-37 as some of the moodiest and most compelling Batman stories ever published. i>Detective #29 is one of the most difficult issues to obtain, as both Batman's second cover appearance and third appearance in the comics.

Kane's cover packs a powerful punch, too, portraying the Caped Crusader's first brawl with a proper supervillain. Dr. Karl Hellfern, aka Doctor Death, creates a powerful poison that he'll release upon Gotham City if the wealthiest citizens don't meet his demands. It's well documented that Batman stories took on a lighter tone as Robin came along and the hero moved into his own book. This issue, however, has Batman taking a bullet to the shoulder and other great pulp elements. The scarcity of these ground-zero Dark Knight Detective issues has collectors taking notice whenever these classics come up for auction.



Artists Information

Joseph Shuster was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, in Action Comics #1.

A celebrity comic artist of the Golden Age, co-created Batman and Robin with Bill Finger, as his brainchild became more in demand he hired an army of ghost artists to illustrate the dearth of Batman features on the market, but all were credited to Kane. His other achievements include the creation of Catwoman, Two-Face and cartoon character Courageous Cat. Kane was the object of some controversy for taking credit for the art and inspiration of others, but he was also undoubtedly an important figure in the history of comics. He published an updated version of his autobiography "Batman and Me: The Saga Continues" shortly before his death in 1998. He got his start at the Eisner/Iger studio and was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.