ow/white pgs
1st appearance of Batman; Bob Kane cover and art; one of the top three most important comics ever published! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
Rockford Copy
Detective Comics #27 hit the newsstands in March 1939 with the first appearance of
Batman — just 11 months after the debut of
Superman in
Action Comics #1. Both issues would become major works of pop culture, and still continually set new records at auction.
The contents of this classic
Detective are just as notable. “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” introduces readers to both the Dark Knight and wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, as co-creators
Bob Kane and Bill Finger also establish the crimefighter’s relationship with Commissioner Jim Gordon. The story is notable as a time capsule of Batman’s debt to pulp heroes, with Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego happy to throw thugs from rooftops or grimly approve of a murderer’s demise in an acid bath. The seemingly carefree socialite is even revealed as our hero in the final panels, continuing a tradition going back to Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Of course, debut appearances and first issues carry their own impact as investments. 2023 saw a copy of
Superman #1 7.0 sell at auction for $1.62 million, and
Detective Comics #27 and
Batman #1 have over a decade of consistent record-breaking sales. With (at least) seven Batman-related film and television projects in development at the end of 2024, copies of
Detective Comics #27 are set to maintain their value as a comic collectible and pop-culture artifact.
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It is important to keep in mind that this Detective Comics #27 (as well as all books in this auction) carries NO buyer's premium. This makes a huge difference when investing at this level.
Here, Batman swings into action for the first time, and as a result, we have one of the most desirable and valuable comic books to own and, historically, one of the most-important comics ever printed. An enduring part of American entertainment history, Batman has a darker, more hard-boiled personality than Superman, adding mystique to the superhero concept that has been widely imitated ever since, but never replicated. After Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics, the series shifted focus from its erstwhile adventure anthology format to feature the brooding vigilante.
Overstreet Guide 2017 FN (6.0) value = $450,000.
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Artist InformationJoseph 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.