Batman (comic book)

Batman is an ongoing superhero comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the character of the same name as its protagonist. The character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939). Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940. It was first advertised in early April 1940, one month after the first appearance of his new sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder. Batman comics have proven to be popular since the 1940s.

Though the Batman comic book was launched as a quarterly publication, it later became a bimonthly series through the late 1950s, after which it became a monthly publication.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the original Batman series ended at issue #713 and was relaunched with a new first issue (cover dated November 2011). Batman (vol. 2) ran until issue #52.

In 2016, DC Comics began a new relaunch of its entire line of titles called DC Rebirth, which continued continuity from the New 52. The Batman comic book was relaunched again with a new #1 issue (August 2016) and placed on a twice-monthly release schedule. The series continued through the next major relaunch by DC Comics, called "Infinite Frontier", reverting to a monthly schedule with issue #106 (May 2021).

In September 2025, the series relaunched again under the DC All In initiative, though due to delays, the third volume continued publishing after the fourth had begun.

The character of Batman made his first appearance as the lead feature of the anthology series Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. The character's popularity in Detective Comics led the publisher to launch a new title entirely dedicated to stories about Batman – a step they had only taken previously once before, with the Superman series. Batman began publication in the spring of 1940, with stories written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Bob Kane, though Finger went uncredited for years thereafter. The first issue was published on April 24, 1940, containing four original stories introducing new characters who would become notable recurring villains of Batman's rogues gallery: two stories with the Joker, one with Hugo Strange and one with Catwoman. The series was published quarterly until issue #5 (Spring 1941), and bimonthly afterwards. Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family butler, was introduced in issue #16 (April–May 1943). In 2021, a near mint issue of Batman #1 was sold for over $2.2 million at Heritage Auctions, setting a record for the most expensive Batman comic sold.

Editor Whitney Ellsworth assigned a Batman story to artist Dick Sprang in 1941. Anticipating that Bob Kane would be drafted to serve in World War II, DC inventoried Sprang's work to safeguard against delays. Sprang's first published Batman work was the Batman and Robin figures on the cover of Batman #18 (Aug.-Sept. 1943), reproduced from the art for page 13 of the later-published Detective Comics #84 (Feb. 1944). Sprang's first original published Batman work, and first interior-story work, appeared in Batman #19 (Oct.-Nov. 1943), for which he drew the cover and the first three Batman stories, and penciled the fourth Batman story, inked by Norm Fallon. Like all Batman artists of the time, Sprang went uncredited as a ghost artist for Kane.

After issue #21 (Feb.-March 1944) the number of Batman stories per issue was reduced from four to three. Instead, a four-page backup feature The Adventures of Alfred began in issue #22 (April–May 1944) showing Alfred's comedic attempts to become a detective. The Adventures of Alfred ran in the pages of Batman until issue #36 (Aug.-Sept. 1946).