Batman comics hit 1,000th issue on 80th birthday
Holy milestones, Batman! Detective Comics, where the caped crusader debuted on March 30, 1939, will reach issue No. 1,000 on Wednesday, just days before the hero’s 80th birthday.
“It is evidence of the greatness and power of the Batman concept that the character has appeared continuously over eight decades,” Peter Sanderson, a comic book historian, said.
“Growing up, I saw versions of Batman in comics and on TV, but one of the great leaps forward was Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, a four-part story that presented an older version of the hero coming out of retirement to protect Gotham City.”
Miller’s vision of Batman helped pave the way for Tim Burton’s Batman, starring Michael Keaton, perhaps the first time that fans’ love of the comics was less childish and more socially acceptable.
Since then, there had been many film Batmen — his onscreen incarnations have oscillated between campy (Joel Schumacher) and dignified (Christopher Nolan) — but his guiding principle has remained the same.
“Batman never gives up on his mission to protect the innocent from evil,” Sanderson said.
Detective Comics No. 1,000, a 96-page issue, has several stories by a boldface slate of creators.
The first, Batman’s Longest Case, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, recalls his first adventure. It also introduces the Detective Guild, some of whose members had extensive solo stories in Detective, including Slam Bradley (12 years), Martian Manhunter (nine years) and Elongated Man (five years).
“The richness, variety and popularity of these backups contributed to Detective’s success and longevity,” said Richard Roney, who researched and extolled these supporting characters.