Batman #1 Facsimile 2025

Reprinting the 1940 landmark issue: the Joker’s murderous debut across two stories (“The Joker” and “The Joker Returns”), where he announces crimes in advance, kills with a signature toxin, fakes his death, and comes back deadlier. It also introduces Catwoman—here called “the Cat”—in a yacht-set jewel heist that sparks her teasing, adversarial chemistry with Batman. A third tale pits Batman and Robin against Professor Hugo Strange, who unleashes monstrous “giants” created by a growth serum, prompting a ruthless Batplane counterattack. Across the issue you see the early, pulpy tone: lethal stakes, a harder-edged Batman, and the formative dynamics that would define Gotham’s mythology.