| Issue | #1 |
| Published | Spring 1940 |
| Frequency | quarterly |
| Cover Price | 0.10 USD |
| Pages | 68 |
| Editing | Whitney Ellsworth |
| Notes | Indicia: Batman No. 1 * Spring 1940 Issue Published quarterly by DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, N. Y. |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson] |
| Genre | superhero |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (backgrounds) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | The background inks credit was verified by Robinson. |
| Reprinted | in Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971 series) #73-168329; in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5; in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn; in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1 |
| Synopsis | Ad for winning prizes from the Crowell-Collier Publishing Co., Springfield Ohio. |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | Inside front cover. Also includes indicia. |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne] (origin); Thomas Wayne; Martha Wayne; Joe Chill (unnamed) |
| Synopsis | Bruce Wayne's parent are murdered by a cheap crook, and young Bruce vows to avenge their deaths by warring on all criminals. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Bill Finger |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Sheldon Moldoff (backgrounds) |
| Letters | Sheldon Moldoff |
| Notes | Synopsis added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. The background inks and letters credits were verified by Moldoff. |
| Reprinted | from Detective Comics (DC, 1937 series) #34 (December 1939) [splash panel]; from Detective Comics (DC, 1937 series) #33 (November 1939) [rest of story]; in Great Comic Book Heroes, The (Dial Press, 1965 series) #nn; in Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971 series) #73-168329; in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1976 series) #nn; in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001); in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1 |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Henry Claridge (Death); Jay Wilde (Death); Judge Drake (Death); The Joker (Villain; Intro); Brute Nelson (Death) |
| Synopsis | Batman faces a new criminal who succeeds in killing famous men and stealing their prized possessions, leaving them all with "a smile" on their face! |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Bill Finger |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (see notes) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (backgrounds) |
| Letters | Jerry Robinson |
| Notes | First line: "Once again a master criminal stalks the city streets -- a criminal weaving a web of death about him..." There is an earlier chronological appearance (and origin) of the Joker in Detective Comics #168. Synopsis added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. Robinson verified with Gary Watson in July 2009 that he did some penciling (including the Joker's card on the splash page specifically), in addition to the background inks and lettering he already confirmed. |
| Reprinted | in Great Comic Book Heroes, The (Dial Press, 1965 series) #nn; in Batman from the Thirties to the Seventies (Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971 series) #73-168329; in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told, The (DC, 1988 series) #nn ([December] 1988); in Batman: The Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001); in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1; in Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, The (2008 series) #[nn] |
| Characters | Major Bigsbe; Botts |
| Synopsis | Having bought the Bar Q Ranch, Major Bigsbe decides to celebrate by shootin' off his pistols...and lands in jail! |
| Genre | western; humor |
| Script | Paul Gustavson (signed) |
| Pencils | Paul Gustavson (signed) |
| Inks | Paul Gustavson (signed) |
| Letters | Paul Gustavson |
| Notes | Letterer credit added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001) |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Professor Hugo Strange (Villain); unamed monsters (Villain; Death); the Batplane |
| Synopsis | The Batman faces an arch criminal who has invented a serum to create a race of giant monsters, and nearly becomes one of them himself! |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Bill Finger |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (backgrounds) |
| Letters | Jerry Robinson |
| Notes | First line: "While an innocent metropolis sleeps little does it realize that huge, terrifying man-monsters shall soon stalk the streets..." This story was originally prepared for Detective Comics #38, but with the introduction of Robin in that issue, the story [sans Robin] was published here. Oddity: Machine guns are mounted on the Batplane, which are used to kill. Synopsis added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. The background inks and letters credits were verified by Robinson. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (DC, 1988 series) #nn [1]; in Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (DC, 1989 series) #nn [1]; in Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, The (Warner Books, 1989 series) #nn; in Batman: the Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001); in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1 |
| Characters | The Chief; Terry Gallant |
| Synopsis | Detective Terry Gallant proves to his Chief that the late Barton Barlow had killed himself with a gun in a most mysterious way. |
| Genre | crime |
| Script | Guy Monroe (signed) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | Synopsis and characters added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001) |
| Characters | Bob Kane (photo) |
| Synopsis | Biography of Batman creator Bob Kane. |
| Genre | Fact |
| Script | Whitney Ellsworth (signed as The Editor) |
| Pencils | ? (photo) |
| Inks | ? (photo) |
| Colors | ? (photo shaded in magenta) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | First line: "Readers, meet Bob Kane, creator of THE BATMAN!" |
| Reprinted | In Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975) |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; John Travers; Martha Travers; The Cat [Selina Kyle; also as Miss Peggs] (Villain); Denny |
| Synopsis | Batman and Robin take a trip aboard an exclusive yacht in order to prevent the theft of the Travers necklace at the hands of the Cat! |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Bill Finger |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (backgrounds) |
| Letters | Jerry Robinson |
| Notes | First line: "Among the guests walks a young steward..." The Cat was later renamed Cat-Woman or Catwoman in next issue; earlier chronological appearance was in issue #52 and in Brave and the Bold #197. Synopsis added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. The background inks and letters credits were verified by Robinson. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Batman: the Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001); in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1 |
| Characters | Superman; Sandman; Ultra-Man; Spectre; Flash; Batman |
| Synopsis | Illustrated promotional ad for Action Comics, Adventure Comics, Detective Comics, More Fun Comics, Flash Comics, and All-American Comics, and their headline features. |
| Genre | superhero; science fiction |
| Pencils | ? (various) |
| Inks | ? (various) |
| Letters | ?; typeset |
| Notes | Sequence and all information added by Craig Delich 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 |
| Characters | Lt. Bill Wayne; von Berket (villain; death) |
| Synopsis | Inventor Doctor Synce gets Navy flier Wayne to fly secret plans from Pensacola, Florida to the coast, when the pilot runs up against an old adversary and ace from years before. |
| Genre | adventure |
| Script | George Shute (signed) |
| Pencils | Raymond Perry |
| Inks | Raymond Perry |
| Colors | Raymond Perry |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | Colorist added by Craig Delich on 2006-09-24. Synopsis and characters added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001) |
| Characters | Ginger Snap; Uncle Zep |
| Synopsis | Uncle Zep takes Ginger to the soda shop for a soda, but ends up drinking way too many himself! |
| Genre | gag |
| Script | Bob Kane (signed) [as Ted Raye] |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) [as Ted Raye] |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed) [as Ted Raye] |
| Letters | Bob Kane ? |
| Notes | Synopsis and characters added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001) |
| Characters | Jack Dempsey |
| Synopsis | Contains facts about boxer Jack Dempsey, kangaroos and "greetings and salutations." |
| Genre | fact |
| Pencils | George Papp [signed as Geo. Papp] |
| Inks | George Papp [signed as Geo. Papp] |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001) |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; James Gordon; Chief of Police Chalmers (Death); Edgar Martin (Death); The Joker (Villain) |
| Synopsis | The Joker escapes from prison to continue his rampage of death and to steal the famed Cleopatra necklace and Fire Ruby. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Script | Bill Finger |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed); Jerry Robinson (backgrounds) |
| Letters | Jerry Robinson |
| Notes | First line: "Once again that harlequin of hate..the Joker..brings grinning death to a terrified people..." As recounted in various sources, the Joker was supposed to die of his stab wound at the end of the story, but the editors decided this villain was too good to kill off, so the last panels were re-drawn to show him surviving. The last panel of the story, titled "Golden Rules for Robin's Regulars", introduces readers to "Robin's Code" of conduct. Synopsis added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. The background inks and letters credits were verified by Robinson. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Batman: the Dark Knight Archives (DC, 1992 series) #1; in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn (February 2001); in Batman Chronicles, The (DC, 2005 series) #1 |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]; Clayface |
| Synopsis | Promotional ad for Detective Comics #40, whose cover is shown here. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Jerry Robinson |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | Sequence and all information added by Craig Delich on 2008-10-30. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 |
| Letters | ?; typeset |
| Notes | Advertisement for making your own records at home, from Home Recording Company, New York, N.Y. Appears on the inside back cover. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975) |
| Characters | Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson] |
| Synopsis | Pin-up of Batman & Robin. |
| Genre | superhero |
| Pencils | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Inks | Bob Kane (signed) |
| Notes | Found on the back cover. Made to cut out and frame. |
| Reprinted | in Famous First Edition (DC, 1974 series) #F-5 (February-March 1975); in Millennium Edition: Batman No. 1 (DC, 2001 series) #nn |