BATMAN #1 Facsimile Edition (1940)

In this classic issue, the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder have their first encounters with the Clown Prince of Crime -- The Joker, in TWO separate stories! And here's a cruise-ship cat burglar known as the Cat, who would later be known as Catwoman! Plus, Hugo Strange returns with an army of mindless henchmen at his command. Will the Dark Knight triumph over Strange’s giants? Plus a 2-page recap of Batman's origin, and a 2-page "Meet the Artist, Bob Kane." All exactly as first published, even down to the oversized 7 1/2" x 10 1/2" size, larger than today's comics! Featuring all the original stories, backup features, and ads from 1940! Great printing on just the right paper to give the feeling of buying and holding the original 10-cent comic, right off the racks. The two Joker stories were originally intended for two separate issues of Detective Comics but they decided to run both here, so not only do we have a first issue, but the first TWO appearances of The Joker, who's driving up values wherever he's found in Golden Age issues. The Hugo Strange story was actually intended for a Detective issue before Robin came on the scene in #38...it features the last solo Batman story! Obviously National was merrily cranking along with stories intended for Detective Comics when the powers that be said, "Hey, this Batman is hot, let's give him his own comic." So they stole these from upcoming issues and quickly brought out the first solo Batman comic, then got the guys back onto more stories for Detective! An original copy of this, per Overstreet, could set you back $86,000 for a merely Good Condition copy...a Fine 6.0 copy, $259,000 !!! Here's the next best thing for a mere $9.99!