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Detective Comics Price Guide

Detective Comics price guide

Detective Comics is the longest continuously-published comic book in United States history.

This is almost certainly due to the fact that Detective introduced and provided the first regular monthly appearances of a certain Caped Crusader, of whom more later.

Don't miss the next part of this series, value of Batman Detective Comics #101-200.

In March of 1937, Detective made its first appearance.

The title began its life as an anthology series, mostly featuring just what the title and the times promised: detective stories of the 'hard-boiled' variety, with no superheroes, as such, appearing for the first 26 issues.

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Detective Comics #1: A Hard-Boiled Beginning

Detective Comics #1

Record Sale: $108,000
Minimum Value: $8,000

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Detective #1 is where it all began. It's an extremely rare comic book.

Everything has to start somewhere. While this issue, as explained above, does not contain any important first appearances of characters or key events in an important superhero's life, it is, above all else, the single comic with which DC Comics came together.

There are only 13 graded copies by CGC (unrestored) in any condition! The best known to date is CGC 6.5. A further 15 restored copies are known.

Detective Comics #2

Record Sale: $33,600
Minimum Value: $2,000

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Detective Comics #3

Record Sale: $22,800
Minimum Value: $1,500

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Detective Comics #4

Record Sale: $15,600
Minimum Value: $800

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Detective Comics #5

Record Sale: $6,000
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective Comics #6

Record Sale: $7,000
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #7

Record Sale: $15,600
Minimum Value: $250

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Detective Comics #8

Record Sale: $30,000
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective Comics #9

Record Sale: $10,800
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #10

Record Sale: $10,200
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective Comics #11

Record Sale: $5,100
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #12

Record Sale: $20,400
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #13

Record Sale: $6,300
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #14

Record Sale: $16,800
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #15

Record Sale: $12,000
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #16

Record Sale: $20,400
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #17

Record Sale: $19,750
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective Comics #18

Record Sale: $26,300
Minimum Value: $700

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Detective Comics #19

Record Sale: $13,800
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #20

Record Sale: $6,600
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective Comics #21

Record Sale: $9,000
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #22
1st Crimson Avenger cover

Record Sale: $7,000
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #23

Record Sale: $4,100
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #24

Record Sale: $16,700
Minimum Value: $250

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Detective Comics #25

Record Sale: $9,000
Minimum Value: $250

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Detective Comics #26

Record Sale: $7,800
Minimum Value: $400

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Detective Comics Price Guide: Batman Begins

Detective Comics #27
First appearance of Batman and Commissioner Gordon;
Second place in the World's Most Valuable Comic Books

Record Sale: $2,100,000
Minimum Value: $100,000

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Much has been said about the May, 1939 debut of Batman in Detective Comics #27. 

The fact that more than one copy of Detective #27 has broken the million dollar barrier pretty much trumps whatever else can be said about it.

Depending on whom you ask, it is either Detective #27 or Action #1 that is the most valuable comic book ever printed. (Action #1 currently holds the record, at $3.4m.)

Worth noting is that The Bat-Man, as he was still known at this juncture, is introduced here by his creator, Bob Kane, in an iconic cover illustration.

Detective Comics #28
2nd appearance of Batman

Record Sale: $66,000
Minimum Value: $5,000

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Detective Comics #29
Second Batman cover appearance

Record Sale: $276,000
Minimum Value: $5,000

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Detective Comics #30

Record Sale: $26,000
Minimum Value: $1,500

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Detective Comics #31
Classic cover

Record Sale: $175,000
Minimum Value: $20,000

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Detective Comics #32

Record Sale: $71,500
Minimum Value: $450

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Detective Comics #33
Origin of Batman

Record Sale: $288,000
Minimum Value: $10,000

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While any early Golden Age appearance of Batman is considered 'key', there are some that are "more key" than others, if that makes any sense.

One such is Detective #33, in which we are treated to the story of the Caped Crusader's origin, told via flashback as a prologue to the main story, all courtesy of the Golden Age Batman team extraordinaire, Finger and Kane.

Detective #33 is tremendously desirable to collectors, even in rough shape.

Detective Comics #34

Record Sale: $20,000
Minimum Value: $1,000

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Detective Comics #35
Classic hypodermic bondage cover

Record Sale: $120,000
Minimum Value: $3,500

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Detective Comics #36

Record Sale: $65,500
Minimum Value: $2,000

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Detective Comics #37

Record Sale: $63,000
Minimum Value: $2,000

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Detective Comics #38: First Appearance of Robin, the Boy Wonder

Detective Comics #38
Origin and First appearance of Robin

Record Sale: $107,500
Minimum Value: $10,000

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April, 1940's Detective #38 marks the first appearance of Batman's sidekick Robin, and of course, of Bruce Wayne’s youthful ward, Dick Grayson.

The Boy Wonder remains the most important sidekick in comic book history, and the high prices that even tattered copies of Detective #38 sell for is proof of that.

Bruce sees so much of his own story in young Dick's that he takes the boy on as his ward to raise him like a son, and takes him on as a crime-fighting partner.

Detective Comics #39

Record Sale: $13,000
Minimum Value: $1,200

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Detective Comics #40: First Appearance of  Clayface

Detective Comics #40
Origin and First Appearance of Clayface

Record Sale: $32,000
Minimum Value: $3,000

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Detective #40, from June, 1940, introduces one of the most often-recurring Batman villains, Clayface.

This issue is also notable, because it contains a full-page advertisement for Batman #1, which would hit the stands at around the same time, and which provided the Caped Crusader with two simultaneous starring titles of his own.

By now, Batman was on the cover of every issue of Detective, and while there were other, shorter features in each issue, it was clear who the star was.

Detective Comics #41

Record Sale: $14,000
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #42

Record Sale: $9,000
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #43

Record Sale: $20,400
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #44

Record Sale: $19,000
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #45

Record Sale: $7,500
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective Comics #46

Record Sale: $22,800
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #47

Record Sale: $4,200
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #48

Record Sale: $4,300
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #49

Record Sale: $3,875
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #50

Record Sale: $3,100
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #51

Record Sale: $7,200
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #52

Record Sale: $7,700
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #53

Record Sale: $6,900
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #54

Record Sale: $18,000
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #55

Record Sale: $2,800
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #56

Record Sale: $12,500
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #57

Record Sale: $3,100
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #58: First Appearance of The Penguin

Detective Comics #58

Record Sale: $40,800
Minimum Value: $3,000

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Love him or hate him, The Penguin is a key Batman villain, and his first appearance, in the pages of Detective #58, makes it a key issue.

As famous as he may be, The Penguin (real name Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is, for some reason, often regarded as 'silly' by the legions of fans who prefer the darker Batman villians (The Joker, Ra's al Ghul, etc.).

Either way, The Penguin's first appearance makes Detecive #58 valuable, and the story in which he debuts, One of the Most-Perfect Frame-Ups, by Finger and Kane, is classic Golden Age Batman.

See our guide to Batman vs Penguin comic book values here.

Detective Comics #59
2nd appearance of the Penguin

Record Sale: $13,200
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #60

Record Sale: $35,000
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #61

Record Sale: $7,700
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #62

Record Sale: $77,000
Minimum Value: $300

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Detective Comics #63

Record Sale: $7,200
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #64

Record Sale: $7,800
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #65

Record Sale: $18,000
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective #66: First Appearance of Harvey Dent/Two Face

Detective Comics #66

Record Sale: $85,000
Minimum Value: $4,000

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In this August, 1942 issue's lead story, The Crimes of Two-Face, Finger and Kane introduced Two-Face, aka Harvey Dent.

Even though in Detective #66, he is named, notably, Harvey Kent, which was later changed to avoid confusion with a certain Man of Steel's alter ego.

We are treated to Two-Face's origin story, in which crusading district attorney Harvey Kent is driven insane, after mob boss Sal Maroni throws acid at him during a trial, disfiguring half of his face.

Detective Comics #67
Classic Penguin cover

Record Sale: $16,800
Minimum Value: $250

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Detective Comics #68

Record Sale: $33,600
Minimum Value: $150

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Detective Comics #69
Classic Joker cover

Record Sale: $126,000
Minimum Value: $1,500

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Detective Comics #70

Record Sale: $5,300
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #71
Joker cover

Record Sale: $66,000
Minimum Value: $400

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Detective Comics #72

Record Sale: $5,400
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective #73 (March 1943): First Scarecrow Cover

Detective Comics #73

Record Sale: $57,600
Minimum Value: $500

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Detective #73 was not the first appearance of the villain known as the Scarecrow, but it was the first time that he would grace the cover of Detective Comics.

The Scarecrow  (University Professor Jonathan Crane, leading a life of crime to afford more rare books) may have been Batman's most frightening villain, or at least that was the idea.

He first appeared in World's Finest #3 in 1941, but by the time of Detective #73, he'd escaped from the prison cell the Caped Crusader had sent him to.

Detective #73 was written by Don Cameron and features art by Bob Kane, with a truly terrifying Bob Kane cover, in which the skeletal Scarecrow seems to have become 30 feet tall.

We have a full guide to Scarecrow Batman comics here.

Detective Comics #74

Record Sale: $8,300
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #75

Record Sale: $9,000
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #76

Record Sale: $20,400
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #77

Record Sale: $2,280
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #78

Record Sale: $10,200
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #79

Record Sale: $5,200
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #80

Record Sale: $8,300
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #81

Record Sale: $8,000
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #82

Record Sale: $4,080
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #83

Record Sale: $5,800
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #84

Record Sale: $3,500
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #85

Record Sale: $16,800
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #86

Record Sale: $4,600
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #87

Record Sale: $28,800
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #88

Record Sale: $5,520
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #89

Record Sale: $7,450
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #90

Record Sale: $13,200
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #91

Record Sale: $6,000
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #92

Record Sale: $5,500
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #93

Record Sale: $2,500
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #94

Record Sale: $8,700
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #95

Record Sale: $6,000
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #96

Record Sale: $5,500
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #97

Record Sale: $3,450
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective Comics #98

Record Sale: $6,600
Minimum Value: $100

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Detective #99 (May 1945): First Penguin Cover

Detective Comics #99

Record Sale: $16,000
Minimum Value: $200

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Detective #99 marked the first appearance of Oswald Cobblepot on the cover.

The self-styled "Gentleman of Crime" is unique in the world of super villains, and his strange appearance and demeanor have made him a fan favorite since his first appearance, in Detective #58, back in 1941.

Detective Comics #100

Record Sale: $2,900
Minimum Value: $80

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