| Detective Comics #27 | |
|---|---|
.png) Cover ofDetective Comics #27 (May 1939) byBob Kane | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | March 30, 1939 (on sale)[1] May 1939 (cover date) |
Detective Comics #27 is anAmerican comic book of theDetective Comicsanthology series known for debuting thesuperheroBatman in a featured story called "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" during theGolden Age of Comic Books. It is considered one of the most important and valuablefirst appearance debuts fromDC Comics alongsideAction Comics #1, released the previous year. In addition to the debut of Batman,Detective Comics #27 included several other stories featuring established and original characters. These features represented the range of genres covered by the anthology series at the time, including crime, espionage, western, and mystery fiction.
A man named Lambert has been stabbed to death. Lambert had three other business partners: Steven Crane, Alfred Stryker and Paul Rogers. His son'sfingerprints have been found on the knife.Commissioner Gordon investigates, bringing with him his friend,socialite Bruce Wayne. Lambert's son asserts his fingerprints got on the blade while he pulled it from his father's neck. Crane calls to say that Lambert had received an anonymous death threat the previous day. Crane himself received one today. Wayne departs, saying that he is going home. By the time the police go to Crane's house, they find him dead by gunshot.
Crane's murderer meets his accomplice and shows him the contract he stole. A masked figure called "the Bat-Man" appears, wins out in combat, and has a look at the contract.
Rogers goes to Stryker's house after hearing about the murders on the radio. Stryker's assistant, Jennings, forces Rogers into a bell-shapedgas chamber to kill him. The Bat-Man arrives, defeats Jennings and saves Rogers. Stryker reveals himself to have killed Lambert and Crane's murderer. He attacks Rogers, but the Bat-Man subdues him. The Bat-Man reveals that Stryker killed the others in order totake over the Apex Chemical Corporation. He hired murderers to kill his business partners and steal the secret contracts he had signed with the victims. After attempting to kill the Bat-Man, the latter knocks him into an acid tank where he is killed. The Bat-Man says "A fitting end for his kind", before disappearing through an open skylight.
The next day, Commissioner Gordon talks to Wayne and tells him about the Bat-Man's caper. Wayne feigns incredulity, but it is revealed to the reader that he is in fact the Bat-Man.
Having significance as Batman's first published adventure, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" has been remade several times. In 1969, the thirtieth anniversary of the story, an update written byMike Friedrich was published inDetective Comics #387 with art byBob Brown andJoe Giella. The story, entitled "The Cry of Night is -- Sudden Death!", modernized the story and introduced an element ofgenerational gap, playing on a small aspect of the original in which the victim's son was suspected of the crime.
Another remake appeared inSecret Origins #6 (1986) byRoy Thomas andMarshall Rogers, more closely mirroring the original's plot, with updated art.
Detective Comics #627 was a special issue including four different versions of the story. It contained the 1939 original, the 1969 update (retitled "The Cry of Night is -- Kill!"), and two new takes on the story, one byMarv Wolfman andJim Aparo, and another byAlan Grant andNorm Breyfogle.
Brad Meltzer wrote an updated version of this story with art byBryan Hitch forThe New 52'sDetective Comics volume 2 #27 which was released in January 2014 as part of Batman's 75th anniversary.[2] The plot and characters are largely the same, but with atwist ending implying Stryker becomes theJoker after falling into the vat of acid.
Speed Saunders is called in to investigate a corpse recovered from the river. On the body he finds a letter bearing the symbol of a red crescent moon. He visits Trelawney, an expert in Eastern lore, who is hosting a party. Trelawney reveals he had once infiltrated the secretive cult known as the Killers of Kurdistan during a trip to Arabia with a friend named Tom, now deceased. During the party, Trelawney is shot in the back and dies. Speed seals off the building, and with the help of local police, tracks down a suspect named Hassan, who dies after confessing to the murder. He reveals he was coerced by a mysterious woman known as the Veiled Prophetress. She is later apprehended.
Buck Marshall, a range detective, is drawn into a murder investigation after a rider named Matt Doyle reports the killing of his boss, Jerry Kane. At the Box-K ranch, Marshall determines the body has been moved. He confronts Jack Stark, foreman of a nearby outfit, after discovering a suspicious black cartridge. Stark attempts to arm himself, but is arrested. He confesses that Kane was executed for betraying a cattle rustling ring.
Bart Regan, an agent of the U.S. Spy Service, is tasked with protecting a congressional committee after its members begin dying of unexplained internal hemorrhages. Regan witnesses one death, narrowly avoids another, and determines the cause to be poison released by dissolving cellulose capsules hidden in food. After a confrontation with the agents responsible, Regan dismantles the spy ring and prevents further assassinations.
TheCrimson Avenger investigates the murder of a nightclub owner named Abe Gold at the Oceanic Line Docks. A man named Beard is hospitalized following a car crash but is kidnapped by imposters posing as ambulance personnel. Lee Travis suspects Beard had evidence of Gold's murder and finds a camera with missing film. As the Crimson Avenger, he raids multiple criminal hideouts and confronts Mike Moran, the ringleader. Moran attempts bribery with a check made out to the Avenger, which is later donated anonymously to charity.
Bruce Nelson visits his friend Ed Lane in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. They investigate the voodoo-related murder of a woman named Lili Garvet, discovering her body amid ritual paraphernalia. Lane is nearly killed by poison gas released from an ashtray. Nelson detects the trap and saves him, continuing the investigation into possible supernatural or ritualistic motives.
An adaptation ofSax Rohmer's pulp novels.Denis Nayland Smith warns Reverend Eltham of threats against him and his daughter Greba. Greba reports seeing eerie green eyes outside her window. Smith suspects the involvement ofFu Manchu, a recurring villain in pulp literature. The installment focuses on growing tension and investigative buildup.
Cosmo, the Phantom of Disguise goes undercover to investigate a Chinese immigrant smuggling operation. Disguised as a language student, he infiltrates a secret transport network using coal barges to bring people ashore. Discovered, Cosmo defeats multiple attackers and alerts the Coast Guard. The story concludes with Cosmo revealing his identity to local authorities who had mistaken him for a criminal.
Slam Bradley, created byJerry Siegel andJoe Shuster, takes a break from manhunting with his partnerShorty Morgan. They meet federal agent Dick Kelly, who was recently kidnapped by Blackjack Benson. Later, Blackjack escapes death row with help from his brother Helger. Bradley and Shorty travel to Switzerland, survive an assassination attempt, and track the gang to a cave hideout. A final battle ensues, ending in Blackjack’s recapture and execution.
Written byGardner Fox, this prose piece follows Captain Richard Byrne as he investigates multiple deaths at the Federal Broadcasting System. Performers collapse during live radio broadcasts. Byrne discovers the killer is a rejected applicant who used gas-emitting microphones to murder those he envied. Byrne apprehends the culprit during an attempted fourth killing.
Though not being the first of theDetective Comics series, the issue is considered a landmark as thefirst appearance ofBatman.[3][4][5] Originally starting out as ananthology series focusing on original crime series stories, the iconic superhero known asBatman would be introduced byBob Kane andBill Finger toNational Comics Publications (nowDC Comics) with inspiration to create a newSuperman that first appeared inAction Comics #1. Due to the character being a household name, the original comic has endured as one of the most valuable comic books of all time alongside the likes ofAction Comics #1 andSpider-Man's first appearance inAmazing Fantasy #15.[6][7][8] The comic book is cited to be very rare to find in mint condition incomic book collecting.[9][10][11]
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