Detective Comics #359(cover January 1967, on newsstands on November 29, 1966, 12¢) — “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!” », Gardner Fox on screenplay, Carmine Infantino on drawing, DC Comics. Two things to know: this character was designed for a television adaptation, and another character with an almost identical name had already existed since the early 1960s.
Here is a first appearance whose very existence responds to an external command. It was not born from an author's idea but from a production need, which makes it an unusual editorial object.
This origin explains several particularities of this booklet, starting with the haste with which it was published.
A character commissioned by television
Let's start with what radically distinguishes this record from other early Silver Age appearances.
In the mid-1960s, a television series dedicated to the main hero of this title enjoyed considerable success. Its production wanted to add a female figure to its cast, and the editor designed this character with this in mind.
The fascicle of November 1966 shortly precedes the appearance on the screen. It is therefore not a question of a creation which would then have been adapted, but of a coordinated launch between two media – a rare practice at the time, and which has become common since.
Three consequences arise from this for the collector.
The design was immediately completed. Costume, civil identity, family link with an established character: everything is in place from the first panel. There is no trial and error, because there was no time for it.
The character received instant exposure. Millions of viewers saw it in just a few weeks, which never happens to an ordinary creation.
The demand has always gone beyond the circle of comic book readers. Some of the buyers of this booklet come from television memories, not from comics.
What this origin produced
Let's measure what this birth under command has left to the character, because the effects are lasting.
An absence of personal mythology. Where other figures drag out a tragic origin developed over decades, this one begins with a decision taken along the way. This founding lightness has long been perceived as a weakness; recent authors have made it a strength.
An immediate place in an existing structure. The family connection to an established character gives him access and legitimacy from the first page that most newcomers take years to obtain.
Visibility that preceded editorial quality. The character was known to millions of people long before an author dedicated an ambitious story to him. This gap between notoriety and narrative material lasted for decades, and he explains that his best publications all came after his beginnings.
For the collector, this last point has a direct translation: the founding booklet is sought after for what it inaugurates, not for what it contains. This is a useful distinction to keep in mind before reading.
The trap of the almost identical name
Identification point to be aware of, as it is expensive.
Another character, with a nearly identical name—with a single hyphen difference—had already existed at this publisher since the early 1960s. He is an entirely separate figure, with his own civilian identity and his own first appearance.
Both are found in catalogs under very similar titles. A rough search brings up both, and an inattentive seller can confuse the booklets.
The rule that protects everything:trust the title of the publication and the number, never the name of the character. The one you're looking for can be found in Detective Comics, issue #359, with a cover dated January 1967.
This kind of name collision was common at a time when publishers readily declined their successful heroes. Today it leaves lasting traces in the indexes.
Finally, let us point out that the formula used on the cover – an amount in dollars highlighted – is part of current advertising practices. Publishers readily announced a numerical issue to attract the eye to the display, a process which has since disappeared and which immediately dates the booklet for a modern reader.
Fox and Infantino
Gardner Fox signs the script, Carmine Infantino the drawing. Two major figures of their publisher, with very different contributions.
Fox was part of the founding generation and had been writing since the origins of the medium. His specialty: building puzzle plots, where the resolution is based on deduction rather than confrontation. Nothing suits better a heroine whose claimed asset is liveliness of mind.
Infantino brings something else: a sense of design and silhouette that has shaped his editor's visual appearance for two decades. The costume designed here is functional, elegant, immediately readable — and it has barely changed since.
For the buyer, this double signature adds a reason for request. Fans of these authors collect by name, independently of the characters, and this clientele does not depend on any current events.
What the story says
The plot features a young woman going to a costume ball, who intervenes on the way when a kidnapping occurs before her eyes.
Two aspects deserve to be noted by those who open this booklet for the first time.
First, the character is not recruited. No one trains her, invites her or sponsors her: she decides alone, based on skills she already possesses. The story does not dwell on this point, but it is decisive for everything that follows.
Then, her profession — she works in a library — is not a decorative detail. This is the source of her method: she searches, cross-checks, memorizes. Where other characters rely on force or technology, this one relies on information.
The tone, on the other hand, remains that of the stories of its time: light, fast, without the dramatic stakes that the following period will bring. A buyer coming from the modern versions will find something significantly more carefree here.
A file without difficulty of identification
Good news after the warning about the names: once the right booklet has been located, everything becomes simple.
This number only exists in one type copy: the catalog does not list any no variation. Nothing in terms of test prices, nothing in terms of foreign markets, no reprints to muddy the waters.
Two elements are therefore sufficient to control: the figure shown on the cover, and the twelve hundred which locate the period and disqualify republications.
This is changing the way people buy. You concentrate your entire examination on the condition of the object, without having to first resolve a question of draw - a convenience that few keys of this decade provide.
A final research reference: this booklet is most often dispersed among lots coming from old collections, where it neighbors issues of no particular interest. The sellers who distribute them don't always identify it as a key, which still leaves opportunities for those who know what to look for.
Points to check
On a booklet from the end of 1966, four checks are necessary.
The edge of the block of pages, photographed in profile. It reveals the actual browning, which a suitable covering easily conceals.
Staples. After nearly sixty years, oxidation is frequent and spreads to the surrounding paper.
The back fold. Vast areas of solid color occupy these covers: the slightest white trace is obvious.
Completeness. The advertising pages included cut-out vouchers. A missing leaflet, which no cover photo reveals, sets the copy down for a long time.
The editorial context of the end of 1966
A word about the home publication, which is no ordinary title.
Detective Comics was then among the oldest series still running in the United States, with uninterrupted numbering since the 1930s. Issue 359 in 1966 testifies to a longevity that few publications achieved.
This seniority has two consequences for the buyer. On the one hand, the title benefits from a prestige which reflects on its issues: collectors follow it for its own sake, independently of its content. On the other hand, the series was firmly established, with substantial print runs - this issue is therefore not rare in the strict sense.
What is lacking, as is often the case, are the copies untouched by time. A title purchased each month by regulars ends up in piles, not in sleeves: the act of conservation did not yet exist on this scale.
Where to start
Three possible entries.
The 1966 issue. The irreplaceable piece, and the only one that meets a chronological requirement. It's also the most expensive on the file, by far.
The appearances which immediately follow. The character is installed in the same title over the following months, in issues which belong to the same edition context and cost a fraction of the price.
Recent publications. In abundance since the 2000s and very inexpensive, they show the character in the form that today's readership knows.
Price questions are handled separately, in ourstudy of the rating; the readings appear in ourpanorama of the series.
The most common questions
In Detective Comics #359, dated January 1967 on its cover and went on sale November 29, 1966, for twelve cents. The story is called “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!” », with Gardner Fox on the screenplay and Carmine Infantino on the drawing, at DC Comics.
Because its design responds to a request from television production, which wanted to add a female figure to the cast of a then very popular series. The November 1966 issue shortly preceded its appearance on screen: it was a coordinated launch between two media, a rare practice at the time and one that has since become commonplace.
Another character with an almost identical name — a simple hyphen of difference — had already existed at this publisher since the early 1960s. An entirely separate figure, with his own civilian identity and his own first appearance. So rely on the title of the publication and the number, never on the name alone: Detective Comics #359, January 1967 cover.
Not in the strict sense. The home publication was among the oldest still running in the United States, firmly established and printed in substantial quantities. What is lacking are the spare copies: a title purchased each month by regulars ends up in piles, not in sleeves.
None. Only one edition is listed: no increased price, no foreign version, no reprint. Check the number on the cover and the twelve cents, that's it. All your attention can therefore be focused on the condition – a comfort that most keys of this decade do not offer.
Three enduring traits. No personal mythology: the heroine begins with a decision taken along the way, a lightness long seen as a weakness and which recent authors have turned into force. An immediate place in an existing structure, thanks to a family connection. And a notoriety acquired long before an author devoted an ambitious story to it - hence the best publications all very later.
A young woman on her way to a costume ball who intervenes when a kidnapping occurs before her eyes. Two points matter: she is not recruited by anyone and decides alone, based on skills she already possesses; and her job as a librarian is the basis of her method - she searches, cross-references, memorizes. The tone, however, remains that of its time, light and fast.
This is an advertising practice of the time: publishers readily announced a quantified issue to catch the eye of the display. The process has since disappeared, and it immediately dates the booklet for a modern reader. It has no impact on content or value.
By the booklets which immediately follow in the same title, where the character is established over the months: same context of printing, fraction of the price. Recent publications, abundant since the 2000s, constitute the other avenue and show the character in his current form.
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