Modern Joker Key Issues: Collector's Guide

The Joker has never faded. First appearing in the spring of 1940 in Batman #1, created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, he spent years as a colourful trickster before being reinvented as a ruthless killer by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in Batman #251 (1973). It is the modern era — from 1988 to the present — that produces the most sought-after issues for collectors: darker stories, permanent consequences, and writers at the top of their craft.

This guide focuses on modern-era keys (1988–2021). All eBay data comes from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026). The standard thin-volume guard applies: issues with fewer than 15 active listings receive no quoted median. For titles not yet catalogued in the tool (The Killing Joke, Batman vol. 2 #1, The Joker 2021), documented sources and market observation replace eBay medians.

Modern Joker key issues at a glance

Sources: Heritage Auctions, Bleeding Cool, GoCollect, eBay.fr + eBay.com.

Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) — the definitive Joker story

Published in 1988, Batman: The Killing Joke is a one-shot written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland that permanently reshaped how readers understood the Joker. Moore offers one possible origin for the character — a failed stand-up comedian who snaps after a cascade of tragedies — and uses that backstory to probe the boundary between sanity and madness. In the story, the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon through the spine, paralysing her, and abducts Commissioner Gordon in a sequence that remains one of the most controversial in comics history. The first printing in first edition is the definitive Copper Age collectible for Joker collectors. Our eBay tool does not catalogue this standalone series; in the secondary market, ungraded copies in solid condition generally trade between €20 and €60, while CGC 9.8 first-print copies command several hundred dollars based on recent sales documented by specialist resellers and eBay.

A Death in the Family — Batman #426 to #429 (1988)

Serialised in Batman #426 to #429 (August–November 1988), written by Jim Starlin, pencilled by Jim Aparo, with covers by Mike Mignola, A Death in the Family is one of the most consequential Batman storylines ever published. The Joker kidnaps Jason Todd — the second Robin — and beats him to death with a crowbar, a fate decided by readers via a 900-number telephone poll (5,343 votes for death vs. 5,271 for survival). Batman #426, the opening chapter, records only 11 eBay listings: volume is too thin to quote a reliable median. Batman #429 (the conclusion) returns a median of approximately €28 across 32 listings — a usable signal for a highly accessible issue. Batman #427 sits around a €21 median (16 listings). Batman #428 (12 listings) falls below the reliability threshold. Collectors assembling the complete arc will find the individual issues genuinely affordable in ungraded condition, with premiums applying as expected for graded high-grade copies.

Batman vol. 2 #1 (2011) — the Snyder/Capullo era begins

Published on 1 November 2011 as part of DC's New 52 relaunch, Batman vol. 2 #1 opens the Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo run widely considered the best Batman series of the 2010s. The issue introduces Lincoln March and gives Harper Row her first cameo appearance. The Joker does not appear here — his spectacular return comes in the Death of the Family arc launched in Batman #13 (2012) — but this #1 is the key entry point for the run. Our estimator does not catalogue the vol. 2 series under its own slug; in the active market, standard CGC 9.8 copies typically trade between $50 and $150 depending on seller and date of sale, making it an accessible modern key compared to Copper Age or Golden Age issues.

The Joker #1 (2021) — the first modern solo series

Released on 9 March 2021, The Joker #1 is the first solo Joker series since the 1970s title of the same name. Written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Guillem March, it follows the Joker as a fugitive hunted overseas by a retired James Gordon in the wake of Infinite Frontier #1. A Punchline backup story runs alongside the main feature. Ungraded copies remain affordable on the secondary market; our eBay tool does not yet catalogue this series. Collectors seeking a lower-cost modern Joker first issue will find this a viable entry point compared to the Copper Age keys.

The Joker on screen — market impact

The Joker is the most frequently adapted comic-book villain in cinema history. After Jack Nicholson (1989) and Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, 2008 — posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Todd Phillips's Joker (2019) with Joaquin Phoenix delivered the most remarkable commercial result: over $1 billion in worldwide box-office receipts, making it the first R-rated film ever to cross that threshold. The sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), disappointed with approximately $207.5 million worldwide against an estimated break-even of $375–450 million. The 2019 film's success generated fresh interest in Joker keys at the accessible end of the market; the impact on the major grail-level issues is more muted, as those are driven by long-term institutional collectors rather than film-cycle speculation.