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A 15% BUYER'S PREMIUM WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ITEM AT CONCLUSION OF THE AUCTION
ow pages
1st origin of the Joker; 1st appearance of the Red Hood; Lew Schwartz cvr/art; classic cover, COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)


Detective Comics #168 is among the rarest of Batman keys, and a perennial favorite with legions of Joker collectors. Despite dozens of iterations of the character (from comic to tragic and psychotic to absurd), the Joker's origin still wasn't revealed until in these pages — over a decade after his debut in Batman #1.

"The Man Behind the Red Hood!" is also a uniquely ambitious tale, taking a strange path to one of the most important reveals of the Golden Age. The plot begins with Batman recruiting college students in a Criminology course to solve the disappearance of the Red Hood — a criminal mastermind who escaped by diving into a vat of toxic chemicals as Batman thwarted his million-dollar heist at the Monarch Playing Card Company. The investigation sparks the Red Hood's return, only for a plot twist to expose how the original Red Hood became the Joker after being grotesquely transformed by his chemical bath.

The tale of the Red Hood has become an important part of several modern Joker stories — marking this book as a vital moment in the annals of superhero mythology. Tim Burton's Batman adapted the story for the Joker's first big-screen origin in 1989, and the fateful robbery would become part of classic comics such as The Killing Joke and Zero Year. This epic tale is the original revisiting that would make the devilish killer clown seem more mysterious and haunting than ever before.

Click here to view the interior page of Joker's origin story!
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It took DC an unexpectedly long time to provide its readers with an origin story for their most popular villain, The Joker — but they finally delivered the goods in Detective Comics #168, making this issue an important Golden Age key. Lew Schwartz’s mysterious cover illustration has become one of the more memorable of the era and has also remained a valuable collectible investment book. This VG- copy retains its colors quite well, with most signs of wear relegated to the perimeter of the cover. With the Joker rumored to appear in the next Matt Reeves’ Batman film, this is a perfect time to pick up a personal copy of a timeless classic Batman issue, especially if you have been priced out at higher grades.

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