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Detective Comics is a comic book published by DC Comics since 1937. It is, along with Action Comics (the book that launched with the debut of Superman), one of the company's best-known titles - in fact, the "DC" in the company's name comes from "Detective Comics". It is also the longest continuously-published comic book in the United States, remaining a monthly publication as of winter 2004.
Originally an anthology-style comic, featuring stories in the "hard-boiled detective" genre popular at the time, the first issue contained stories featuring the characters of Ching Lung (a Fu Manchu-style oriental villain), Slam Bradley (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), and Speed Saunders, among others.
However, the fame of Detective Comics was assured by the debut of Batman (as "The Bat-Man") in issue #27 (May 1939). He would eventually become the star of the title.
Issue #38 (April 1940) introduced Batman's sidekick (billed as "The Sensational Character Find of 1940" on the cover), Robin. Robin's appearance (and the concomitant increase in sales of the book) soon led to the trend of costumed crimefighters and their young sidekicks that characterize that era.
In addition to the Batman stories, the comic also had numerous back up strips such as Martian Manhunter which was introduced in this series. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the title was expanded in page count to include solo series like Robin: the Teen Wonder, Batgirl, The Human Target and an anthology series called Tales of Gotham City which featured the stories of ordinary people of Gotham City.
A near mint copy of Detective Comics #27 has risen in value from $80,000.00 in 1992 to $300,000.00 in 2003, according to Stephen Fishler, co-owner of Metropolis' Colelctibles. (http://www.tias.com/stores/metropolis/press/PR8-12-03.html)
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