It’s almost time to hang up your cowls on the fireplace and dust off your gothic choral songbooks, with Batman Day 2023 just over a week away on September 16 — the annual holiday that brings a little bit of that Gotham City cheer to you for 24 crime-hating hours. It’s not just a love of cowled orphans fighting evil that will fill those stores on that sacred day, however; DC and partners have a number of special releases for fans to enjoy, as well.

Batman Day 2023: The comics

No fewer than three free comic books will be available as part of the annual Batman Day event this year:

• Batman/Catwoman: Prelude to Gotham War Batman Day Special Edition, featuring a 10-page original story by Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard, and Mike Hawthorne as well as material from August’s Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War: Battle Lines #1, leading into this fall’s crossover event.
• Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1 Batman Day Special Edition, reprinting the first issue of Marc Silvestri’s Black Label miniseries.
• Batman #608 Batman Day Special Edition, reprinting the first chapter of Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb’s Hush storyline behind a foil version of Lee’s cover to the second printing of the issue, from 2002.

Additionally, Batman Day 2023 will feature the debut of Rafael Grampá’s Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham miniseries, as well as the release of a special hardcover edition of Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones’ Batman ’89 miniseries, featuring a new cover reminiscent of the original poster for the 1989 movie.

Notably, by featuring all-new material, Batman/Catwoman: Prelude to Gotham War Batman Day Special Edition becomes the third all-new promotional free comic book release this year from DC, following May’s Dawn of DC Knight Terrors Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1 and Dawn of DC Primer Special Edition #1. The company has also announced plans for a free sampler of it’s upcoming reprint line of Kodansha’s DC material, to be released July 4.

Batman Day 2023: The Batscreen

In addition to Max offering its usual Batman-centric fare all day — including Batman (1989), Batman Returns, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Matt Reeves’ recent The Batman, as well as animated movies Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham, Batman: Hush, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and of course, Batman: The Animated Series — Warner Bros. Pictures will be holding screenings of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy in select theaters across the US. (Check local listings to see if your theater is participating.)

For those who’d rather just watch cable, TNT is hosting a Batman Day Movie Marathon, featuring all of the Nolan movies as well as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. TBS, meanwhile, has a marathon of Big Bang Theory episodes with a Batman theme on the same day.

As of that weren’t enough, throughout September, Cartoon Network will be airing new Batwheels episodes, while the DC Kids YouTube Channel will feature new episodes of DC Super Friends as well as new Lego Batman videos.

Batman Day 2023: The experience

For fans in Los Angeles, there are two ways to mark Batman Day this year: attendees for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood on September 16 will be able to pick up their free Batman Day pin and exclusive reprint of 2011’s Justice League #1. (Those who aren’t able to attend the tour will be able to purchase both items at the WB Studio Store.) Alternately, there will be a new Batman-themed escape room experience at Escapology at Northridge Fashion Center, with no less than eight Dark Knight-inspired games available for the perverse types who like to do escape rooms.

Batman Day 2023: The shopping

Where does he get those wonderful toys? Online, apparently, with the following all being available this month to mark Batman Day 2023:

• Spin Master Batman Toys: Both a 12-inch Batman Adventures figure — complete with 12 pieces of armor and accessories, and 17 points of articulation — and a remote controlled Stunt Force Batmobile will be released on Batman Day.
• The DC Shop will released both a Gotham City Classics Limited Edition Pin Set (featuring five nickel-plated pins from Batman’s on-screen incarnations throughout the years), as well as the Batman Classic TV Series Light Up Masterpiece Sculpture, inspired by the 1960s TV version of the characters. Additionally, the Batman: The Animated Series Bomber Jacket is inspired by the jacket made for the original crew from the 1990s animated series.
• Launching October 13, the Batman: Arkham Trilogy — collecting Rocksteady Studios’ three award-winning Batman: Arkham games — will be available for the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Turn Me Up Games, the package collects Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight.

The first Batman Day took place in 2014, in late July — to tie in with the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman — before settling into its current home of the third Saturday in September the following year.

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Here’s how Batman Day 2022 was celebrated around the entertainment sphere.