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DC's Batman #1 has already outsold 2024's best-selling comic of the year
After selling out on the distributor level, DC Comics' Batman #1 will be back with a second printing with new covers by Jorge Jiménez and Dan Mora
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The numbers are in: Batman #1 from Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez is a hit for DC Comics. Just in time for Batman Day on September 20, DC has revealed that Fraction and Jiménez's first issue has sold over 500,000 copies thus far. And if you haven't been able to snag a copy yet, don't worry: a second printing of Batman #1 is arriving to comic book shops on October 15.
That 500,000 figure is worth paying attention to - it's 100,000 copies more than Absolute Batman #1 sold in its first month of release last year, and that was the best-selling comic of 2024. Meanwhile, 2025's Batman #1 topped that amount within two weeks of release, with more sales imminent on future printings.
Fraction and Jiménez's new Batman is sporting a fresh set of threads, with a grey and blue costume that both recalls the suit the Dark Knight wore during Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' classic run on the character and pushes his look into the future. This Batman #1 offers an accessible jumping-on point for new comic book readers, or for lapsed Batman readers, who may not have been aware of the major changes that have hit the Bat-Family in recent years: namely, that Alfred Pennyworth is dead. But he lives on in Batman's memory, of course, rendered beautifully by Fraction's script and Jiménez's art.
The second printing of Batman #1 will feature a colorless Batman logo and cornerbox alongside Jiménez's original art from the issue's first printing. Alongside this, DC will be printing new open-to-order (for comic book retailers and shops) cardstock variant covers featuring art by Jorge Jiménez and Tomeu Morey on one, and another by Dan Mora. You really can't lose between these offerings, which you can see below.
Having read Batman #1 myself, the commercial success of this book is well deserved. It is a heartfelt, self-contained story that highlights both Batman's detective skills as well as his empathy and humanity for others. Even the most sordid characters in Gotham City. Plus, it wouldn't be a Batman story if there wasn't a healthy dose of aura farming exhibited by the Dark Knight, which Jorge Jiménez draws to wonderful effect. In short, Batman feels both relevant and retooled for our times, signifying that this octogenarian is more spry than ever.
Batman is the most well-known superhero in the world — surprisingly, given how much he loves hanging out in the dark. But between his comics, TV shows, movies, games, and more, DC's Dark Knight is the hero this city/country/world/universe needs, and we have all you need to enjoy him even more:
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