Batman #69 for Sale - First Appearance of The King of the Cats - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Batman (DC, 1940 series)
Issue: #69
Publication date: February-March 1952
Key date: 1952-02-00
On-sale date: 1951-12-10
Indicia publisher: National Comics Publications Inc.
Price: $0.10
Pages: 52

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of The King of the Cats - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Karl Kyle - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The King of the Cats!	cover	1	pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Batman, Catwoman, Dick Grayson, Robin, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, The King of the Cats First, Karl Kyle First
1	Buzzy Says: "Be Yourself-- Your Best Self!"	public service announcement	1	script: Jack Schiff; pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Buzzy Brown
2	The Batman Exposé!	comic story	12	script: Walter Gibson; pencils: Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz; inks: Charles Paris; letters: Sam Rosen	Batman, Dick Grayson, Robin, Bruce Wayne
4	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Private Pete
6	The Buttons of Doom!	comic story	12	script: Walter Gibson; pencils: Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz; inks: Charles Paris; letters: Sam Rosen	Batman, Dick Grayson, Robin, Bruce Wayne
9	Editorial Advisory Board	promo (ad from the publisher)	0.5
10	-	comic story	2	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Casey the Cop
11	Time Detective	text article	2	pencils: Raymond Perry; inks: Raymond Perry; colors: Raymond Perry
12	Indian Chief	activity	0.67	script: Martin Naydel; pencils: Martin Naydel; inks: Martin Naydel; letters: Martin Naydel
14	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Varsity Vic
15	-	statement of ownership	0.33	letters: typeset
16	The King of the Cats!	comic story	12	script: Bill Finger; pencils: Bob Kane, Lew Sayre Schwartz; inks: Charles Paris; letters: Joe Letterese	Batman, Catwoman, Dick Grayson, Robin, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, The King of the Cats First, Karl Kyle First
17	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Peg
19	-	activity	0.67	script: H. T. Elmo; pencils: H. T. Elmo; inks: H. T. Elmo; letters: H. T. Elmo
21	Enter Here -- If You Dare!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1

Plus 4.82 pages of advertisements and other matter across 8 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Action Comics #234	1957	On eBay ›
Our Fighting Forces #27	1957	On eBay ›
Our Fighting Forces #29	1958	On eBay ›
Adventure Comics #245	1958	On eBay ›
Superboy #79	1960	On eBay ›
Adventure Comics #280	1961	On eBay ›
Our Fighting Forces #88	1964	On eBay ›
The Best of DC #2	1979	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Golden-age paper is brittle. Ask about page suppleness and check edges for chips in the photos.
Check for trimmed edges, married covers, and clipped coupons - all common on books this old.
Confirm the indicia matches this plate; many golden-age titles changed names mid-run.

Series context

‹ #6869 of 715#70 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com