250's for America's 250 · Day 1: Detective Comics #250

Publishing: Thursday, June 11, 2026 · DC Comics · Cover date: December 1957

Cover art by Sheldon Moldoff (inks attributed to Charles Paris)

We kick off the countdown at the very beginning of the comic-book timeline. Detective Comics — the title that literally gives DC its initials — had been running for nearly two decades by the time it hit a round 250, smack in the middle of the Silver Age.

The issue

In the lead story, "Batman's Super-Enemy," a small-time crook named John Stannar stumbles onto a crashed, abandoned spaceship loaded with advanced alien gadgetry. Suddenly armed with futuristic weapons, he becomes the first human to wield this technology and briefly outguns the Dynamic Duo, springing his henchmen and running circles around Gotham's finest. Batman has to out-think a foe he can't out-fight. The issue also carries two backup features typical of the era's anthology format.

Who's in it

• Batman (Bruce Wayne) — Gotham's detective in cowl and cape, forced to out-plan an enemy he can't simply overpower.
• Robin (Dick Grayson) — the Boy Wonder, chasing down Stannar's henchmen alongside his mentor.
• Commissioner James Gordon — Gotham's top cop and Batman's most trusted ally on the force.
• John Stannar — an everyday crook whose luck changes the moment he finds a wrecked alien spacecraft loaded with weapons no earthly criminal has ever wielded.
• Roy Raymond — globe-trotting star of the backup feature "Roy Raymond, TV Detective," who exposes hoaxes and frauds on his own television show.
• Martian Manhunter (as "John Jones") — appearing here under his human alias in one of his earliest published adventures, long before he became a founding Justice League member.

Behind the book (creators)

• Cover: Sheldon Moldoff (pencils), Charles Paris (inks)
• Batman story pencils: Sheldon Moldoff · inks: Charles Paris
• Backup art: Ruben Moreira (Roy Raymond), Joe Certa (Martian Manhunter)
• Letters: Ira Schnapp · Editor: Jack Schiff
• Writer of the lead story is not firmly documented (Bill Finger–era staff) — verify on the GCD before publishing a credit.

Meet the creators

Sheldon Moldoff (1920–2012) broke into comics as a self-taught teenager, selling filler pages to Detective Comics editor Vincent Sullivan and even contributing artwork to the historic first issue of Action Comics in 1938. Through the 1940s he built a name drawing Hawkman and cover art for landmark debuts, including the original Green Lantern and Flash. In 1953 he stepped into one of the industry's strangest arrangements: pencilling Batman as an uncredited "ghost artist" under Bob Kane's byline, a job he held for fourteen years. In that stretch he quietly helped shape some of Gotham's most enduring faces — co-creating the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bat-Mite — all without his name ever appearing on the page.

Charles Paris (1911–1994) joined DC's stable in the early 1940s inking and lettering the Crimson Avenger before settling into a decades-long partnership as Moldoff's regular inker on Batman. The two collaborated for years yet, by Moldoff's own account, never once met in person — a small window into just how compartmentalized the era's "bullpen" system could be. Paris stayed with DC exclusively until retiring in the late 1970s.

What it's worth

A genuine 1957 Silver Age book, valued on age and grade rather than a key first appearance. Mid-grade raw copies (Fine/VF) typically run $60–$150, with clean raw VF copies into the low hundreds. Graded examples climb quickly: CGC 8.0+ copies are scarce and can fetch $400–$900+, and a true high-grade 9.x would be a multi-thousand-dollar book. (Confirm a current figure on GoCollect before quoting hard numbers.)

Where to read it (collected edition)

Reprinted in Batman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1, which collects Detective Comics #233–257 and Batman #101–116.

Part of "250's for America's 250" — counting 24 milestone #250 comics down to the U.S. 250th on July 4, 2026.