Posted By Dan Greenfield on Aug 20, 2026 | 1 comment

EXCLUSIVE! Shout it high and loud! The seminal Detective Comics #168 is coming in November…

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IMPORTANT FANCY NOTE: Clear your decks in November, Facsimile Edition fans: DC Comics has added seven such full-on reprints to its fall schedule — six in November, and an early solicitation for one in December. (And yes, there will be plenty more in December, but that news is about a month away.) Not just that, we have some BIG related news coming Friday! Now to keep it all straight, we’ve broken the selection down into multiple parts, because several of these demand solo treatment and exploration. You can find the links to everything at the bottom of this post!

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This is a major one, folks, and one that’s been a lonnnng time coming: DC in November will finally — finally! — release a Detective Comics #168 Facsimile Edition, featuring the Joker’s 1950 Red Hood origin.

It’s an issue we’ve been loudly banging the drum for, and DC evidently heard all the pounding.

Dig the official solicitation, which will be formally unveiled later this week:

DETECTIVE COMICS #168 FACSIMILE EDITION

Written by BILL FINGER and HENRY BOLTINOFF
Art by LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ, HENRY BOLTINOFF, DAN BARRY, FRANK BOLLE, and BRUNO PREMIANI
Cover by LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ

Foil variant cover by LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ ($7.99 US)
Blank sketch cover ($5.99 US)

When Batman is asked to teach a college course on criminology, he asks his students for their help with a case that’s gone unsolved for years: Who is the Red Hood? Follow the clues along with Batman’s class as they team up with the Caped Crusader to finally unmask this villain from Batman’s past—and discover his shocking role in the present. Featuring the very first appearance of the Red Hood!

$4.99 US | 48 Pages
ON SALE 11/18/26

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Buncha thoughts:

— I’m taking full credit for this one, y’hear? Full credit! I’ve written many times that it was utterly baffling that we hadn’t gotten this, and even devoted a full column to it less than a year ago called, DETECTIVE COMICS #168: Dear DC, How About a FACSIMILE EDITION of the RED HOOD’s Debut? in which I laid out my precise argument. So, I’m claiming this as another notch on the 13th Dimension belt, like the upcoming Batman #11. As our pal Rob Kelly might say, DC can correct me if I’m wrong.

— For those keeping score at home, this is the sixth Facsimile Edition from our 13 DC COMICS FACSIMILE EDITIONS We’d Like to See — 2026 Edition that will see print this year. Oh, hooray!

— But enough with the self-aggrandizing nonsense. This is an essential issue and it’s fantastic that it’s coming. That cover will look smashing in foil, and I’m looking forward to seeing the logo sketch version, too. (I’d love it if it were black, but I haven’t seen one that dark lately.)

— Again, as I noted above, we’ve got plenty of other groovy Facsimile Edition news to report. Links below!

— Obligatory Price Comparison: The chances of finding one of these unslabbed is highly unlikely. A slabbed, 9.4-graded copy sold through Heritage Auctions in 2022 for $324,000, including buyer’s premium. (An 8.0 is going up for bid in September.) So, even if they’ve read the story, this is most people’s best chance at getting to see the inside of this issue.

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MORE

— DC Adds SEVEN FACSIMILE EDITIONS to Fall Schedule. Click here.

— WORLD’S FINEST #153: Comic With Infamous BATMAN SLAPPING ROBIN MEME to Be Published as Facsimile Edition. Click here.

— SUPERMAN #199: The 1967 SUPERMAN-FLASH Race Facsimile Edition Is Speeding Your Way. Click here.

— KINGDOM COME #4: The Classic Finale Will Kick Off DC’s DECEMBER Facsimile Editions. Click here.

— EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at the Final Two SUPER POWERS Variant Covers. Click here.