It’s 80 years since Batman was introduced to the world in Detective Comics #27, and DC Entertainment has announced a host of plans to celebrate the Dark Knight’s 80th anniversary. First up is a piece of commemorative artwork from longtime DC artist José Luis García-López with digital paint design by Admira Wijaya, which pays homage to Batman’s legacy in all forms of media.
The anniversary celebrations begin this month with the release of Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman – The Deluxe Edition on March 19th, followed by Detective Comics #1000 on March 27th.
Detective Comics #27 launched on March 30th 1939, and DC will host a special ‘Happy Birthday Batman’ panel at WonderCon on March 30th, followed by a number of Batman tie-in events and announcements at July’s San Diego Comic-Con International, and of course the annual Batman Day on September 21st.
DC Entertainment is also set to unleash a new range of Batman toys and merchandise throughout the year, along with tie-in initiatives with Six Flags, Mondo, Funko, LEGO and Madame Tussauds, special programming on Cartoon Network, Rooster Teeth, Crunchyroll, VRV and Fullscreen, and a Batman-branded channel from AT&T.
SEE ALSO: Check out 35 variant covers for Detective Comics #1000
Other Batman-related events for 2019 include the release of the Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker movie on October 4th, the finale of Gotham, the premiere of Epix’s prequel series Pennyworth, and an animated Harley Quinn series on DC Universe.