There is a short list of comic book covers so iconic they’ve become cultural objects in their own right. Neal Adams’ Batman #251 is on that list.
The image is unforgettable: the Joker, leering, triumphant, dangling Batman like a marionette. It’s a cover that announced something — that the clown prince of crime was no longer a campy television punchline, but something genuinely unsettling. Denny O’Neil’s story inside delivered on that promise. This was the issue that gave the Joker back his teeth.
The influence of this book is almost impossible to overstate. Every serious, menacing portrayal of the Joker that followed — in comics, in film, in animation — traces a line back to what O’Neil and Adams did here. The Dark Knight. Killing Joke. Joker. All of it starts with Batman #251.
This CBCS 9.0 is an exceptional copy — high grade for a Bronze Age book, and it presents exactly as you’d hope for a cover this celebrated. Clean, vivid, and completely right. For any serious Batman or DC collection, this is not a nice-to-have. It’s a cornerstone.
DETAILS
• Title: Batman #251, DC Comics, September 1973
• Grade: CBCS 9.0 Very Fine/Near Mint
• Key: Definitive Joker cover by Neal Adams
• Story: Denny O’Neil
• Shipping: Double-boxed, fully insured, signature confirmation
There is a short list of comic book covers so iconic they’ve become cultural objects in their own right. Neal Adams’ Batman #251 is on that list.
The image is unforgettable: the Joker, leering, triumphant, dangling Batman like a marionette. It’s a cover that announced something — that the clown prince of crime was no longer a campy television punchline, but something genuinely unsettling. Denny O’Neil’s story inside delivered on that promise. This was the issue that gave the Joker back his teeth.
The influence of this book is almost impossible to overstate. Every serious, menacing portrayal of the Joker that followed — in comics, in film, in animation — traces a line back to what O’Neil and Adams did here. The Dark Knight. Killing Joke. Joker. All of it starts with Batman #251.
This CBCS 9.0 is an exceptional copy — high grade for a Bronze Age book, and it presents exactly as you’d hope for a cover this celebrated. Clean, vivid, and completely right. For any serious Batman or DC collection, this is not a nice-to-have. It’s a cornerstone.
DETAILS
• Title: Batman #251, DC Comics, September 1973
• Grade: CBCS 9.0 Very Fine/Near Mint
• Key: Definitive Joker cover by Neal Adams
• Story: Denny O’Neil
• Shipping: Double-boxed, fully insured, signature confirmation
