Detective Comics #609 - DC Comics Dec 1989, 1st Appearance of Anarky — Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle Key Issue (Single Issue)

Before he became a cult favorite, before the animated series, before the debates about whether he's a villain or an antihero — Anarky showed up in a Gotham construction site with a hat, a yellow mask, and a very specific grievance about the social order. Detective Comics #609 is the first appearance of Anarky, one of the most enduring characters Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle introduced during their landmark Detective Comics run. Published December 1989 at $1.00 US, Comics Code Authority. Written by Alan Grant, art by Norm Breyfogle, inks by Steve Mitchell. The cover — Anarky looming over a Gotham riot with Batman and police scrambling below — is Breyfogle at his compositional best: all scale and threat.

What's Included:

• 🦇 Detective Comics #609 — DC Comics, December 1989 — Comics Code Authority — 1st Appearance of Anarky
• 💲 $1.00 US / $1.25 CAN / 50p UK — Grant, Breyfogle & Mitchell credits on cover
• 🎮 Back cover: NEC TurboGrafx-16 — "The difference between new TurboGrafx-16 and other video game systems is all in your head." — "The higher energy video game system"

Issue Details:

• ⭐ DC Comics — Detective Comics #609 — December 1989 — $1.00 US — Comics Code Authority — Key Issue: 1st Appearance of Anarky
• 🔥 Story: Anarky incites a Gotham construction site riot — Batman aerial pursuit, rooftop confrontation — "End of the line, Creep!"
• 🎨 Interior: Breyfogle's kinetic riot sequence — scaffolding collapse, Batman in full aerial dive, Anarky cornered on the rooftop — pages showing age-appropriate tanning with solid color retention
• 🔥 Single issue — bagged for protection.

Why Collectors Love It:

The Grant/Breyfogle Detective Comics run is one of the most underrated Batman runs of the entire Bronze/Modern Age transition, and #609 is one of its most significant issues. Anarky went on to appear in the Batman animated series, get his own miniseries, and become a recurring presence in DC's street-level Gotham stories — and it all starts here. The NEC TurboGrafx-16 back cover — "all in your head" — advertising a 16-bit console that lost the console war on the back of a comic that introduced a character who absolutely won his — is a 1989 time capsule worth owning on its own.

Condition Notes:

Shows wear consistent with age — expect spine stress, corner wear, and age-appropriate tanning throughout as shown in photos. Interior pages show period-typical yellowing with solid color retention in Breyfogle's linework. Bagged for protection.

Perfect For:

Anarky first appearance hunters, Grant/Breyfogle Detective Comics run completists, late-'80s Batman key issue collectors, Norm Breyfogle art enthusiasts, TurboGrafx-16 ephemera fans, and anyone who has ever wanted to own the issue where one of Batman's most philosophically interesting villains decided a construction site riot was a reasonable opening statement.