DETECTIVE COMICS #359

Key Silver Age issue (first appearance of Batgirl) showing moderate wear: visible corner softening at top corners, a vertical crease running through Batgirl's torso and cape area, and slight color break along the spine. There is minor surface rubbing/glare across the central figure and light edge wear along the borders. The book is in a protective sleeve, which obscures fine spine tick detail; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Detective Comics #359 marks the debut of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, introduced by writer Gardner Fox with art by Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene under Infantino's cover. The character was created at the behest of the Batman television producers, who wanted a strong female lead to introduce in the show's third season, and her comic-book debut arrived the same month. The issue also features the villain Killer Moth, whom Batgirl defeats in her first outing, cementing her as a capable solo hero rather than a sidekick footnote.

Market data reflects a book with enormous depth of collector interest: over 3,700 Universal copies are recorded on the certified census, yet demand remains concentrated at the top of the grade curve, where prices climb sharply rather than smoothly. The 9.6 tier carries a fair market value nearly 4.5 times that of 9.4, a pattern typical of an important first appearance where high-grade survivors are scarce relative to demand from character-driven and Bronze-to-Silver crossover collectors. Sales volume across nearly every grade tier confirms this is an actively and continuously traded book, not a speculative or thinly-comped one.

The issue draws a broad collecting base: Batman-family completists, Silver Age DC specialists, and buyers assembling character-origin runs alongside Batgirl's later Bronze and modern appearances. Lower grades trade briskly and affordably as reading/collecting copies given the large surviving population, while mid-grade raws remain accessible entry points into the key. At the top of the census, thin high-grade supply against sustained demand pushes 9.6 and any theoretical 9.8 into a different market tier entirely, trading more like a scarce specialty asset than a standard commodity comic.