Though Batman has long been popular as a solo act, he stood out from the pack thanks to the success of his sidekick, the Boy Wonder himself, Robin. The original Robin, Dick Grayson, was created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson as a way to help attract younger readership – and they were wildly successful with that, as Robin helped to double the sales of the various Batman titles of the time.

“Robin” as a title has been passed down to a number of different people in the 78 years since the character first debuted, with Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne all taking on the mantle in that time. Many previous Robins have gone on to assume other identities, such as Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and the Red Hood (Jason Todd).

Hake’s Americana has Robin’s debut, Detective Comics #38 CGC 5.5, in their current auction in lot 1357. This particular example features cream to off-white pages and is part of a recently discovered Golden Age comic book collection, of which all issues were obtained directly from the original owner, who had purchased them new off the rack in the ’30s and ’40s. This issue is fresh to the market, and is the first time it has ever been offered to the public.

The comics section for Auction #224 contains 1,300 books from Golden to Modern, 450 CGC-certified, and many first issues and first appearances. There’s also an extensive original art selection, including Frank Frazetta Blazing Combat original covers, Alex Ross Marvels original page, and Greg Hildebrandt Wonder Woman painting.