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Batman Day

A pop-culture observance on the third Saturday in September celebrating Batman, the character's comics, films, and fandom worldwide.

Saturday
19
September 2026
Last updated March 19, 2026 · by the Holiday Calendar Team
Have an update or spot an error?
YEARLY DATEThird Saturday in September
OBSERVED INUnited States
CATEGORYPop Culture
SUBCATEGORYComics
ORIGIN

Corporate Initiative

FOUNDING ENTITY
DC Entertainment / Warner Bros.
FIRST OBSERVED
2014
“DC and Warner Bros. launched Batman Day in 2014 for Batman's 75th anniversary, first at San Diego Comic-Con.
HOW THE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

An anniversary stunt that became a yearly fan ritual.

DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. created Batman Day in 2014 for Batman's 75th anniversary. The first one was held July 23, 2014 at San Diego Comic-Con, and the observance later moved to the third Saturday of September.

View Official Announcementvia DC
INTRO

The co-creator who waited 75 years for his name

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For most of Batman's life, the comics named one man as his creator. The credit read "Bob Kane," and only Bob Kane, even though a writer named Bill Finger had invented the name Bruce Wayne, christened Gotham City, and reshaped the costume into the cowled silhouette people now picture. Finger's name did not appear anywhere on the character he helped build.

That gap lasted roughly 75 years. It closed only in 2015, when a deal between Finger's estate and DC added his name to the credit. Batman Day arrives every year wrapped in the bright machinery of fandom, free comics and Bat-Signal lightings, and underneath it sits one of the strangest authorship stories in comics.

The holiday itself is younger than the dispute it sits beside. Batman Day is a celebration of the character and the people who made him, and the second half of that sentence took the longest to get right.

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ORIGINS

Batman Day history

INTRODUCTION

Batman started as work for hire. In Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939, a masked vigilante stalked a murder case across a few cramped panels. The art came from a 22-year-old named Bob Kane. The script came from Bill Finger.

The division of labor mattered more than the byline suggested. Finger did much of the work that made Batman recognizable, yet the contract gave Kane the public credit.

CHAPTER 01

The name that went missing

Under his 1939 deal, Bob Kane held sole "created by" billing for decades. Bill Finger, who devised the name Bruce Wayne, named Gotham City, and shaped the costume and mythos, was left off the credit entirely. He died in 1974 with no formal acknowledgment.

The erasure ran deep. Finger had a hand in many of Batman's most famous figures, and the page that carried them carried only one name.

CHAPTER 02

A campaign rewrites the record

Recognition came from outside DC first. A grassroots push led by Finger's biographer Marc Tyler Nobleman and his heir Athena Finger built the case for credit over years. The 2017 documentary "Batman & Bill" later told the story for a wide audience.

In 2015, DC and the Finger estate reached an agreement. The line "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger" began appearing in comics that October, then on the Fox series Gotham and the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

CHAPTER 03

The holiday arrives

Batman Day landed in the middle of all this. DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. built it in 2014 as the centerpiece of Batman's 75th anniversary. The first one fell on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, timed to San Diego Comic-Con.

The hook that day was a giveaway. Thousands of comic shops, bookstores, and libraries handed out a free Detective Comics #27 Special Edition, a reimagining of the 1939 original with new art designed by Chip Kidd. DC later moved the observance to a recurring slot on the third Saturday of September.

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TIMELINE

Timeline

Batman debuts in print

Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939, drawn by Bob Kane and scripted by Bill Finger.

Bill Finger dies uncredited

Finger died with no formal acknowledgment as a creator of Batman, despite his central role in the character.

The Dark Knight crosses a billion

The Christopher Nolan film grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, among the first superhero films to do so.

First Batman Day held

DC launched Batman Day on Wednesday, July 23, at San Diego Comic-Con for Batman's 75th anniversary.

Finger gets his credit

DC and the Finger estate reached a deal, and 'created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger' began appearing on comics and screen.

Bat-Signals light the world

Batman Day fell on September 21 for the 85th anniversary, marked by Bat-Signal lightings in cities across several continents.

WHY THIS DAY MATTERS

Why We Love Batman Day

CREDIT

A holiday for the character, and finally for both its makers.

Batman Day now celebrates a character whose creator credit was corrected in 2015 to name both Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The day spotlights the people behind the work, not just the cowl.

REACH

It runs as a global fan event

DC partners with thousands of comic shops worldwide and ties in free digital comics, studio-tour events, and themed merchandise. The observance now stretches well past a single country's calendar.

LEGACY

It marks a deep supporting cast

By DC's own 2015 recognition, Bill Finger helped shape Batman figures including Robin, Catwoman, and the Joker. The day celebrates a world, not a lone hero.

BY THE NUMBERS

Batman Day by the Numbers

1939
Batman's comic-book debut
2014
Batman Day launch, the 75th anniversary
$1.83M
Detective Comics #27 auction sale
$1.01B
The Dark Knight worldwide gross

GOOD TO KNOW

Batman Day Around the World

London

Among the cities where DC staged a Bat-Signal lighting for Batman Day 2024.

Tokyo

Joined the 2024 worldwide Bat-Signal lightings DC coordinated for the 85th anniversary.

Rio de Janeiro

One of the South American cities lit with a Bat-Signal for Batman Day 2024.

Mumbai

Part of the global spread of Bat-Signal lightings DC arranged for Batman Day 2024.

Milan

Marked the day with a Bat-Signal lighting among DC's 2024 worldwide events.

MYTH VS FACT

Common Misconceptions

The myth

Bob Kane created Batman alone.

The truth

Batman was created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger. Kane drew the 1939 debut, but Finger devised the name Bruce Wayne, named Gotham City, and shaped the costume and mythos, and a 2015 deal finally added his credit.

GET INVOLVED

How to Celebrate Batman Day

EDITOR'S PICK

Pick up a free comic at a shop

Batman Day giveaways run through thousands of comic stores, bookstores, and libraries. Check your local shop for the year's free issue and tie-in events.

READ

Read Batman's 1939 first appearance

Start with Detective Comics #27, the issue that introduced the character. It shows how much of the now-familiar Batman was there from the opening case.

WATCH

Watch a defining Batman film

Screen a feature like The Dark Knight to see how the character carried to the box office. A movie night turns the day into a shared event.

CATCH

Catch a Bat-Signal lighting

DC coordinates Bat-Signal lightings in major cities for Batman Day. Look up whether one is planned near you and watch the beam go up after dark.

LEARN

Learn who Bill Finger was

Read about the writer who named Gotham and Bruce Wayne, or watch the documentary about his fight for credit. It reframes the character you thought you knew.

Test your knowledge

How well do you know Batman Day?

1 / 8

In which comic did Batman first appear?

Answer

Batman Day falls on the third Saturday in September. The very first one, in 2014, was a one-off held on Wednesday, July 23, before DC settled on the September pattern.

COLOPHON

Sources

How we know what’s on this page. References, not endorsements.

6sources
3primary records
4independently dated
Primary records
DC2014-03-27
Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC Entertainment Celebrate Batman's 75th Anniversary
DC's announcement of Batman Day, the 2014 launch, and the free Detective Comics #27 giveaway.
View source
DC2024-09-10
Batman Day Arrives Saturday, September 21
DC's post on the September date, the 85th anniversary, and worldwide Bat-Signal lightings.
View source
Box Office Mojo
The Dark Knight (2008)
Box-office dataset showing The Dark Knight's worldwide, domestic, and international grosses.
View source
Additional coverage
The Hollywood Reporter2015-09-18
DC Entertainment to Give Classic Batman Writer Bill Finger Credit
Report on the 2015 DC deal that credited Bill Finger and detailed his contributions.
View source
CGC2024
CGC-graded Detective Comics #27 Sells for $1.82 Million
The grading authority's report on a CGC 6.5 Detective Comics #27 sold at ComicConnect.
View source
Wikipedia
Bill Finger
Background on Finger's first formal credit, the recognition campaign, and the 2017 documentary.
View source
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