Batman Day Date in the current year: September 21, 2024

Batman (Bruce Wayne) was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for National Comics Publications (the predecessor of DC Comics). For a long time, Kane was credited as Batman’s sole creator, since Finger mostly worked as his ghostwriter. It wasn’t until 2015 (more than four decades after his death) that Finger received acknowledgment and credit for his contribution to the character and storylines.

Batman’s first name came from Scottish king Robert the Bruce, and his last name is an allusion to American officer and revolutionary Anthony Wayne. The character was introduced in Detective Comics #27 (released on March 30, 1939 and cover-dated May 1939). In 1940, Batman received his own comic book title and soon became one of the publisher’s most popular characters, alongside Superman and Wonder Woman. Since Batman’s first appearance, the character has been reinvented multiple times and has appeared in various media alongside comic books, remaining one of the most popular superheroes.

Unlike many other geek/nerd holidays and observances, Batman Day isn’t fan-invented; it was created by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. that manages its intellectual property (characters), to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Batman’s first appearance in comics. The first celebration was held on July 23, 2014 to coincide with the San Diego Comic-Con. Since 2015, Batman Day has been observed on the third Saturday in September, despite that fact that the first comics featuring Batman was released in March.

To celebrate Batman Day, DC Comics offers various promotions and activities for Batman fans around the world, including special comics and merchandise releases. For example, the 2019 Batman Day celebration, which was Batman’s 80th anniversary, included a Batman-themed 5K run, a big celebration at Oracle Park in San Francisco, a panel discussion and autograph session with the authors of the Batman comics in New York City, and a series of events in Barns & Noble stores across the United States.

In addition, to celebrate the milestone, the Bat-Signal was projected on buildings in thirteen major cities around the world at 8 PM local time. These cities were Barcelona, Berlin, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mexico City, Montreal, New York, Paris, Rome, São Paulo, and Tokyo.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t prevent the celebration of Batman Day in 2020. Warner Bros. and DC announced various social distancing-friendly promotions, events and activities, such as free digital comic downloads, sales, special merchandise (including new products from Funko and LEGO), a Batman and the Riddler theme for Waze (a GPS navigation software app), a virtual 5K/10K run, themed playlists on Spotify, free activities for kids, a digital mystery, and more.