The district attorney whose face is destroyed in this issue is named Harvey Kent. Detective Comics 66 value keys off that fact.
DC changed it to Dent shortly afterward, almost certainly because Kent was already doing a great deal of work at that company. He is Harvey Kent in this comic, not Harvey Dent, and knowing that is the difference between a listing that reads as informed and one that does not.
This is Detective Comics #66, August 1942, and it is the first appearance and origin of Two-Face, the third of the Batman villains that a general audience can name without prompting.
What it brings
| Grade | Result | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| CGC 9.0 | $53,538 | ComicConnect, September 2025 |
| CGC 9.2, top graded | $85,000 (reported, undated) | , |
| any condition | around $4,000 (reported, undated) | , |
One documented sale near the top of the scale tells you about the ceiling, not about your copy. A 9.0 on a 1942 comic is exceptional; most survivors are nowhere near it.
The $85,000 reported figure belongs to a single top-graded 9.2 and carries no date, so it is a ceiling on a ceiling. The reported floor near $4,000 is undated too. Between $4,000 and $53,538 there is a great deal of room and no public evidence, and I am not going to fill it in.
Why 1942 Batman comics survive badly
Print runs were large, Batman sold enormously through the war, so the scarcity is not about how many were made.
It is about the paper and the salvage drives. Wartime stock was poor because the better grades went to the war effort, so copies brown and turn brittle faster than a 1940 book. And the paper drives of 1942 to 1945 actively collected old magazines from households, with children encouraged to hand comics in.
The result is a population skewed low, which is why a 9.0 commands what it does on an issue where the reported floor is four thousand dollars.
All the receipts I can verify
Every Detective Comics #66 sale I can verify, 43 rows over 25 years, no estimates among them:
| Grade | Result | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| CGC 9.2 | $72,000 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 17, 2024 |
| CGC 9.0 | $9,200 | Heritage Auctions, Jan 19, 2006 |
| CGC 8.5 | $8,962 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 4, 2016 |
| CGC 8.0 | $2,760 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 12, 2005 |
| CGC 8.0 | $12,548 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 17, 2016 |
| CGC 7.5 | $26,400 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 19, 2020 |
| CGC 7.5 | $33,600 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 8, 2021 |
| CGC 7.0 | $1,150 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 4, 2002 |
| CGC 7.0 | $1,314 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 25, 2010 |
| CGC 7.0 | $16,750 | eBay, Jan 25, 2025 |
| CGC 7.0 | $15,600 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 30, 2025 |
| CGC 6.5 | $1,434 | Heritage Auctions, May 11, 2006 |
| CGC 6.5 | $1,733 | Heritage Auctions, May 20, 2010 |
| CGC 6.5 Conserved | $10,800 | Heritage Auctions, Dec 5, 2023 |
| CGC 6.5 | $14,400 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 10, 2024 |
| CGC 5.5 | $862 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 1, 2002 |
| CGC 5.5 | $1,092 | Heritage Auctions, Aug 12, 2005 |
| CGC 5.5 | $11,101 | eBay, Jul 14, 2022 |
| CGC 5.5 | $10,200 | eBay, Jul 26, 2022 |
| CGC 5.0 | $777 | Heritage Auctions, May 21, 2010 |
| CGC 5.0 | $5,378 | Heritage Auctions, Nov 17, 2016 |
| CGC 5.0 | $7,469 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 4, 2018 |
| CGC 5.0 | $10,370 | Heritage Auctions, May 14, 2026 |
| CGC 4.5 | $777 | Heritage Auctions, May 9, 2010 |
| CGC 4.5 | $10,250 | eBay, Nov 27, 2025 |
| CGC 4.0 | $10,200 | Heritage Auctions, Jun 28, 2022 |
| CGC 4.0 | $14,250 | eBay, Feb 2, 2023 |
| CGC 3.5 | $460 | Heritage Auctions, Sep 5, 2004 |
| CGC 3.5 | $717 | Heritage Auctions, May 20, 2012 |
| CGC 3.0 | $437 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 15, 2003 |
| CGC 2.5 | $6,600 | Heritage Auctions, Apr 17, 2024 |
| CGC 2.5 | $4,800 | Heritage Auctions, Oct 10, 2024 |
| CGC 2.5 | $6,300 | eBay, Jan 23, 2026 |
| CGC 2.0 | $3,725 | eBay, Jan 18, 2026 |
| Raw (GD+) | $388 | Heritage Auctions, Jun 10, 2007 |
| Raw (VG) | $509 | Heritage Auctions, Feb 17, 2008 |
| Raw (VG-) | $5,497 | Heritage Auctions, Jul 2, 2017 |
| Raw | $1,800 | eBay, Oct 25, 2022 |
| Raw | $5,575 | eBay, Apr 29, 2024 |
| Raw | $3,000 | eBay, May 4, 2024 |
| Raw | $1,700 | eBay, May 17, 2025 |
| Raw | $1,700 | eBay, Jul 18, 2025 |
| Raw | $370 | eBay, Feb 27, 2026 |
Sale records assembled from Heritage Auctions results and eBay completed sales via PriceCharting’s public feed, cross-checked against CGC’s published auction reporting. Heritage lots are verifiable in the catalog at comics.ha.com.
4 receipts share one grade; the CGC 7.0 line runs $1,150 (2002), $1,314 (2010), $16,750 (2025), $15,600 (2025). Latest equals highest here: $15,600 in 2025.
Selling a Detective Comics #66
- Describe it correctly. First appearance and origin of Two-Face, named Harvey Kent in this issue. That detail signals to a buyer that the seller knows the book.
- Do not price off the 9.0. I will tell you plainly when the only number I have describes a better copy than yours, and on this issue it almost certainly does.
- Expect tanning. Normal for 1942 and priced in.
- Check the run. Wartime Detective issues carry value unevenly and rarely arrive alone.
Have a copy?
Send three photos: front, back, and the small print. That is all I need to tell you where your copy really sits.
I read every request myself.
Related
- Detective Comics #27, where Batman starts.
- Batman #11, from the same wartime stretch.
- The 100 most valuable Golden Age comics, and what each one really sold for.
Cover images on this page are shown small, for identification, with the publisher credited in the caption. If you are a rights holder and want an image removed, contact me and it comes down.
