First Appearance of Killer Croc: 3 Issues and Values

Killer Croc first appeared as a cameo in Detective Comics #523, cover-dated February 1983 (PriceCharting gives a release date of February 1, 1983). Wikipedia credits writer Gerry Conway with artists Don Newton and Gene Colan; he made cameo appearances in Detective Comics #523 and Batman #357 (March 1983), and had his first full appearance in Detective Comics #524 (March 1983).

That three-issue answer is why the question keeps coming up. Collectors and price guides label the same books differently, so the answer depends on which label you trust.

How each source labels the three issues:

• Detective Comics #523: CGC's label, as quoted on the Comics Heating Up forum, is "1st appearance of Killer Croc in cameo". PriceCharting sales listings call it the first Killer Croc cameo.
• Batman #357: the CGC label quoted on the same forum calls it his first full appearance, and PriceCharting's notes say "1st full appearance of Killer Croc & 1st cameo of Jason Todd". Wikipedia counts it as a cameo.
• Detective Comics #524: Wikipedia's first full appearance. Forum members point out that this is the issue where his face is first shown. PriceCharting sales listings also call it his first full appearance and the second cameo of Jason Todd.
• Batman #358: CGC's label, as quoted on the forum, is the first Killer Croc cover, with his face hidden.

Batman #357 is the most wanted of the three partly because it also holds the first cameo of Jason Todd, the second Robin. One forum member argues that the recent push toward Detective #523 is the market trying to create a new key.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Batman #357: ungraded $68.40; CGC 4.0 $59.00; 6.0 $73.93; 8.0 $99.44; 9.2 $150.27; 9.8 $544.33
• Detective Comics #523: ungraded $27.74; CGC 4.0 $28.51; 8.0 $57.47; 9.2 $75.00; 9.8 $198.10
• Detective Comics #524: ungraded $28.76; CGC 4.0 $24.57; 8.0 $39.50; 9.2 $75.51; 9.8 $633.17

Batman #357 costs about two and a half times as much as either Detective issue in raw condition. At 9.8 the order changes: Detective #524 is listed well above Detective #523. The mid grades of the Detective issues sell rarely, so some of those steps are uneven; PriceCharting even lists #523 lower at 9.0 than at 8.0.

The Lizard, by about 19 years. Marvel's Lizard (Curt Connors) first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6, cover-dated November 1963, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Wikipedia). Killer Croc's first cameo is cover-dated February 1983. They are different characters from different publishers.

Waylon Jones was born with a rare form of atavism that gave him reptilian traits. His mother died giving birth to him, and he was raised by an abusive, alcoholic aunt (Wikipedia). His abilities are superhuman strength, speed and durability, skin nearly impenetrable to ordinary cuts and punctures, fast healing and sharpened senses. In his first stories he fought Batman and the new Robin, Jason Todd, who defeated him. Later storylines that feature him include Knightfall, Hush (2002 to 2003) and Infinite Crisis (2005 to 2006), and he has served on the Suicide Squad.

We found no source that confirms one. Wikipedia's Killer Croc article gives his live-action film debut as Suicide Squad (2016), played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and does not mention Christopher Nolan's Batman films. He also appears throughout the Batman: Arkham video games and the LEGO Batman games.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode that did not exist in the cover year means a later edition.
• Paper: decades-old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service such as CGC can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat and straight on in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. Killer Croc is only a cameo in Detective #523, so the title and issue number are what identify the book; make sure both are sharp. ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover art from the photo, and there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market, and a grade that trades about once a year can move a lot on a single sale.