First Appearance of the Riddler: Detective Comics #140

The Riddler first appeared in Detective Comics #140, cover-dated October 1948, created by writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang (Wikipedia). Comic Book Historians adds that Charles Paris inked the story, and that its origin shows Edward Nigma as "the boy who cheated on puzzles" in high school before turning to crime. PriceCharting lists the issue as the first appearance of the Riddler.

His name is a pun: Wikipedia points out that an enigma is a person or thing that is hard to understand, so E. Nigma reads as "enigma".

The Riddler's publishing history has a long gap, which is why collectors talk about two debuts. Comic Book Historians lays it out:

• Detective Comics #140 (October 1948): first appearance.
• Detective Comics #142 (December 1948): second appearance, in "Crime's Puzzle Contest".
• No appearances for 17 years.
• Batman #171 (May 1965): his Silver Age return in "The Remarkable Ruse of the Riddler", written by Gardner Fox. PriceCharting labels it "1st Silver Age Riddler".

Batman #171 came out months before the Batman TV series premiered on February 16, 1966, with Frank Gorshin as the Riddler (Comic Book Historians), which is why this issue is a key in its own right.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Detective Comics #140 (first Riddler): ungraded $3,509.08; 4.0 $9,437.48; 6.0 $19,520.00; 8.0 $47,686.86; 9.2 $61,993.00; no 9.8 price listed. Most grades trade about once a year or less.
• Batman #171 (first Silver Age Riddler): ungraded $230.50 (about one sale a week); 4.0 $426.00; 6.0 $920.00; 8.0 $2,300.89; 9.2 $4,920.54; 9.8 $27,502.51 (rare)

A mid-grade Batman #171 costs a small fraction of a Detective #140 in the same grade: at 6.0, about $920 against $19,520. That is why many collectors buy #171 first. PriceCharting figures are estimates built from recorded sales of CGC-graded copies; when a grade trades only about once a year, one sale can push it above the next grade up.

• IQ: we found no official IQ number for Edward Nygma in DC's comics. Wikipedia calls him a criminal genius capable of extraordinary lateral thinking.
• Mental illness: the comics depict him with a compulsion. Wikipedia says leaving clues has become a compulsion for him, and quotes Batman's observation that he shows narcissism, egocentrism and megalomania crossed with severe obsessive compulsion. This is how the character is written, not a real diagnosis.
• Did he know who Batman was? Yes, for a time. In Batman: Hush he works out Batman's identity during a psychotic break after using a Lazarus Pit and tells Hush; when he threatens to expose it, Batman calls it an empty threat (Wikipedia).
• Is the Riddler LGBTQ? Wikipedia's Riddler article does not describe him as LGBTQ, and we found no DC statement saying so.

Wikipedia lists Frank Gorshin and John Astin in the 1960s Batman series, Jim Carrey in Batman Forever (1995), and Paul Dano in The Batman (2022).

Photograph the front cover straight on, then the indicia (the small print on the first page or inside cover with the title, issue number and date). ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from the photo, matches the likely issue with a confidence indicator you can correct by hand, and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick. For Detective Comics #140, photograph the indicia and check for restoration before you rely on any price; see how to spot a fake or restored comic. There are free scans every day; the range is a reference estimate, not an appraisal or an offer.

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. Pages we tried to open but could not read (Key Collector Comics, Reddit, Facebook, eBay and Fandom returned errors) are not used as sources.