Detective Comics #475: The Laughing Fish!

What is Detective Comics #475 About?

For anyone who doesn’t know, Detective Comics is actually what DC stands for. So when you mention DC Comics - you actually say comics twice! But most fans might have already known that… Anyway, DC, of course, has many comics. Number 475 is one of those. It is a comic that many people seem interested in. Its title is The Laughing Fish. It is specifically one of the Batman comics and contains the Joker as an important character.

Synopsis of DC Comic #475

This story follows Batman and some fish. As he is patrolling the city of Gotham, he heads for the Gotham docks. Someone approaches him and shows him a barrel of caught fish. Nothing too special…. Until Batman sees that all the fish have the exact same face as the Joker. In fact, they seem to be wearing his face. The fisherman is just as confused as Batman is about this. The Joker has already heard about this and goes to the Copyright Commission - there, he wishes to trademark the Joker Fish. Sadly, he cannot do this on such a natural resource. Nonetheless, the Joker wants to have it happen, no matter what. Some manipulation is involved in this comic, as well as some fighting and lying.

Appearances in Detective Comics #475

In this comic, there are several things that appear for the first time, as well as several things that never appear after this comic. Briefly, we’ll talk you through what special things you could expect from this comic.

Detective Comics #475 Characters

The main characters of this DC comic are Bruce Wayne and the Joker. Though, this is usually the case. They have fights, try to figure each other out, etc. Other important characters of this comic are Silver St. Could, someone who has a date planned with Bruce, and James Gordon, from the police department. Some minor characters include Rupert Thorne (a councilman) and G. Carl Francis (of the Copyright Commission, who only appears in this comic).

Detective Comics #475 Locations

The whole of this comic takes place in the city of Gotham. Several places can be seen in there, though. Such as the rivers, the docks, the police department, and a club. But it’s all happening in Gotham!

Detective Comics #475 Items

Several special items are appearing in this comic as well. The most important and significant one is the Joker Fish, which appeared in this DC comic for the very first time. Then we also see the bat-rope, the bat-signal, the joker venom, and a utility belt as important items.

Creation of DC Comics #475

The Detective Comic #475 titled The Laughing Fish came out in February of 1978 (yes, that is indeed quite a while ago) and has become a collector's item ever since. Currently, the comic is being sold for hundreds of dollars. It is a beloved one - probably because of the funny cover art and story.

Artists & Writers of #475

The Executive Editor of Detective Comics #475 was Joe Orlando. He worked together with writer Steve Englehart, editors Julius Schwartz and E. Nelson Bridwell, Penciler Marshall Rogers, inker Terry Austin, colourist Jerry Serpe, and letterer Ben Oda. The cover was created by several artists, including Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, Tatjana Wood, and John Workman. It is safe to say that many people work on just one comic book.

Special Mentions of Detective Comics #475

Because of it being such a beloved comic, DC comic The Laughing Fish has experienced several things. Including it being nominated in 1979 for the Eagle Awards. It was nominated in the categories of Favourite Comic Book Artist and Best Continued Story! The story of this comic book was also (partly) to be found in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

Have you read this comic? Or would you be interested to do so? Let us know what you think about it! We love to hear your opinion! Especially since sharing it in the comment section might make you receive a small gift!