'Batman' 80th Anniversary Plans Unveiled

With Bruce Wayne’s alter ego celebrating his 80th year of crime-fighting this month, Warner Bros. and DC have unveiled a slate of celebratory events and publications for the Bat-versary, including live events, convention plans and the publication of the landmark 1000th issue of Detective Comics.

The celebration of Batman’s 80th, which will be marked online with the hashtag #LongLiveTheBat, will launch at SXSW in Austin, Texas, with the release of new exclusive merchandise, photo opportunities and the unveiling of a mural by a local artist. The festival will also feature a special event on March 15, when more than 1.5 million bats will fly over the city’s Congress Bridge.

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Immediately following, DC will release two special anniversary comic books: the hardcover Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman — The Deluxe Edition on March 19, and the extra-length Detective Comics No. 1000, on March 27. Three days after the latter, Anaheim’s WonderCon will play host to a “Happy Birthday, Batman!” panel.

Future events throughout the year will include Batman-themed celebrations at Six Flags locations across North America in August, and in Warner Bros. theme parks internationally; a May exhibition at the acclaimed MONDO gallery in Austin, Texas; September celebrations at Madame Tussauds locations in Orlando and Sydney; and special Batman-centric programming in March and September on Cartoon Network, DC Universe and television broadcast partners across the world, including a Batman-branded channel across AT&T platforms.

Additionally, April will see the beginning of a Batman-themed campaign from Boys & Girls Clubs of America to celebrate kids, teens and youth development professionals standing up for positive change in their communities, and the following month will debut a Batman-themed USO2GO kit for service members around the globe, created in partnership between DC and the USO.

Partners for the ambitious birthday campaign include Amazon, Apple, LEGO, Mattel, Funko, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth and many more.

More information about the anniversary celebrations will be available on DC’s social media throughout the year, with attention being focused on March 30 — the official 80th anniversary date — and Sept. 21, this year’s annual Batman Day.

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