Batman #321: Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...!

Quick answer

Batman #321: Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...! stands out in Gotham Vault because the issue title, character tags, and 1980-03-31 cover date create a distinct entry point into Batman. Readers can use it to jump from this issue into Batman (Bruce Wayne), The Joker, Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Robin (Dick Grayson) and related Batman continuity.

Issue summary

The Joker celebrates his birthday by rounding up his enemies from all around town, including Robin, James Gordon, Selina Kyle, and Alfred Pennyworth. Cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. " Dreadful Birthday, Dear Joker...! " written by Len Wein, penciled by Walter Simonson, inked by Dick Giordano, colored by Glynis Wein and lettered by Ben Oda. Upon entering Gotham Police headquarters Commissioner Gordon is handed an envelope containing an invitation to the Jokers birthday party. As he tosses away the invitation the whole lobby begins to laugh hysterically as the Joker enters the room. Outside the Batman sees the joker mobile and hears the Joker laughing inside police HQ. The Jokers men keep the Batman busy while the Joker gets away along with kidnapping the commissioner. The Batman soon finds out that Robin too has been abducted. The Joker kidnaps Bruce Wayne’s butler as the next target of his victim go round. The Joker placed an ad in the newspaper " Harlequin Bakery Co. invites you for a free sample of its wares at the spectacular new Seaside Coliseum tomorrow night at 9:00pm". The Batman sees the ad realizes this is a ploy of the Jokers. people attend and are victims to the Jokers nerve gas. Inside ,the Joker has those he kidnapped tied to giant candles on a giant cake. The Batman steps out of the shadows and surrenders himself as the Joker agrees to let his other kidnapped…

Characters listed for this issue

Batman (Bruce Wayne)The Dark Knight of Gotham. Billionaire by day, vigilante by night. No superpowers, just iron…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

The JokerThe Clown Prince of Crime. Gotham's chaos agent. No one knows his real story, and that's the…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Catwoman (Selina Kyle)The world's greatest thief with a heart of... well, sometimes gold. Walks the line between h…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

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Robin (Dick Grayson)Open this Gotham Vault character file to see linked appearances, story arcs, and related com…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Commissioner Gordon (James Gordon)The one good cop in a corrupt city. Keeps the GCPD running and the Bat-Signal lit. Never los…VIEW APPEARANCES ›

Alfred PennyworthThe man who raised Batman. Ex-SAS, current butler, permanent father figure. The only one who…VIEW APPEARANCES ›