sales for Batman were at their highest level since the early 1970s, and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) feature film was in production. DC announced "A Death in the Family" shortly after the release of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke in 1988; according to author Chris Sims, the Batman letter column immediately "broke out into debate" over whether Jason should live or die. Batman #426, the first issue of "A Death in the Family", was released on August 23, 1988, and Batman #427, the second, was released two weeks later, on September 6. Fans voted to determine Jason's fate between September 15 and 16, 1988, and Batman #428, which featured Jason's death, was released on October 18, 1988. The storyline concluded with Batman #429, on November 29, 1988. The last two issues contained a guest appearance from Superman. After the first three issues of "A Death in the Family" sold out, DC compiled the storyline into a trade paperback in time for the 1988 Christmas shopping season. The collection, Batman: A Death in the Family, shipped on December 5, 1988, less than a week after Batman #429. A 2009 hardcover reprint included Wolfman, Pérez, and Aparo's 1989 sequel storyline, "A Lonely Place of Dying", which introduced Jason's successor Tim Drake. A hardcover deluxe edition was published in April 2021. For many years, the version of Batman #428 in which Jason lives remained unpublished, though the pages remained housed in DC's archives in Burbank, California. Batman Annual #25, published in March 2006, used one of the alternate pages Aparo had prepared; some panels were released by Les Daniels in his book Batman: The Complete History (1999) and by Polygon journalist Susana Polo in 2020. In March 2020, the DC Daily web show unveiled all of the pages to the public for the first time, and the artwork was published in the 2021 deluxe edition. Synopsis While eavesdropping on a child pornography ring and awaiting police backup in Gotham City, Jason Todd (Robin) ignores Batman's orders and attacks the criminals. Batman chastises Jason and asks if he considers crimefighting a game; Jason replies that life is a game. At Wayne Manor, Batman decides Jason is emotionally unstable and relieves him of his duties as Robin; an enraged Todd storms off. Meanwhile, the Joker, Batman's archenemy, escapes from Arkham Asylum. Batman discovers that he has obtained a nuclear weapon and