 The first appearance of Anarky was in " Anarky in Gotham City " , Detective Comics # 608 , in November 1989 . Grant 's initial script portrayed Anarky as vicious , killing his first victim . Dennis O 'Neil , then editor of Detective Comics , balked at this proposal , believing that the depiction of a twelve @-@ year @-@ old becoming a murderer was morally reprehensible . Grant consented to O 'Neil 's request that the script be changed , and rewrote it to portray Anarky as violent , but non @-@ lethal . Grant later expressed relief with this early decision , coming to believe that " Anarky would have compromised his own beliefs if he had taken the route of the criminal @-@ killer . " 
