The Dark Knight, the comic legend Batman, celebrates his 75th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion on Batman Day, the Bat Cave, N.C., post office offered a July 23 pictorial postmark showing the large dark bat logo. Shown in small type is the credit line for DC Comics.

The Batman character, created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, first appeared in Detective Comics No. 27 in May 1939.

A United States stamp issue for the 75th anniversary of Batman is anticipated to be issued in October, but no formal announcement has been made by the Postal Service.

The small town of Bat Cave is located in the western part of North Carolina and was named after the bats that live in nearby Bluerock Mountain.

To obtain this postmark, which has received a 30-day extension, send request to:

BAT CAVE Station, Box 9998, Bat Cave, NC 28710-9998, July 23.

Instructions for requesting postmarks

For complete instructions for requesting postmarks, click here.