Heading:
Title: BATMAN No. 2
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: Summer, 1940
Description: CGC certified: Fair (1.0). Purple Label: Restored (C-4). Cream to off-white pages. Grader notes: "Detached cover; spine of cover completely split & re-attached with tape cover; tape spine; RIGHT EDGE OF FRONT COVER TRIMMED; color touch on cover; heavy tape interior cover; piece added with tape left top back cover C-4; piece added with tape top & center & bottom spine C-4." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 240 graded copies (145 Universal, 2 Qualified, 6 Signature Series, 87 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: A restored 1.0 (C-1) sold for $3295 in 8/19; another restored 1.0 (A, trimmed and with 1st wrap married) sold for $2500 in 3/20.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 1.0 sold for $3570 in 1/21; an incomplete 0.5 sold for $2000 in 3/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson (Jerry Robinson inks). Scripts: Bill Finger, Harold Sherman. Art: Bob Kane, Stan Asch?, Jerry Robinson (backgrounds), Harold Sherman. Overstreet: "2nd app. The Joker; 2nd app. Catwoman (out of costume); 1st time called Catwoman."Bat-cyclopedia: "In Summer 1940 Batman and Robin battle the JOKER and the CATWOMAN; unravel the bizarre mystery of ADAM LAMB; apprehend attorney WARD; and match wits with the wily HACKETT AND SNEAD." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 115.
 
The Clown Prince of Crime lies convalescing in a hospital after last ish's epic battle with Batman, in which he accidentally stabbed himself while attacking the Caped Crusader. Batman and Robin hatch a scheme to "abduct the Joker from the hospital before he becomes strong and wily enough to slip through the hands of the police. Then we'll take him to a famous brain specialist for an operation, so that he can be cured and turned into a valuable citizen." Things don't go as planned, and soon Batman, Robin, the Joker, and Catwoman find themselves in a blazing castle fire. Batman saves an unconscious Robin, Catwoman makes a daring escape, and the Joker seemingly dies in the fire (only to resurface in Detective Comics #45, Nov. 1940).
 
The Crime-Clown's Creation: "The specifics [of the Joker's creation] have become muddied by time. Kane's assistant Jerry Robinson brought in a Joker playing card as inspiration for a new villain, and [Bill] Finger drew comparisons between the Joker's wide smile and a photo of the tortured clown Gwynplaine, played by Conrad Veidt in the 1928 silent film The Man Who Laughs. Finger's son has suggested that a grimacing face used to advertise the Coney Island Steeplechase amusement park may have also influenced the team." — Daniel Wallace, The Joker: A Visual History of the Clown Prince of Crime. Universe Publishing: 2011, p. 21.
 
Batman's Kill Count: Batman chucks a crook named Adam Lamb (aka "the Wolf") down a flight of stairs, resulting in the Wolf's death from a broken neck.The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION comprises over 40,000 comic books, including a copy of every single DC comic published for retail sale from 1934 to 2014. The collection was amassed by British music producer Ian Levine over the course of several decades, and it's been hailed as the single greatest collecting accomplishment in comic book history. This collection served as the basis for former DC Comics president Paul Levitz's monumental book 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, published by Taschen in 2017. PBA is proud to present this epic collection in a series of themed sales over the next two years. To join the DC Universe Collection notifications list, contact pba@pbagalleries.com.
Enjoying PBA's Batman sale? A very small number of softcover and limited edition hardcover auction catalogues are available for purchase. The catalogues are fully illustrated, thoroughly researched, and make excellent reference works for Batman fans. To order a copy, or to inquire about consignment opportunities, contact Ivan Briggs, PBA's Director of Comics: ivan@pbagalleries.com.