Heading:
Title: BATMAN No. 5
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: Spring, 1941
Description: CGC certified: G/VG (3.0). Purple label: Restored (C-4). Off-white pages. Grader notes: "Tape top of spine; centerfold reinforced; color touch on front cover; color touch on spine; cover tanning; creasing to cover; piece added with tape front cover C-4; spine stress lines to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 291 graded copies (225 Universal, 8 Qualified, 6 Signature Series, 52 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: A 3.0 (C-1) sold for $1676 in 6/23.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 3.0 sold for $3776 in 1/23; a 2.5 sold for $2040 in 4/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Bob Kane. Scripts: Bill Finger. Art: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson (inks), George Roussos (backgrounds). Overstreet: "1st app. the Batmobile with its bat-head front." See the entry for Detective Comics #48 in this catalogue for more info on the Batmobile.Bat-Bibliography: The DC Universe Collection copy of Batman #5 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 152), with the following commentary: "Comics historian Les Daniels writes, 'Batman has been driving around in a fast car since his first appearance, but in the beginning it was just a scarlet sedan. Later he had a blue convertible, which at least matched his color scheme. in 1941 a modest hood ornament in the shape of a bat was added, allowing captions to at last call the car the 'Batmobile' — but it was red again. The first Batmobile really worthy of the name, a midnight-blue 'super-charged car' with a scalloped tail fin and bat-shaped battering ram, appeared in Batman #5.'"
 
Bat-cyclopedia: "In Spring 1941 Batman and Robin battle the JOKER; meet PROFESSOR ANDERSON; apprehend SMILEY SIKES; battle a 'mysterious band of bank robbers'; and fight against the sinister machinations of of the ruthless fifth columnist WRIGHT." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 115.
 
Details: The Joker survived his near-fatal fecal frolic in the previous ish by swimming through Gotham's sewer system. He teams up with a passel of two-bit crooks and starts a floating crap game until Batman smashes their racket. * In perhaps the earliest appearance of the multiverse concept in comics, Professor Anderson invents a machine "capable of transporting people into the world of literary fantasy," and sends Batman and Robin into the realm of fairy tales (the professor's full name isn't given, but "Hans Christian" seems likely). * Hoodlum Smiley Sikes and his gang beat Robin within an inch of his life. Batman, transformed into "a terrible figure of vengeance" by his ward's brutal beating, demolishes Sikes and his gang with his jackhammering fists, despite three bullets the hoods pump into his chest. * Wright, a publishing tycoon and secret Nazi sympathizer, peddles hateful propaganda 'til Batman and Robin write his final chapter.
 
Bat-Foreshadowing Dept.: The Joker's sewer-crawl in this ish anticipates a similar sequence in the Joker's origin story ("The Man Behind the Red Hood," Detective Comics #168, February 1951).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.