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Title: BATMAN No. 23
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: June-July, 1944
Description: CGC certified: VG+ (4.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: "Creasing to cover; spine stress lines to cover; staining to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 332 graded copies (290 Universal, 4 Qualified, 38 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: A 4.5 sold for $2640 in 11/22.
 
Credits: Cover: Dick Sprang. Scripts: Bill Finger, Don C. Cameron. Art: Dick Sprang (signed as Bob Kane), Jerry Robinson (signed as Bob Kane). Overstreet: "Joker cover/story; classic black cover."Bat-cyclopedia: "In June-July 1944 Batman and Robin match wits with the JOKER; battle the BUGS CONKLIN gang; and apprehend the SKINNER SHORT gang with the aid of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 118.
 
Details: The Joker plagues Gotham City with a series of crimes revolving around an upside-down theme: "The clues with which the Joker advertises his crimes are either upside-down or backward.... After a series of indecisive battles — including a duel between Batman and the Joker while they hang suspended, with the aid of magnetized shoes, from the metal ceiling of the Joker's hideout — Batman and Robin capture the Joker's henchmen.... The Joker, however, escapes." — Ibid, Fleisher, p. 240.
 
Dynamic Dichotomy: "The Joker needs Batman. The two are a yin-yang swirl of light and dark, though it's the Joker who's always trying to brighten up grim Gotham with his hysterical brand of humor. Batman is the dark element, the shadowy agent of vengeance who rarely speaks and never cracks a smile. If the Joker is the comedian, Batman is his straight man, and his refusal to play by the Joker's rules only reinforces his role. He's the Bud Abbott to the Joker's Lou Costello, even if the Joker is the only one who can see it." — Daniel Wallace, The Joker: A Visual History of the Clown Prince of Crime. Universal Publishing: 2011, p. 37.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.