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Title: BATMAN No. 58
Publisher:DC [Indicia: National Comics Publications, Inc.]
Date Published: April-May, 1950
Description: CGC certified: Fair/Good (1.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: "Chip out left top of front cover; spine of cover completely split & re-attached with tape; staple detached top of cover; light creasing to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 116 graded copies (104 Universal, 1 Qualified, 11 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: A 1.5 sold for $109 in 5/19. More recently, a 1.0 sold for $234 in 9/23, and a 2.0 sold for $412 in 7/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Dick Sprang and Charles Paris (inks). Scripts: Bill Woolfolk (?), Bill Finger. Art: Dick Sprang, Charles Paris (inks), Jack Sparling, Bob Kane (Batman and Robin only), Lew Sayre Schwartz. Overstreet: "Penguin cover."Bat-cyclopedia: "In April-May 1950 Batman and Robin match wits with the PENGUIN; journey into the past, to 1850s California, for an encounter with JOAQUIN MURIETA; and battle the BLACK DIAMOND." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 122.
 
Details: The Penguin, once again released on parole, attends the Bird-Lover's Society of Gotham City's bird show. The Penguin, wanting to contribute to the show, donates a live penguin, but the Bird-Lover's Society rejects his contribution. Outraged by this slight, the Penguin swears bird-themed revenge. He launches a series of attacks against the members of the society, all based upon the victim's state bird. For example, he places a canister of choking gas in Alabama art dealer Mark Jason's yellow auctioneer's hammer, inspired by the Alabama yellowhammer, enabling the Penguin to steal an emerald statuette from the art auction. The Penguin orchestrates a number of successful crimes in this manner, until his inevitable defeat by the Dynamic Duo.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.