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Title: BATMAN No. 3
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: Fall, 1940
Description: CGC certified: Poor (0.5). Purple Label: Restored (C-3). Off-white pages. Grader notes: "Missing coupon back cover; missing interior part/page/wrap page(s) 32 does not affect story; color touch on cover; multiple tape cover; multiple tape interior; piece added with tape cover C-2." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 283 graded copies (198 Universal, 7 Qualified, 5 Signature Series, 83 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis:. A restored 0.5 (C-3, trimmed cover) sold for $1050 in 3/20; another restored 0.5 (C, No Grade, coverless, incomplete) sold for $862 in 2/21.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 0.5 (5 center wraps missing, incomplete) sold for $2300 in 8/22; a 0.5 sold for $1856 in 9/22.
 
Credits: Cover: Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson (inks). Scripts: Bill Finger, Stan Asch, Whitney Ellsworth. Art: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson (inks), George Roussos (backgrounds), Jack Burnley. Overstreet: "3rd app. Catwoman (1st in costume, 1st costumed villainess); 1st Puppet Master app.; classic Kane & Robinson cover."Bat-Bibliography: The DC Universe Collection copy of Batman #3 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 159), with the following commentary: "'Lovely girl! What eyes! Maybe I'll bump into her again sometime.' Batman was quite taken with the lovely thief called the Cat, so much so that he 'accidentally' let her escape more than once. By their third encounter, the mystery woman had hidden her features behind a cat's head and renamed herself the Catwoman."
 
Bat-cyclopedia: "In Fall 1940 Batman and Robin match wits with the PUPPET MASTER; battle the Ugly Horde; smash the BIG BOY DANIELS mob; and match wits with the CATWOMAN." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 115.
 
Details: The Puppet Master, a one-and-done Bat-foe, uses a diabolical "thought serum" to control his human puppets until Batman kiboshes his crime scheme (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby would recycle the Puppet Master name and concept 21 years later in Fantastic Four #8). * The Ugly Horde is a pack of unsightly crooks led by a guy named Carlson who, like Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, was an upright citizen until his handsome mug got mauled, causing him to embark on a fanatical crusade to destroy things of beauty. * Big Boy Daniels is a warmed-over Fagin, coaching kids in crime and taking a fat cut of the ill-gotten gains. * Catwoman shows up in this ish wearing a strange cat-head mask, which she removes in order to give Batman a kiss, disorienting the Caped Crusader long enough to allow her to escape.
 
Batman's Kill Count: Batman kick-flips a hoodlum off a rooftop to splatter on the Gotham City streets below, as the terrified crook yelps a final, blood-curdling onomatopoeia: "YI—IIII!"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.