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Title: BATMAN No. 11
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: June - July, 1942
Description: CGC certified: Good+ (2.5). Purple label: Restored. Off-white to white pages. Grader Notes: "Reattached with tape centerfold; staple detached bottom of front cover; staple detached top of cover; RIGHT EDGE OF CENTERFOLD TRIMMED; creasing to cover; multiple tape cover; soiling on cover; spine roll." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 295 graded copies (222 Universal, 11 Qualified, 5 Signature Series, 57 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A restored 2.0 (C-1, married piece) sold for $1050 in 12/17; a restored 3.5 (EP, married pages) sold for $1478 in 4/19.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 2.5 sold for $5520 in 6/23; a 2.5 sold for $3500 in 4/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Fred Ray and Jerry Robinson (inks). Scripts: Bill Finger, Edmond Hamilton, Tom McNamara Art: Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson (inks), Gerry Roussos (backgrounds), Tom McNamara. Overstreet: "Classic Joker cover by Ray/Robinson (3rd Joker cover); Joker & Penguin app."Bat-Bibliography: The DC Universe Collection copy of Batman #11 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 195).
 
Bat-cyclopedia: "In June-July 1942 Batman and Robin battle the JOKER; apprehend JOE DOLAN; get the goods on HENRY BURTON; and match wits with the PENGUIN." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 116.
 
Details: The Joker tries to kill Robin by trapping him in a room full of burning sulphur, resulting in a terrific beatdown by Batman, who smacks the Clown Prince of Crime around with such vigor that the Joker ends up in the hospital. The Joker, playing a long game indeed, finally manages to kill the Boy Wonder (albeit not the original) in 1989's "A Death in the Family" storyline (see Batman #s 426-429). * Meanwhile, the Penguin opens a gambling casino in Florida and rigs the games to pay off for certain customers, so that his cronies can waylay the winners and pluck them of their winnings. Bruce Wayne happens to be vacationing in Florida and visits the casino, and when the Penguin pulls his stunt on Wayne, Batman and Robin's flailing fists put him out of business.
 
Batman 101: "Over his seven decades of fictive life, the elastic concept of 'Batman' has taken on a host of shapes. He started off simply enough, as a murderous, gun-wielding rip-off of the Shadow. Since then he's clocked field time as a time-and-space-hopping gadabout, a Pop Art scoutmaster, a globe-trotting master spy, a gadget-hapy criminologist, and a grim, remorseless ninja of the urban night.
 
"No single image defines Batman, because any single image is too small to contain the various layered and at time contradictory meanings we've instilled in him. Since his first appearance, we have projected onto the character our own fears, our preoccupations, our moral imperatives, and have seen in him what we wish to." —Glen Weldon, The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. Simon & Schuster: 2016, p. 1.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.