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Title: BATMAN No. 33
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: February-March, 1946
Description: CGC certified: Fine+ (6.5). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: "Light bends to cover; light creasing to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 187 graded copies (177 Universal, 4 Qualified, 6 Restored). 
 
GPAnalysis: A 6.5 sold for $795 in 12/20.
 
Credits: Cover: Dick Sprang. Scripts: Bill Finger. Art: Win Mortimer (signed as Bob Kane). Overstreet: "Christmas cover."Bat-cyclopedia: "In February-March 1946 Batman and Robin battle the PENGUIN; match wits with the JACKAL; and help put three bitter old men on the path to brighter, happier lives." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 119.
 
Details: Three clever yeggs named Melancholy Mike, Willie the Wag, and Ralph the Rook make a bet with the Penguin, daring him to commit three brash crimes and stipulating that he must leave clues for Batman in advance of each crime. The Avaricious Avian takes the bait, not suspecting that the three crooks merely want Batman to be distracted by the Penguin's crimes, freeing them to stage a crime spree of their own. Feathers fly when the Penguin gets wise to their ploy, and before long the Dynamic Duo fold the Penguin and his playmates like so many soggy umbrellas.
 
Bat-Fans' Fitness Folly: Batman and the Penguin represent opposite ends of the physical spectrum, which underscores one of the basic elements of Batman's mass appeal: the idea that his abilities are the result of discipline, training, and hard work, and thus within reach of motivated readers. "This belief aligns closely with the wildly aspiratonal and borderline-delusional conviction among even the most indolent of nerds that becoming Batman is an achievable goal, given enough sit-ups and time.... Yet one unintended and insidious consequence of Batman's humanity is that consciously or not, we are doomed to compare ourselves to him, and we cannot help but find ourselves wanting. In the ad for the fitness regimen, the miracle diet, we are forever the before photo, and he, always, the after." — Glen Weldon, The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. Simon & Schuster: 2016, p. 3.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.