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Title: BATMAN No. 37
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: October-November 1946
Description: CGC certified: Good (2.0). Purple label: Restored (C-3). Off-white pages. Grader notes: "Piece reattached with tape cover; tape cover; tape spine; water stain whole book; color touch on spine & cover; creasing to cover; piece added with tape spine & cover C-3; spine stress lines to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 270 graded copies (239 Universal, 3 Qualified, 6 Signature Series, 22 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A restored 1.5 (C-1, back cover married) sold for $780 in 6/23.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 2.0 sold for $732 in 7/23; a 1.5 sold for $550 in 2/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Jerry Robinson. Scripts: Uncredited. Art: Jerry Robinson (signed as Bob Kane). Overstreet: "Joker spotlight on black cover."Bat-cyclopedia: "In October-November 1946 Batman and Robin apprehend LOU DARRELL; thwart the film-theft scheme of Hollywood director E. J. LORING; and match wits with the JOKER."— Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 120.
 
Details: Gotham Hospital employee Lou Darrell steals the hospital's radium supply in order to construct his own "radio-therapy machine." Batman and Robin thwart his moneymaking scheme and recover the stolen radium. * Mammoth Studios director E. J. Loring hires hooligans to heist his own lousy film to prevent it from ever being seen, hoping to preserve his reputation as an auteur, but Batman and Robin expose his shenanigans. * The Joker decides to use technological tools inspired by Batman's own gear in the service of his crime schemes, including a "Jokermobile," a "Jokergyro," and "Joker signals." The Dynamic Duo, fierce protectors of their intellectual property, soon put the Joker out of business and back behind bars.
 
Green With Envy: The Joker's adopting of Batman's tech in this ish seems to anticipate Jack Nicholson's Joker's jealousy of the Caped Crusader's gizmos in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman flick. The most memorable line of dialogue in that movie occurs when the Joker, green-haired with envy, asks his henchmen a rhetorical question about Batman's bat-gear: "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"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.