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Title: BATMAN No. 49
Publisher:DC [Indicia: National Comics Publications, Inc.]
Date Published: October-November 1948
Description: CGC certified: Good (2.0) Purple label: Restored (C-4). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: "Detached cover; staple(s) added after manufacturing; ALL 3 EDGES OF COVER TRIMMED; color touch on right top & left center & right bottom front cover; heavy tape cover; heavy tape interior cover; light staining to cover; moderate bends to cover; moderate creasing to cover; pieces added interior cover C-4." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 272 graded copies (248 Universal, 8 Qualified, 16 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A restored 2.5 (C-1) sold for $647 in 9/18.
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 2.0 sold for $1136 in 12/22; another 2.0 sold for $1380 in 11/21.
 
Credits: Cover: Bob Kane and Charles Paris (inks). Scripts: Bill Finger. Art: Jim Mooney, Bob Kane (Batman and Robin only), Lew Sayre Schwartz, Charles Paris (inks). Overstreet: "Joker cover/story; 1st app. Mad Hatter; 1st app. Vicki Vale."Bat-cyclopedia: "In October-November 1948 Batman and Robin match wits with the MAD HATTER and journey to ancient Baghdad to battle the CRIER. Another text from this period tells how, sometime in the recent past, Batman joined forces with the Gotham Penitentiary physician Paul Taber to let Death Row inmate Jeff "Nitro" Blake cheat death in the electric chair and escape from prison as part of an elaborate ruse to trick Blake into leading Batman to $500,000 in unrecovered bank loot." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 121.
 
Details: Launching his criminal career by stealing a Yacht Club trophy, the Mad Hatter continues his crime spree by attempting to rob the spectators of a Gotham City horse show. Failing his mission, he flees back to his hideout inside an abandoned summer theater. Batman and Robin manage to track him down and apprehend him with some help from Vicki Vale, the romantic interest of both Batman and Bruce Wayne. This early depiction of the Mad Hatter draws inspiration from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, but later depictions would distinguish the character as his own individual.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.