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Title: BATMAN No. 81
Publisher:DC [Indicia: National Comics Publications, Inc.]
Date Published: February, 1954
Description: CGC certified: VG- (3.5). White pages. Grader notes: "Tape top of interior spine; light spine splits to cover; light staple tears; light tears to cover; moderate creasing to cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 122 graded copies (114 Universal, 5 Qualified, 3 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: A 3.5 sold for $350 in 6/23.
 
Credits: Cover: Win Mortimer. Scripts: David Vern and Bill Woolfolk. Art: Dick Sprang, Charles Paris (inks), Sheldon Moldoff (signed as Bob Kane), and Stan Kaye (inks). Overstreet: "Two-Face cover /story."Bat-Bibliography: The DC Universe Collection copy of Batman #81 is illustrated in Taschen's 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking (page 158), with the following commentary: "Two-Face was one of Batman's greatest enemies, a handsome district attorney whose features were partially destroyed by a vengeful mobster. With each flip of a two-headed coin that was defaced on one side, he determined whether his next actions would be in the cause of good or evil. Three issues' worth of give and take between Batman and Two-Face end with the character surrendering, undergoing plastic surgery, and marrying his girlfriend. Despite the character's popularity, writer Bill Finger refused to undo his happy ending. David V. Reed was less sentimental and had the character's plastic surgery undone in this 1954 story."
 
Bat-cyclopedia: "In February 1954 Batman and Robin match wits with TWO-FACE; outwit MR. CAMERA; and battle the PHANTOM BANDIT." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, p. 125.
 
Details: During a normal day in Gotham City, Harvey Kent suddenly comes across a gang of criminals robbing a television store. Attempting to stop them, Kent is exposed to the full blast of the explosives rigged to the store's safe. Kent is horrified to realize that the blast undid his plastic surgery, revealing his scarred face underneath. "...More than Dent's face has been re-injured! The scar reaches right through to his brain!" Believing that the plastic surgery cannot be recreated, Harvey Kent takes this is a sign that he was always destined to be a criminal. Putting his decision in the hands of fate, Kent flips a duplicate of his iconic scarred coin, and it lands evil-side up. Two-Face re-enters the criminal world with a vengeance, committing a series of robberies against victims whom he considers to have "two faces," including a clown, an actor, and a gambler. In an attempt to capture Two-Face, Batman and Robin instead manage to get captured themselves. Strapping the Dynamic Duo to one side of an oversized coin, Two-Face flips the massive coin over a pit of spikes, allowing fate to decide whether or not they are impaled. Batman and Robin use their utility belts to create a powerful magnetic field, successfully repelling their side of the coin away from the spikes, and escape unharmed. Two-Face and his henchmen are taken into custody.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.