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Title: DETECTIVE COMICS No. 29 * Dr. Death's Debut
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: July, 1939
Description: CGC certified: Fair (1.0). Purple label: Restored (C-4:). Cream to off-white pages. Grader notes: "Tape interior cover; tape spine; RIGHT EDGE TRIMMED; color touch on spine & cover; heavy creasing to cover; piece added with tape spine & cover C-3; soiling on cover." Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.
 
CGC Census: 73 graded copies (40 Universal, 33 Restored).
 
GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A restored 1.8 (C-1, centerfold trimmed) sold for $20,315 in 2/17. 
 
For comparison purposes, here are recent Universal sales: A 1.5 sold for $15,400 in 8/20; 1.0 sold for $6100 in 3/19; a 0.5 (incomplete) sold for $9656 in 6/13.
 
Credits: Cover: Bob Kane. Scripts: Gardner Fox, Bill Ely, Jerry Siegel, Jim Chambers, Tom Hickey, Sven Elven. Art: Bob Kane, Bill Ely, Mart Bailey, Jim Chambers, Fred Guardineer, Tom Hickey, Sven Elven, Wayne Boring. Overstreet: "1st app: Doctor Death, Batman's 1st name villain; 1st two-part story; 2nd Batman cover." Third appearance of Batman.Bat-cyclopedia: "In July 1939 Batman battles DOCTOR DEATH.... a cunning and diabolical villain who matches wits with BATMAN.... The fiendish Doctor Death has devised a means of causing 'death by pollen extract,' and is now ready to launch a campaign of terror against the world's wealthy. 'I am ready to extract my tribute from the wealthy of the world,' announces Doctor Death grimly. They will either pay tribute to me or DIE....' (Det No. 29: 'The Batman Meets Doctor Death')." — Michael L. Fleisher, The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Vol. 1: Batman. Macmillan: 1976, pp. 115, 190-191.
 
Caped Crusader's Class Conflict: Like many of Batman's early foes, Dr. Death's villainy is directed against Gotham's moneyed uppercrust, which proves to be a surefire method of attracting Batman's ire: "Bored man-about-town Bruce Wayne lives a life of pampered ease and dons his outlandish garb to bust the heads of brutish thugs. Crucially, he does not do so to defend the rights of the honest American workingman like the populist hero Superman, but more often to protect his wealthy friends and associates — and their money.
 
"In his first adventure, he settles a dispute between rich rival businessmen over a chemical fortune. In his next, he nabs jewel thieves. Over and over, throughout his first year, he faces down those who would threaten the lives of millionaires to extort their millions from them." — Glen Weldon, The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture. Simon & Schuster: 2016, p. 15.
 
Batman's Kill Count: In the course of his battle with Doctor Death, Batman kills the evil doctor's "giant Indian" assistant Jabah by tossing a lasso around his neck and snapping it. This brings the Caped Crusader's kill count so far to three, comprising one killing per adventure (he punched a crook into a vat of acid in Detective #27, and chucked another crook off a roof in #28). The mayhem continues next ish, when Batman breaks a gunman's neck with a powerful kick. "This Batman does not yet abide by the strict moral code that later comes to define him; in this early incarnation, justice, perhaps even vengeance, is more important to Batman than the sanctity of human life." — Andrew Farago and Gina McIntyre, Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond. Insight Editions: 2022, p. 18.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.