Heading: Highest-Graded Copy of One of the Rarest DCs
Author:
Title: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS COMIC SEAL OF APPROVAL?
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: National Comics Publications, Inc.]
Date Published: 1955
Description: CGC certified: VG/Fine (5.0). Off-white to white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: Three recorded sales: A 5.0 sold for $1265 in 2/05; a 3.0 sold for $7800 in 9/22; and a 2.5 sold for $3600 in 6/23.

Overstreet: "Rare." CGC Census: Four graded copies, all Universal (one 5.0, one 4.5, one 3.0, one 2.5. This is the highest-graded copy. Gerber's Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: Not listed.

Credits: Win Mortimer cover and art.Top Copy of One of the Rarest DCs: This ultra-rare one-shot is the highest-graded of just four copies on the CGC Census, and it's the only comic book from the DC Universe Collection (formerly known as the Ian Levine Collection) that Mr. Levine kept in a slab. "I took every comic I bought out of its slab, except for What Do You Know About This Comic's Seal Of Approval, which I kept slabbed simply because it's the only copy known to man." — From the CGC Forum thread "The DC Collection is COMPLETE," p. 36, posted July 29, 2008.

The book itself is only four pages long, and was issued without covers. The artwork, by DC mainstay Win Mortimer, depicts a pair of nosy Karens cornering a newsdealer to grill him about the funnybooks he sells ("Mr. Brown, we're from the local Parent-Teachers Association, and we'd like to talk to you about these comic magazines you're selling. You see, we've been delegated to clean up the comics in town —"). The newsdealer preempts the busybodies by assuring them that their attentions are no longer necessary, thanks to the newly-minted Comics Code Seal of Approval on the cover of every funnybook he sells: "I'm glad to tell you that you're too late! Operation Cleanup has already taken place!" The book goes on to depict the Comics Code administrators hard at work censoring page after page of original comic art, removing anything remotely interesting objectionable before the pages see print: "Hmm... This scene violates the CODE. It'll have to be redrawn!"****************************************
The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION comprises over 40,000 comic books, encompassing 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, including The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION Part 3: The GOLDEN AGE, coming this summer. To join the DC Universe Collection notifications list, contact pba@pbagalleries.com.

Enjoying PBA's DC Universe Collection: Pre-Hero, Ashcans and Oddities 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 DC diehards. To order a copy, or to inquire about consignment opportunities, contact Ivan Briggs, PBA's Director of Comics: ivan@pbagalleries.com.