DETECTIVE COMICS (1937-2011; 2016-) #27
CGC VF: 8.0
(Stock Image)
SOLD ON: Tuesday, 06/03/2014 12:47 PM
$140,000
Sold For
52
Bids
PUBLISHER: DC
COMMENTS: crm/ow pgs; Mod(P) ct; pcs ad; tr seal; reinf; trmmd
1st app Batman by Bob Kane; one of the top three most important comics ever published! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
John Wise Collection
Read Description ▼
1st app Batman by Bob Kane; one of the top three most important comics ever published! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
John Wise Collection
DESCRIPTION
crm/ow pgs; Mod(P) ct; pcs ad; tr seal; reinf; trmmd
1st app Batman by Bob Kane; one of the top three most important comics ever published! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
John Wise Collection
Detective Comics #27 hit the newsstands in March 1939 with the first appearance of Batman—just 11 months after the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1. Both issues would become major works of pop culture, and still continually set new records at auction.
Investors will immediately recognize the outstanding opportunity that this book presents. A total of 77 copies of Detective #27 are listed in the CGC census; there are only 8 unrestored copies graded higher than 6.5. This stunning edition displays with an unusual beauty, as well, with the colors of the classic cover remaining remarkably sharp.
The book’s contents are just as notable. “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” introduces readers to the Dark Knight and wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, as co-creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger also establish the crimefighter’s relationship with Commissioner Jim Gordon. The story is notable as a time capsule of Batman’s debt to pulp heroes, with Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego happy to throw thugs from rooftops or grimly approve of a murderer’s demise in an acid bath. The whimsical socialite is also revealed as our hero in the final panels, continuing a tradition going back to Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Of course, debut appearances and first issues carry their own impact as investments. Last year saw a copy of Superman #1 7.0 sell at auction for $1.62 million, and Detective Comics #27 and Batman #1 have over a decade of consistent record-breaking sales. With (at least) ten Batman-related film and television projects in production at the start of 2024, copies of Detective Comics #27 are set to maintain their value as a comic collectible and artifact of American history.
______________________________________________
The Secret History of Batman and Bob Kane
(As told to Stephen Fishler by Bob Kane)
______________________________________________
DC needed a follow-up to Superman, and young Bob Kane was handed the demanding task.
Bob Kane, working with Bill Finger, had his first Batman story published in Detective Comics #27. The rest is history.
But there is more.
The year is 1940. Batman, for lack of a better phrase, is rocking and rolling.
Young Bob laments to his uncle one night about how well Batman is doing and how little he was getting paid. The uncle, a seasoned veteran in the publishing business, is what we will call the fixer.
A plan in concocted. But will it work?
The next day, Bob Kane and his uncle head to the DC offices. What is set in place is a confrontation between Bob Kane & family and Jack Liebowitz—who basically owns DC.
Lots of niceties. Batman is doing great. Sales are through the roof. Everyone is happy. Or so it would appear.
Then Kane's uncle sends the shot heard round the world. Comic-wise.
The uncle says:
"Did you know my nephew Bob is a minor?"
As a matter of law, a signed contract with a minor is not enforceable. Jack Liebowitz knows what this means. The 1939 agreement between DC and Kane over his work on Batman is null and void.
Panic sets in.
On the spot, DC agrees to a brand-new set of demands including a higher pay rate and full creator credit.
Compare the deal that Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster had with Liebowitz to Kane’s agreement. The difference is night and day.
Now, do you want to know the hidden story behind the hidden story?
Kane was not underage. It was a con, and DC bought it.
...and now you know the rest of the story.
One of the most extraordinary and lasting literary creations of the 20th Century, Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman was a merging of childhood traumas, Shadow-style pulp mystery, horror movie atmosphere, and Zorro movies. The result was one of the most compelling and durable of all hero mythologies, one which proves inexhaustibly appealing in all media, from comics to TV to movies to video games. It all began here, in this simple, brooding tale whose tone and style managed to be both crudely naive and compellingly dark all at once. Batman was an instant success, leading to the character's wholesale takeover of the title within a year. It was a debut year of compellingly dark, inimitable solo stories before Kane's introduction of Robin in an attempt to court younger readers scared off by the strip's relentlessly downbeat, violent nature. It's impossible to overstate the importance of this debut issue, and its effect on not only comics but 20th Century pop culture in general. It's also impossible to overstate the investment potential, demand, and scarcity of this book, rivaled only by Action 1 and Marvel 1 for the top spot of Most Important Comic Ever Published! Every time we bring a copy of this comic to auction, it commands great attention and generates enormous heat. This professionally restored, beautifully high-grade copy is one of the finest that has been available for some time, and anyone who wants the absolute finest in comics must add this important book to their collection.ÿý
ÿýOverstreet Guide 2013 VF (8.0) value = $680,000.ÿý
ÿýIf you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.). ÿý
ÿýWe realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 6 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MOREÿý
Artist Information
Joseph Shuster was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, in Action Comics #1.
1st app Batman by Bob Kane; one of the top three most important comics ever published! Comic Book Impact rating of 10 (CBI)
John Wise Collection
Detective Comics #27 hit the newsstands in March 1939 with the first appearance of Batman—just 11 months after the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1. Both issues would become major works of pop culture, and still continually set new records at auction.
Investors will immediately recognize the outstanding opportunity that this book presents. A total of 77 copies of Detective #27 are listed in the CGC census; there are only 8 unrestored copies graded higher than 6.5. This stunning edition displays with an unusual beauty, as well, with the colors of the classic cover remaining remarkably sharp.
The book’s contents are just as notable. “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” introduces readers to the Dark Knight and wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, as co-creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger also establish the crimefighter’s relationship with Commissioner Jim Gordon. The story is notable as a time capsule of Batman’s debt to pulp heroes, with Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego happy to throw thugs from rooftops or grimly approve of a murderer’s demise in an acid bath. The whimsical socialite is also revealed as our hero in the final panels, continuing a tradition going back to Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Of course, debut appearances and first issues carry their own impact as investments. Last year saw a copy of Superman #1 7.0 sell at auction for $1.62 million, and Detective Comics #27 and Batman #1 have over a decade of consistent record-breaking sales. With (at least) ten Batman-related film and television projects in production at the start of 2024, copies of Detective Comics #27 are set to maintain their value as a comic collectible and artifact of American history.
______________________________________________
The Secret History of Batman and Bob Kane
(As told to Stephen Fishler by Bob Kane)
______________________________________________
DC needed a follow-up to Superman, and young Bob Kane was handed the demanding task.
Bob Kane, working with Bill Finger, had his first Batman story published in Detective Comics #27. The rest is history.
But there is more.
The year is 1940. Batman, for lack of a better phrase, is rocking and rolling.
Young Bob laments to his uncle one night about how well Batman is doing and how little he was getting paid. The uncle, a seasoned veteran in the publishing business, is what we will call the fixer.
A plan in concocted. But will it work?
The next day, Bob Kane and his uncle head to the DC offices. What is set in place is a confrontation between Bob Kane & family and Jack Liebowitz—who basically owns DC.
Lots of niceties. Batman is doing great. Sales are through the roof. Everyone is happy. Or so it would appear.
Then Kane's uncle sends the shot heard round the world. Comic-wise.
The uncle says:
"Did you know my nephew Bob is a minor?"
As a matter of law, a signed contract with a minor is not enforceable. Jack Liebowitz knows what this means. The 1939 agreement between DC and Kane over his work on Batman is null and void.
Panic sets in.
On the spot, DC agrees to a brand-new set of demands including a higher pay rate and full creator credit.
Compare the deal that Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster had with Liebowitz to Kane’s agreement. The difference is night and day.
Now, do you want to know the hidden story behind the hidden story?
Kane was not underage. It was a con, and DC bought it.
...and now you know the rest of the story.
One of the most extraordinary and lasting literary creations of the 20th Century, Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman was a merging of childhood traumas, Shadow-style pulp mystery, horror movie atmosphere, and Zorro movies. The result was one of the most compelling and durable of all hero mythologies, one which proves inexhaustibly appealing in all media, from comics to TV to movies to video games. It all began here, in this simple, brooding tale whose tone and style managed to be both crudely naive and compellingly dark all at once. Batman was an instant success, leading to the character's wholesale takeover of the title within a year. It was a debut year of compellingly dark, inimitable solo stories before Kane's introduction of Robin in an attempt to court younger readers scared off by the strip's relentlessly downbeat, violent nature. It's impossible to overstate the importance of this debut issue, and its effect on not only comics but 20th Century pop culture in general. It's also impossible to overstate the investment potential, demand, and scarcity of this book, rivaled only by Action 1 and Marvel 1 for the top spot of Most Important Comic Ever Published! Every time we bring a copy of this comic to auction, it commands great attention and generates enormous heat. This professionally restored, beautifully high-grade copy is one of the finest that has been available for some time, and anyone who wants the absolute finest in comics must add this important book to their collection.ÿý
ÿýOverstreet Guide 2013 VF (8.0) value = $680,000.ÿý
ÿýIf you are a new customer planning to make a first-time purchase over $25,000, please contact us at 212.895.3999 or support@comicconnect.com so that we may approve your account for bidding. (This policy was instituted to protect consignors and bidders against bids from fraudulent accounts, and to ensure the integrity of the bidding process.). ÿý
ÿýWe realize many of you would like to bid on this auction lot, so for this listing, ComicConnect.com offers a 6 month, interest free, time payment plan with a 20% non-refundable deposit. Time Payments invoices can only be paid by cash, check, money order or wire transfer. LEARN MOREÿý
Artist Information
Joseph Shuster was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, in Action Comics #1.