DETECTIVE COMICS #26 * Batman Around the Bend

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Author:
Title: DETECTIVE COMICS No. 26
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: Detective Comics, Inc.]
Date Published: April, 1939
Description: CGC certified: G/VG (3.0): Restored (C-2). Grader's notes: "Total split re-attached w/glue spine; back cover & front cover re-attached with glue; multiple tape stain full left of front cover; pieces added spine C-2". Off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. The closest-graded Restored sales are a 1.5 (MP) that sold for $911 in 2014 and another 1.5 (C-1) that sold for $2550 in 5/19. For comparison purposes, a Universal 4.0 sold for $5760 in 8/21.

CGC Census: 29 graded copies (21 Universal, 8 Restored). Gerber Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 6 ("Uncommon: 50-200 copies").

Credits: Cover: Fred Guardineer. Scripts: Jerry Siegel, Gardner Fox (credited as Paul Dean), Tom Hickey?, Jim Chambers?, Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely), Leo O'Mealia, Sax Rohmer, Bob Kane. Art: Wayne Boring (credited as Joe Shuster), Don Lynch, Tom Hickey (signed as TH), Jim Chambers, Fred Guardineer, Bill Ely (credited as Will Ely), Leo O'Mealia, Bob Kane, Sven Elven.The Major's Legacy Lives On: "The Major's creative vision and recognition of the contribution of artists and writers is at the core of what would eventually evolve into DC Comics. However, the venture also required business acumen and financial backing. In 1938, after losing his comic book publishing company to his partners, the stories about the Major that filtered down through the years seemed too extraordinary to believe — but they are all true. The Major's story did not end with the loss of his comics company. He went on to write respected books and articles on military strategy and real-life heroes during World War II while continuing to write adventure stories throughout his life. He never stopped creating and even invented patents for building materials.

"Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson died on September 21, 1965, at the age of 75, yet his creative energy lives through the thousands of pages of the comic magazines he loved and brought into being." — Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, "The Major Who Made Comics." Famous First Edition: New Fun #1, C-63. DC: 2019 (unpaginated).****************************************
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.

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