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Highest-Graded Copy of a 1940 Batman No. 1

Sets World Record at Heritage Auctions

DALLAS, TX – The finest known issue of a villain who became star of his own blockbuster him $3,000 cash,
Batman No. 1 now holds the distinction of being franchise: the Joker. which Willie happily
the most expensive Dark Knight comic ever sold. Then, a few pages later, Batman squares off accepted.
On January 14, during the first session of its against the monsters of Hugo Strange, who made The first Batman
four-day Comics & Comic Art event, Heritage his first appearance only months earlier in became Billy’s, and
Auctions sold a near-mint issue of the 1940 Detective Comics No. 36 and became one of the friends and neigh-
comic book—the only copy ever to receive a 9.4 hero’s first recurring villains. A few pages after that bors teased him for
grade from the CGC—for $2.2 million including follows another iconic debut: a burglar and spending that much
the buyer’s premium. It surpassed the $1.5 “beautiful young woman” called The Cat, who, for a comic book
million world record set for a Batman title in 80 years later, marries Batman in an acclaimed they insisted might
November 2020, when Heritage Auctions sold a book by writer Tom King. one day be worthless.
1939 copy of Detective Comics #27. How This Comic Was Collected & Kept History, of course,
For a few weeks following a sale of another This new World Record holder copy of proved otherwise.
copy of Detective Comics No. 27, which marked Batman #1 has a storied background, having When Billy retired from Texas Eastern, he
Batman’s debut, was then the most expensive spent the last 38 years in the hands of a collector began a comic-book business called BT and WD
comic book ever sold by Heritage Auctions. who bought it from a renowned comic-book shop Giles, and spent the rest of his life buying and
Prior to that, that title belonged to the CGC in Houston. selling comics; his passion had turned professional.
9.4 copy of Marvel Comics #1 that sold in In 1979, Billy T. Giles moved to Houston, When he died in 2019, Billy’s son inherited his
November 2019 for $1.26 million. when Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline Co. father’s remarkable collection, and a year later
This extraordinary example—not just the first relocated its headquarters. Billy fell in with the decided it was someone else’s turn to own the
issue of Batman, but still one of the best— local comics shops and dealers and helped his son finest known copy of Batman #1. – ha.com
provides the template for countless Dark Knight complete an Amazing Spider-Man collection and
tales to follow over the next 80 years. obtain other key comics.
First, there’s the iconic cover image: Batman Billy then decided to collect Batman,
and Robin, smiling at each other as they swing beginning with the purchase of six of the first nine
across the Gotham City skyline. Then there’s the issues from Camelot Bookstore owner Willie
back-page pin-up “autographed” by the Caped Patterson’s personal collection.
Crusader and his fledgling sidekick promising Camelot was located in downtown Houston,
“bigger and better thrills.” where Billy spent many lunch hours discussing
Inside, readers are presented with “The comics—especially the Batman No. 1—with
Legend of the Batman,” an origin story, which Patterson. Around that time, Patterson advertised
first appeared in Detective Comics No. 33, filled Camelot’s copy of Batman #1 in the Comics
with grief and anger that will one day be retold in Buyer’s Guide for $5,000, a costly investment.
movies and television shows built upon that When it failed to sell at such a steep price—
two-page narrative. After that comes the debut of remember, this is around 1982—Billy offered

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February 2021 37