*DC: Headlining our Christmas 1940s style updates are three issues of Batman from 1945, 1946 & 1948, all with delightful Christmas covers and stories to match. All from the wonderful Midas Collection.
PICTURED:
BATMAN #27 Apparent VG £350 Splendid Jack Burnley cover. The interior art is shared between Burnley and Jerry Robinson on the three main Batman stories and the Adventures of Alfred short. Stories by Don C Cameron & Joe Samachson. Lead story is The Penguin’s Apprentice, featuring the wily old bird training up a newcomer. The second story involves Batman & Robin in a mystery within the Explorer’s Club. And in the third story, Batman attempts to convince a very young “Scrooge” of the true meaning of Christmas. This is a decent solid copy with an unmarked and good colour cover. A central vertical crease can only really be seen on the inside front cover; inside covers are a little tanned. The staples are pulled a little, but still securely attached at spine and centrefold. There is a small 2 cm upper spine split. We have awarded an ‘Apparent’ grade because we believe this copy may have been trimmed slightly at bottom and right edges. The finishing on Golden Age comics was notoriously inconsistent, and it’s always difficult to be sure, but by comparing this with contemporary copies and images of this issue online, we think that trimming is probable and have priced this issue to take account of that. None of the content is affected in any way. SOLD

BATMAN #33 VG/FN £575 Great cover by Dick Sprang. Interior art all by Win Mortimer on Batman stories. Lead story by Bill Finger; other writers unknown. Lead story involves the Penguin and mobsters. Second batman story features crooks and earthquake prediction. Third story is the Christmas one, The Search For Santa Claus, which of course involves nefarious deeds. This is a really nice mid-grade copy with a white background cover which is well preserved and unmarked; there is a shallow and faint crease of about 7 cm across the Christmas tree, which does not break colour. The spine is solid with the staples secure there and at centre. Beautiful white to off-white pages. High resolution images are available on request. SOLD

BATMAN #45 Apparent FA+ £125 Charming cover by Win Mortimer. Interior art on Batman stories by Charles Paris. Stories by Bill Woolfolk & Bill Finger. The lead Batman story stars Catwoman in The Lady Rogues. The Christmas story is second, featuring Bruce Wayne, a double and many seasonal mishaps. Third story features an arsonist villain called the Match. This low grade copy has a taped spine and is restapled; there is a 6 cm vertical tear just in from the top of the spine along the taped edge; a similar 2 cm tear is up from the bottom edge. Cover is an okay image, with a faint dust shadow along the top edge. Small corner off bottom right. Reasonable off-white page quality. We have awarded an ‘Apparent’ grade because we believe this copy may have been trimmed slightly at right edge. The finishing on Golden Age comics was notoriously inconsistent, and it’s always difficult to be sure, but by comparing this with contemporary copies and images of this issue online, we think that trimming is probable and have priced this issue to take account of that. None of the content is affected in any way. SOLD