Batman Entertainment Earth Funko Pop! Vinyl Exclusive

It cant be denied  that  Funko's Pop! vinyl line has been one of the most character packed toy lines to ever hit shelves. Well their new Entertainment  Earth Exclusives are sure to please Pop! Vinyl collectors and Batman fans alike.
Funko has decided to take the story from Detetive Comics #241 "The Rainbow Batman" and create not one, not two but 6 Batman figures. In the issue Batman wears 6 different colored costumes.

Detective Comics #241

Entertainment Earth will be releasing the not so Dark Knight line over the next year, the first one can be pre-ordered now over at Entertainment Earth, this one is yellow. As a true hunter you'll have to collect them all and create your own Caped Crusader rainbow, each will be 3 3/4-inches tall and each will be a different color of the rainbow.

As for me I am just hoping they add this one as a bonus. Fingers crossed.

Good Luck on Your Hunt!
#jointhehunt

Detective Comics #140 - 1st Apperance of The Riddler

One of my favorite DC comics villians has always been The Riddler. Throughout the years I have enjoyed how the character has developed into one of Batman main antagonists.

As a result of the Riddler being my favorite villian his first appearance in Detective Comics #140 has always been a highly sought after issue. As you may know it is not easy to find. And when one comes up for sale it is usually of low quality. Only two copies have been graded over 8.0. So my search will continue.


About Detective Comics #140

Release in October 1948 Detective Comics #140 features the first apperance of The Riddler, written by the legendary Bill Finger with interior art Dick Sprang and Curt Swan, The memorable covet was done by Win Mortimer.
In the story "The Riddler" Edward Nigma is a cheating puzzle expert who becomes a costumed criminal identity for himself, the Riddler. He uses puzzles as clues for the Caped Crusader, which Batman is able to solve.  Riddler eventually leads Batman into a glass maze with a bomb inside. The bomb explodes, the  Riddler falls off a pier, leaving only a question mark behind. Batman is left wondering if his newest foe the Riddler survived.

Value

A copy of Detective Comics #140 can be obtained in lower CGC grade for less then $1,000. Ungraded can cost a couple of hundred. The highest graded copies so far have been graded 9.4, 2 copies currently exist. One sold at auction for over $19,000. This issue is very scarce only about 40 copies have been graded.

If you have a story about Detective Comics #140 or any other comic book hunting stories email us at Farleyclan003@yahoo.com

Dr. Leslie Thompkins to appear on Gotham

The holiday break is over, lucky for all us Batman fans Gotham returns tomorrow night. The episode titled Rogue's Gallery will include Dr. Leslie Thompkins working at Arkam Asylum. For those of you that don't know the name Dr. Thompkins is an important supporting character in the comics. Below is a quick introduction to the character.

About Dr. Leslie Thompkins

Leslie Thompkins was a close friend of Thomas Wayne and after his murder she helped Wayne's son, Bruce, along with the family butler Alfred Pennyworth. Dr. Thompkins continues to help grieving slum children of Gotham throughout her appearances in Batman. She eventually learns that Bruce is Batman.

Initially Leslie does not approve of Bruce Wayne's vigilantly tactics and feels somewhat responsible for his actions. She also becomes romantically linked with Alfred.


First Appearance

Leslie Thompkins's first appearance was in Detective Comics  #457, created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano. In her first appearance she is depicted as comforting the young Bruce Wayne on the night that his parents were murdered. Each year Batman would visit Dr. Thompkins on the anniversary of the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. 

A copy can be yours for about $25

On Gotham

Dr. Leslie Thompkins will be played by  Morena Baccarin. She will be working at Arkan Asylum alongside James Gordon and the couple will start off as friends. 
Regarding her portrail of the character Morena said the following in an Entertainment weekly interview:

I’m a physician. I’m working at Arkham, but we’re not sticking too close to the original mythology... We are having her team up with Jim Gordon instead of the Wayne family and Bruce. Eventually, who knows—it could go in that direction, but it hasn’t yet.”

She gets out [of Arkham] which is really fun and her and Jim kind of pair up and have this really great relationship. I think it’s important. Arkham is a really kind of iconic and dark and crazy world but I don’t think you want to spend too much time in there... Jim finds an ally in her, which I think is important for him at this point. He’s beaten down by the system and he’s been fighting this one-man operation to make Gotham not as corrupt. I think it’s really important that he finds that relationship in Leslie.

Enjoy the show tomorrow and in the meantime go on out and get Detective Comics #457.

Good Luck on Your Hunt!

Detective Comics #27 - Bob Kane File copy

Recently we chronicled the Bob Kane File copy of Batman #1 being auctioned by ComicConnect (Batman #1 -Bob Kane File Copy). In that same auction ComicConnect also included the Bob Kane file copy of Detective Comics #27 in their current auction.

As you know Detective Comics #27 is one of the rarest, most sought after comic books ever made. It contains the first appearance of Batman. A copy of it sold a couple of years ago for over $1 million.

The Bob Kane/DC File Copy

Currently ComicConnect, the worlds best online comic auction house, has the copy of Detective Comics #27 used for reference by Bob Kane and DC comics. The low grade given to the issue is a result of it being included in a bound volume at DC offices. You can see the bounding holes along the side.

This issue comes from Batman creator Bob Kanes personal collection. Mr. Kane later gifted his bound volumes to DC comics which they used as their file copy. So what does this bound file copy all mean? Basically this is the specific copy of Detective Comics #27 used first by Bob Kane as a reference point for future work and then held in the DC files as a reference for all later Batman creators. It also means that because it was in a bound volume for so many years it retained much of its color. This copy is all sorts of cool, it was used by Bob Kane the creator and then possible by everyone who worked on Batman for many years after Mr. Kane. It is a one of a kind copy.

This unique copy was up for auction in August, but did not meet the reserve price, I would expect it to come up again or call them an offer some cash for it, ComicConnect Detective Comics #27

You can also call on ComicConnect Batman # 1 Bob Kane Copy, as it to did not meet its reserve. What a dynamic duo that would make to any collection if you could buy both.

Good Luck on Your Hunt!
#jointhehunt

Detective Comics #27 - Nabisco Oreo Reprint

We have focused a lot of space on Comic Book Hunter & Gatherers to "Stories of Action Comics #1", which looks at all the different pedigree and reprint copies of Superman's first appearance. We have not spent enough space discussing Batman's first appearance, we had one highly viewed article about The Beauty of Detective Comics #27. We beginning paying the same respect to Batman with this post.

We will look at an early reprint of Detective Comics #27, this version released in 1983 was a giveaway from Nabisco Cookies.
Produced in 1983 as a promotional giveaway for Nabisco's cookies the reprint  measures 6 1/2 X 10 1/4 inches and contains 31 pages of storyline. The cover is almost an exact replica of the original except it say Collectors Edition in the middle and it has FREE in place of the original 10 cent price .  This comic give-away version is rare but if you can hunt one down it will cost $55.00 in Near Mint Condition.

The reprint includes not only the story from the first appearance of Batmanin Detective Comics #27 but also the first appearance of Robin from Detective Comics #38 and first appearance of the Joker from Batman #1. 

The back cover is the final page from Batman #1.

This reprint is highly sought after and extremely rare today. You could have received one back in 1984 for three proofs of purchase from a Nabisco product.

Nabisco ad for Detective Comics #27 giveaway

Good Luck on Your Reprint Hunt!
#jointhehunt

Detective Comics #27 - The Pinnacle Hill Copy

Over the last couple of weeks we have provided "Stories of Action Comics #1" which focuses on specific copies or reprints of Supermans first appearance. A single copy of Action Comics #1 sold for over $2 million dollars, the highest price for a comic book ever. Right behind the copy of Action Comics #1 is the Pinnacle Hill copy of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance off Batman.  (You can read more about it in our previous post The beauty that is Detective Comics #27)

The Pinnacle Hill copy of Detective Comics #27, which is CGC graded 8.0, sold at auction in February 2010 for $1,075,500. Heritage Auction Galleries sold the copy to anonymous collector.
It is believed that the seller had bought the Batman comic in the late 1960s for $100. That is a pretty good profit. 

Based on the increased auction prices being realized for these higher grade key Golden Age comics we can expect more stories such as this. So keep your eyes pealed for a copy of Detective Comics #27 you really never know where one will turn up,  remember a copy of Actin Comics #1 was found in a wall.

We will be looking at other important copies of Detective Comics #27 in future posts so click follow us on the side panel to,keep up with our reviews.l

Good Luck on Your Hunt!
#jointhehunt

The beauty that is Detective Comics #27

When you walk around a comic convention hunting for some hidden treasure you may actually come across a magnificent piece of history. Recently as myself and my two daughters walked around the Special Edition: NYC comic convention we happened to come across a copy of Detective Comics #27 along with its own personal armed security guard (REALLY). The rarity of this issue was not only in its scarcity but also that this particular copy is graded a 9.4, which is almost gem mint. Basically it looked like it came right off the shelf o. Wednesday at your local comic shop.
 It's estimated value is $500,000. Yes a five and five zeros.

You might ask why this is such a rare and expensive comic book. Detective comics #27 is the first appearance of Batman, a character who would become one of the most recognizable fictional characters in the world.

Released in May of 1939 after creator Bob Kane was asked by DC comics ( yes named after the very title of the comic) to create a character that would be as popular as Superman who was selling a million plus issues a month, so not an easy task for Mr. Kane. History would soon tell us that he did not disappoint. Batman quickly became a huge success for DC comics, he was even given his owntitle  shortly after his introduction. He to started selling a million plus issues a month, becoming the perfect addition for Superman and making DC comics a publishing powerhouse.

Since his introduction in Detective Comics #27 Batman has had his own TV show in the 1960's, 7 block buster movies and a number of successful cartoons. He has been featured on almost every item you could think of. He is an pop icon.

Although my budget doesn't allow for me to own such a historical piece it was nice to just to be able to look at it up close and share the experience with my daughters.

Next we would like to see Action Comics #1, hunting is not always about actually buying the treasure.

Good luck on your hunt.
#jointhehunt.