“The world is going batty over the 75th birthday of one of the world’s most beloved comic heroes,” said Rob Reynolds, Director of Consignments for ComicConnect, located in the heart of New York City. “What better way to celebrate than by getting your Bat-Gloves on an original comic book owned by Batman creator Bob Kane, no less?”

Bob Kane was a tender 17 years old in the late 1930s when he approached DC comics with his Batman notion; a dark, brooding figure out to clean up his beloved, crime-ridden city of Gotham. DC jumped at the idea and Batman made his debut in Detective Comics #27 in 1939.

The story goes, a few months after the unbridled success of the Dark Knight’s debut, Kane and a relative met with DC Comics to revise his deal. Reports conflict and no one really knows how but Bob Kane walked out of the DC offices that day with full credit for Batman’s creation along with more money. The why DC renegotiated after Kane had already signed an agreement remains a mystery.

“This was very different from how Siegel and Shuster were treated as creators of Superman,” said Stephen Fishler, co-owner of the auction house. “As a result, DC gifted Kane with copies of Detective Comics #27 through 45, and Batman #1, 2 and 3. These comics were bound together in a single volume, and held as reference copies until they were given to Kane. Copies of early Batman comics are very rare, with just a few hundred in existence. Copies of any Golden Age comic owned by its creator are rarer still and collectors hardly ever part with them.”

After his first appearance, Batman proved so popular that he quickly got his own series. “File copies” are comics kept in the publisher’s file for reference. These copies have immense historic value and all the more so because DC Comics gave them to Kane.

“I was fortunate to know Bob Kane,” Fishler said. “He told me that he was only 17 when he sold the Batman character to DC. Once the franchise took off, he leveraged his age to renegotiate his contract and the File copies were part of the deal. Comics owned by their creators have sold for many, many multiples of the value of comparable issues without historical significance, so it’s impossible to predict how the auction will play out.”

“These are the first CBCS-certified comics to come to a major auction house,” Reynolds explained. “We’re very pleased to work with Steve Borock and his CBCS team in this offering.”

Batman #1 and Detective Comics #27 are currently on display at the Warner Brothers Studio museum in Burbank, California.

ComicConnects’s 24th Event Auction is now underway.

The auction end-dates are as follows:
Session 1 (Original Art & Memorbilia):
Monday, August 25, 7 PM – 12 AM EDT

Session 2 (Ace-Captain America):
Tuesday, August 26, 7 PM – 12 AM EDT

Session 3 (Captain America-Joker):
Wednesday, August 27, 7 PM – 12 AM EDT

Session 4 (Journey Into Mystey-Strange Tales):
Thursday, August 28, 7 PM – 12 AM EDT

Session 5 (Strange Tales-Young Men):
Friday, August 29, 7 PM – 12 AM EDT

The Event Auction XXIV catalog is available for download.

ComicConnect will accept consignments at Wizard World Chicago, August 21-24, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, for their next Event Auction. E-mail support@comicconnect.com or call (212) 895-3999 to make an appointment for consignments. They offer cash advances up to $5 million.