This week's PWCC auction (ending August 13th) features over 38 CGC-graded comic books for sale, including four featuring Batman. Let's take a look at two of those issues below.

World's Finest Comics #173 (D.C., 1968) CGC 8.0

Created by Bob Kane himself, Two-Face appeared for the first time in Detective Comics #66 (1942), way back in the Golden Age. As you might guess, graded copies of this issue are extremely rare -- there are 89 blue label copies in existence on the CGC Census. They rarely come up for sale and when they do, they receive a lot of bids. The last recorded sale I could was on eBay -- a CGC 5.5 sold back in July of 2022 for $10,200 after receiving 71 bids.

Because the first appearances of Batman villains in the Golden Age are so rare, many collectors often look to the first appearances of Batman villains, including Two-Face, in the Silver Age. The issue with Two-Face is that his first (and only) appearance in the Silver Age actually isn't him.

After making his last appearance in the Golden Age in 1954, Two-Face doesn't appear again in World's Finest Comics #173 in 1968. However, we learn in the issue that the character who professes to be Two-Face isn't actually Two-Face -- it's Batman in disguise. The true Two-Face doesn't actually reappear until July 1971 in Batman #234 during the Bronze Age. Remarkably, his character essentially went unused for 17 years.

The FMV of a CGC 8.0 (approximately 50th percentile) copy of World's Finest Comics #173 is surprisingly low: $110. Graded copies of this issue are relatively rare; there are only 254 blue labels on the CGC Census and only 28 8.0s. Interestingly, even though there are 1,557 blue labels of the Bronze Age Batman #234, that issue is much more expensive. the FMV of a CGC 7.5 (also approximately 50th percentile) is $400.

As of Friday, August 11th, the current bid for the World's Finest item is only $27.

Batman #423 Third Printing (D.C., 1988) CGC 9.0

This issue amazes me. This issue contains no first (or second) appearances of any characters, pivotal events, nor is the first issue in a title. By just about any measure, it's not a key issue at all. But the market loves this Copper Age book simply because its cover is considered iconic.

The market loves this issue so much, DC reprinted it three times. According to GoCollect, the FMV of a CGC 9.8 copy of a first printing is $2,150. That may seem pretty high for an issue that has nothing going for it but its cover. But what may surprise you is that the FMV of a 9.8 copy of a THIRD printing is $1,350. In fact, about 18 months ago a 9.8 of a third printing sold for a whopping $1,500.

The FMV for even a lowly 9.0 of a third printing is $150. These values speak volumes to the market's love for Todd McFarlane.

As of Friday, August 11th, the current bid for this item is $105 (notably much higher than the World's Finest Comics #173).

Did any other comics in PWCC's weekly auction catch your attention? Please let our community know what your opinion is in the comments section below!

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.