Detective Comics #431 Page 11 BATMAN

15" x 10" image area. Ink over graphite on Bristol board. Detective Comics #431 page 11 original art (DC, July 1972). Irv Novick and Murphy Anderson. From the Murphy Anderson collection.

I just love the dramatic images of Batman's cape in the early panels but what I really admire in a page of vintage comic art is the dating of the piece by the vehicle art. In this page, how appropriate that the villain is driving a Dodge Challenger but only the best for the billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne. Of course, nothing else will do except a first year model 1961 E-type Jaguar! Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the model as an icon of the motoring world when first introduced. It is rumored that, on its release on 15 March 1961 Enzo Ferrari called it "the most beautiful car ever made". In 2004, Sports Car International magazine placed the E-Type at NUMBER ONE on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s.

This automotive masterpiece remains one of the most iconic cars of history and it was no coincidence that it appears in a most wonderful, prominent perspective as Bruce Wayne's personal ride in the last two panels.