Batman #11, p.13 (June/July 1942)
Artists: Bob Kane (Penciller) , Jerry Robinson (Inker)
23 Comments - 2,542 Views - 12 Likes
Artwork Details
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DescriptionFor me this is the grail of grails, a Golden Age Batman piece pencilled by Bob Kane- and fighting his archenemy The Joker, no less. I missed out on this page back in 1999 when it was auctioned off on ebay by Alexander Gallery. Back then it was credited as Bob Kane pencils and George Roussos inks.I lost the auction- I wasn't spending as much on art back then. And it's haunted me since. I even saved the jpeg from the ebay listing. In the intervening 10 years, I've tried to track the page down, asking dealers, collectors, and anyone else who might have an idea of the whereabouts of the page. Well, last month it finally popped back up again in auction- this time though, it was credited as Jerry Robinson pencils and George Roussos inks. What to do? I really did think the page was Kane pencils- there were so many early signature elements. But Comics.org had updated their credits for Batman #11(June/July 1942) since 1999 to list Robinson as sharing pencilling credit for the story. So for the two weeks of the auction I did as much research as I could on the story and consulted many fellow collectors. Some thought it was Robinson, some thought it could be Kane. I did a lot of pacing and wringing of the hands, but in the end I went all-out and won the page. Shortly after winning the auction, it dawned on me to that Jerry Robinson was still very much alive and kicking, and that perhaps I could ask him. The idea had actually been suggested to me earlier during the auction, but I dismissed it because the Comics.org Robinson credits for Batman #11 were notated as being verified by Jerry himself. But at this point, what could it hurt? I asked Joe Mannarino, who's good friends with the Robinson family, if he could pass a scan on to Jerry for possible identification. As it turns out Joe had just spoken to Jerry a couple days earlier at a wedding. He forwarded me an immediate reply from Jerry stating that the page was definitely Bob Kane pencils, probably his inks, and perhaps some George Roussos work on the backgrounds. So a 10-year search comes to an end. Thanks to my pal Jim for helping me procure this rarest of gems, and to Joe for contacting Jerry and confirming the credits on the page straight from the source. Wahoo! Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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M,B The collector
Member Since 2008
Posted on 9/23/2009
Hi Kelvin, Wooow!! page really fantastic !!! congratulation !!! ;-)
Anthony F 
Member Since 2004
Posted on 9/23/2009
Great story, congrats on finding your long sought-after piece! Way to go!
Ross T. L.
Member Since 2004
Posted on 9/23/2009
What an exceptional piece of art Kelvin. Congratulations in acquiring it.
Doug Edelman
Member Since 2005
Posted on 9/24/2009
Kelvin, It's nice to see another collector obtain a personal grail. Great story of how you almost had it, lost it, found it. Some soul searching. In the end you just went for it. By the way, that last panel is just wrong, wrong, wrong. Awesome. Congrats!
Royd Burgoyne
Member Since 2003
Posted on 9/24/2009
Mate, it doesn't get much better than this! Congrats on acquiring a true grail with a fabulous story to go with it :)
Alex B
Member Since 2008
Posted on 9/24/2009
Exceptionnal piece of comic art. Exceptionnal piece of comics history. Thank you for sharing that great story and huge congratulations for that 10 years in the making acquisition !
Joseph Melchior
Member Since 2005
Posted on 9/24/2009
Congratulations on landing such a biggie. So you're not jaded even after all these years?! I don't know if it has the same connotations over there but that last panel would certainly raise a few eyebrows over here - puts the nature of their conflict in a whole new light. Enjoy.
Garry Goodwin
Member Since 2003
Posted on 9/24/2009
Congratulations, Kelvin! Super story and detective work! So happy to see you landed the grail of grails! Holy Perseverance!
Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006
Posted on 9/25/2009
Just the facts, Kelvin. It's amazing in terms of art, Americana and comic history. Though I think we collectors use the word "grail" a bit too casually, here is comic art worthy of the word.
Dimitrios Z
Member Since 2011
Posted on 9/16/2012
Great piece of history with some action. Congrats!
Joseph Serpico
Member Since 2009
Posted on 3/8/2013
Wow! Just abut any piece of Batman art from this era is something to behold. This page is way above average. Congrats.
Brent S
Member Since 2016
Posted on 1/27/2024
It's fair to say I stalk this page because I visit it so often!!! One of my favorite pages on CAF
Comics Superworld
Member Since 2007
Posted on 1/2/2025
Holy Grail, Batman! You truly can't do much better than this one. Wow!
Jordan Joanou
Member Since 2008
Posted on 1/2/2025
Golden Age Batman and Joker....doesn't get much better than that. Congrats.
Justin Topages
Member Since 2015
Posted on 1/3/2025
BAM! POW! Right in the kisser! What a treasure this is, congratulations! What an epic story to have to accompany this rare gem.
Steven Dilworth
Member Since 2012
Posted on 1/8/2025
Congratulations. This is a grail among grails indeed. Wow.
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