Recently, I learned that Topps made a 1966 Batman trading card set. Someone is auctioning the complete 55-card set for $230 (Update, the final price was $600).
(If you want to look at the cards, it’s much easier on tcdb.)
Comc.com sells the cards individually for $2 to $4 each. Doing some quick math: if someone bought each card for $3 from comc, that would be $165. Much cheaper than ha.com’s price! But if we look closer, some of the cards fetch quite a premium.
Card #1 (Batman) goes for $230. Ouch.
Ok. I can see how a complete set would go for at least $230.
Aside from all these prices… let’s see. My favorite is
Batman swinging from a chandelier. #38
Robin enters the Batcave through the clock. #39
Batman wearing a gasmask #43
That’s the “Black Bat” series.
There’s also a “Red Bat” series, which has much better artwork. I literally cannot pick a favorite; there are so many.
Batman wrestling an alligator #2A
Batman skiing #4A
Batman wrapped up in the tenicles of an octopus #8a
Robin throwing a baseball at the Cobra Gang. #27A
Penguin flying away with this heli-umbrella #30A
Batman atop the Statue of Liberty #35A
Batman fighting Batman #42A
My favorite overall has to be the alligator one. The original art for this card sold in 2013 for $2,868.00.
The art is by Norm Saunders. It is painted in gouache on board and has an approximate image size of 4.75″ x 3.25″. Thus, the original art is only slightly bigger than the trading card size.
Norm Saunders got his start with Topps in 1958, painting over photographs of baseball players who had been traded so that they appeared to be wearing the jersey of their new team.
Also in this auction is an artwork of the same scene, as redrawn for the Spanish-language market by an unknown artist (possibly Al Plastino).
I haven’t even looked at the “Blue Bat” series yet.