1966 Topps Batman The Joker #43B Raw Batman Blue Bat B Series

Description

1966 Topps Batman The Joker #43B Raw Batman Blue Bat B Series A penny wheel the size of a carnival ride, Robin mid swing on the other side of it, Batman tied down below, and the Joker grinning from the shadows. That is the 1966 Topps Batman The Joker #43B Raw Batman Blue Bat B Series, card number 43 of the 44 card B Series, and one of the most colorful illustrations in the entire set. The front banner reads The Perilous Penny, and the art stacks the red and white wheel diagonally across the frame, with every character in the scene caught in motion. The back story sets it up, the Joker considered Batman and Robin's lives an unsound investment, but the flame from a Batmatch proved him wrong and sent him penniless back to the pen. It is a caper in the truest 1960s sense, and the card shows it at full speed with one of the best color combinations in the set. Topps issued this 44 card Batman B Series in 1966 under license from National Periodical Publications, Inc., the copyright holder of the Batman properties, at the peak of the second Batman boom driven by the Adam West and Burt Ward television show. The set was produced in three border variations, the Black Bat, the Red Bat, and the Blue Bat, and this copy is the Blue Bat version with its light blue frame. The T. C. G. PTD. IN CANADA marking along the right edge of the reverse identifies the Toronto Card and Game Company as the printer, so this is a Canadian printed Topps card. For buyers, that clarification matters, because this is not an O-Pee-Chee bilingual back, and the reverse is English only. The back follows the classic story back layout of the series, with the title, a short synopsis, the collect all 44 line, and a large color art panel, the design that modern checklists call the puzzle back. The Perilous Penny is a perfect slice of 1960s camp, and it helps anchor one of the more popular Joker cards in the set. The Joker's casino style schemes, with the spinning wheel and the high stakes, gave the 66 show a heist show flavor that fans still talk about today, and the character's modern popularity across film and television has only increased the demand for vintage Joker material. The broader 1966 Topps Batman market tells a similar story, with the Black Bat version of the #1 The Batman reaching record prices at Heritage and the Blue Bat variations following at a fraction of the cost, which keeps this #43B in the affordable vintage category while still offering one of the best looking pieces of art in the set. Collectors building a 60s pop culture shelf, a Batman villain collection, or simply a display case of classic cards tend to rank this card near the top of the Blue Bat list. the front is the cleanest card of the sheet, with only a few thin white scratches crossing the penny wheel and Batman's legs, light scratches near the Joker, rounded corners, light edge wear on the upper right corner, and whitened margins on all four sides. The colors are vivid and the card sits straight and flat with even centering inside the blue border, and the blue title banner is crisp and intact. The reverse shows light surface scuffs on the Joker face art over the red and white stripes, a few small specks, a faint vertical crease on the left side of the art panel, rounded corners, and whitened edges, while the story text remains fully legible. This is the classic story back, a Canadian printing marked T. C. G. PTD. IN CANADA, and not an O-Pee-Chee bilingual back. With strong colors, a straight card, and only light surface marks, we grade this copy conservatively at raw EX 5. Grade Estimate: EX 5