1966 O-Pee-Chee Batman Robin in Action #18 Canadian Printing Black Bat Series

Description

1966 O-Pee-Chee Batman Robin in Action #18 Canadian Printing Black Bat Series THUD! That single word explodes across the front of this 1966 O-Pee-Chee Batman Robin in Action #18 as the Boy Wonder hurls a hulking henchman over his shoulder in one of the most dynamic action paintings in the entire Black Bat series. Norman Saunders, working from Bob Powell's layouts, filled the frame with motion, the red shirted brute tumbling head over heels while Robin's yellow cape flares behind him, a composition that perfectly echoes the on screen fight scenes with their painted sound effects that made the 1966 ABC television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward such a sensation. The Black Bat set was the first of the Batman card series Topps issued that year and its 55 painted cards became one of the defining non sport issues of the decade, sold in wax packs with a slab of gum to a generation of kids caught up in Batmania. This particular copy is the Canadian O-Pee-Chee printing, identified by the T. C. G. PRTD. IN CANADA line on the reverse, produced in London, Ontario, for Canadian candy counters and considerably scarcer than the American Topps version. It is not a bilingual back and not a puzzle back; the reverse carries the standard English only orange story back with the running Batman figure, the number 18 inside the black bat logo, the title Robin in Action, and the line No. 5 of 11 Batman vs. The Penguin Cards, placing this card in the middle of the Penguin storyline that spans cards 14 through 24. The text on the back describes the slim youth sidestepping two huge guards before grabbing one by the arm and throwing the giant over his shoulder, which is exactly the moment frozen in the painting. this card has clearly been through many hands, with a long diagonal crease running from the right edge through the henchman's leg and into the letters of THUD, several additional wrinkles clustered in the lower right quadrant around the black title box, a shorter crease near the upper left through the red sleeve, all four corners rounded with the upper right corner the most heavily worn, and edge chipping along the top and left edges where white stock shows through the blue background. Centering sits slightly high, roughly 40/60 top to bottom with the wider border along the bottom, and about 55/45 left to right. The orange back shows heavy wear along the top and left edges, the same creases visible as pale lines through the story text, light overall toning and a few small scuffs, but the text is complete and fully legible with no writing, tape, notable stains, or paper loss. Taking the primary crease and the secondary wrinkles into account, we conservatively estimate this card at Fair 1.5, a grade that reflects extreme wear while acknowledging that the card is intact, unaltered, and displays a complete image with strong colour. For a set builder working on the elusive Canadian Black Bat checklist, this is an economical way to fill the number 18 slot with an original O-Pee-Chee example, and the sheer energy of the artwork makes it a fun display piece regardless of grade. Grade Estimate: FR 1.5