1966 Topps Batman Deadly Claws Catwoman #34 US Printing Black Bat Series

Description

1966 Topps Batman Deadly Claws Catwoman #34 US Printing Black Bat Series Batman and the Catwoman tangle claw to cowl in this 1966 Topps Batman Deadly Claws Catwoman #34, a dramatic Norman Saunders painting from the Catwoman storyline of the original Black Bat series, and this well travelled copy is offered as an honest, heavily worn filler for the collector who needs the number to complete a run. Painted over Bob Powell's layout, the image shows Batman grappling with the feline felon as a snarling black cat springs into the fray, the orange background and swirling capes giving the scene the same pulp energy that made the 1966 ABC television series starring Adam West, with Julie Newmar as the Catwoman, a runaway hit and turned Batman merchandise into a cultural phenomenon. The Black Bat set was the first of the five Batman card series Topps released in 1966 and its 55 painted cards remain the cornerstone of vintage Batman card collecting. Unlike the other cards in this group, this copy is the American Topps printing rather than the Canadian O-Pee-Chee version, and the reverse carries the T. C. G. PRTD. IN U. S. A. line. It is not a Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back and not a puzzle back; it is the standard English only orange story back with the running Batman figure, the number 34 inside the black bat logo, the title Deadly Claws, and the line No. 10 of 11 Batman vs. The Catwoman Cards, placing it one card from the end of the Catwoman story that runs from card 25 to card 35. The story text has the Catwoman explaining that she knocked Robin unconscious to copy a secret formula written in invisible ink on his vest, then releasing a large cat in the tunnel to cover her escape, a plot that would fit neatly into any episode of the series. this card has been folded, crumpled, and flattened at some point in its sixty year life, and it shows an extensive network of creases crossing the entire front surface in every direction, with the printed surface cracked and flaking along many of those crease lines so that white stock shows through as a web of pale veins across the artwork, heavy grey soiling concentrated around all four borders, all four corners rounded, and a small notch of paper loss at the left edge near the upper left corner. Centering is roughly even but difficult to judge under the soiling. The orange back shows the same heavy creasing, a chip of surface loss near the upper left, staining, and edge fraying, though the story text remains legible and there is no writing or tape. This card grades Poor 1 without question, and we recommend viewing it purely as an authentic space filler or as an inexpensive original example of period Batman artwork rather than as a collectible in its own right. Priced accordingly, it offers a budget minded collector a genuine 1966 Topps Batman card featuring the Catwoman for less than the cost of a modern pack, and it still tells the story of six decades of being loved, traded, and carried in pockets by the kids who grew up with the show. Grade Estimate: PR 1