Detective Comics #140 (Oct 1948) RIDDLER 1ST APPEARANCE GOLDEN AGE Batman Rare

	£		5,000
	$		8,443

On offer, Detective Comics #140 (Oct 1948) Ungraded, details of condition will follow. This issue marks the first ever appearance and origin of The Riddler and is something of a grail among collectors (Well, it was for me anyway)
Please take the time to read.
This is a very rare book indeed. The late 1940's era Detective Comics are hard to find in any condition and given the popularity of The Riddler, it's surprising that few unrestored examples have been graded by CGC. He's a key 'super-villain' in the DC Universe and with the upcoming movie The Batman in 2021 this will be a must have for serious collectors.
I'm by no means a professional comics grader but a life long enthusiast, fan and collector of comics, especially Batman. I wouldn't normally dream of offering this on, it's been an integral part of my collecting history but sudden crucial, personal life circumstances have dictated that it now has to find a new home. I rarely sell-on rarer comic books such as this, I had a very unpleasant and costly episode with a less than genuine individual in the past and that rather marred the experience for me. Particularly as I discovered they sold it on at an even greater price to my expense.
Albeit images do form part of the description to help you to reach an informed decision I will do my best to further describe it's current condition.
First of all this has been kept bagged and boarded (freshly changed every few years to help maintain it's integrity) in a smoke free environment, naturally out of direct sunlight/ humid conditions and kept in a solid acrylic comics tablet. 
Incidentally if further images are required beyond those that can be submitted for this listing, please do ask.FRONT COVER: The cover itself is uneven in terms of the 'Batman and Robin!' sign being almost omitted, there is a black line along the bottom of the cover to illustrate that the cover was unevenly cut during it's production. Under the 'AND' is a circular stamp with what appears to be 'BM' penciled in, next to a 15C US ZONE Faded stamp mark. Top right corner is torn off above the DC Publication label, cover has edge wear and numerous brown spots/Foxing, nicks, creasing and tears on the face of the cover itself. The colours remain vibrant however. Cover has become detached from the top left of the spine just below the Batman face icon but above the staple (it's a tear, not a separation of the cover itself)SPINE: As with the cover, particularly the bottom, there are nicks, wearing and tears, considerable browning along the spine. The comic retains it's staples with no separation of inside pages and/or outer cover. INSIDE: All pages are present and attached, there is some notable brown staining on the top right corner of the pages. First six/seven pages have a small central tear starting from the edge of the pages of the borders but doesn't breach the interior art. Interior art remains colourful and vibrant, naturally there is edge-wear and the white page borders are generally off-white. Small German text stamp mark on the first page of the bottom white border, this doesn't interfere with the central image. Following page has a line of penciled German text running alongside the outer border, as does page 8, along the top. Beyond that lovely comic book smell I can't see any other examples of penciled in text. There is tear, but not quite separation of one interior page starting from the top but above the staple.BACK COVER: Much like the front has edge-wear, nicks and creasing but no major signs of foxing. Colours again remain vibrant.Naturally as one would expect for an item of nearly 72 years old and what should be a museum piece, it is both fragile and delicate, not that I would expect any true collector to be reading this regularly (if at all) with a cup of coffee or otherwise man-handling it.
This listing is very much aimed at serious collectors and investors alike. To be absolutely blunt, straight forward and on the level, I simply have no time for chancers and time wasters that enjoy either debating the toss of a coin with needless semantics or help to create potential financial headaches through disingenuous buyers remorse. As I relay it's state I'm genuinely doing my best to impart it's condition and as a potential interested party I'll leave it to you if you require further information/images.
I would respectfully ask that no requests be made as to potential low offer price. Best Offer option is there to be utilised.
Do feel free to ask any questions or request further images if you require. I'm happy to help.Sold 'as is', what you see in the image is exactly what you will receive

The item will be packed carefully for posting/shipping.
I will combine postage on multiple sales where able, but in turn append postage if required. This is wholly dependent on weight and subsequent size of the packed parcel, the more purchased the larger the parcel.

Buy/bid with confidence, do check my feedback and other listings.
Payment would be appreciated within 2 days from close of auction. Failing that an unpaid item case will be opened.

Please note, the following shouldn't be necessary, but in any case:
1) If there is a delay on payment, just let me know your intentions, it's common courtesy. I'm pretty flexible and everyone knows where they stand rather than be left hanging.
 
2) Serious bidders please. For every non payer I lose potential custom in the meantime. It costs me money and time that could otherwise be spent more productively than chasing up non payers who have a bidding impulse control problem. Not to mention ruining it for other genuine buyers.

3) Please don't make me independent offers on open auctions. If it's not featured as a 'Buy it now/make offer' listing, well, it goes without saying. For the sake of my integrity and in fairness to all those that may wish to bid.

4) Posting/Shipping. All purchases will be sent via some tracking method, particularly those overseas, in which case purchases will be sent International Track & Signed, no exceptions. This is for the benefit and protection of both parties.

5) If you bid on an open auction and decide that you wish for your bid to be cancelled, don't request that I do it for you. It was your error, so it's down to you to rectify it. I may not always be readily available to do so and that's when problems arise.

I will endeavour to get your purchase posted/shipped at the first available opportunity upon receipt of payment.
Your custom and patience is appreciated.