Regarding the comics industry recent reholder scandal / scam, please note that all books I sell were submitted directly by me to CGC at various comic conventions (as well as the occasional private signing event). I do not buy already graded books and then resell them. So every CGC item I have for sale was graded by CGC and then came directly to me and not through another dealer. Please further note that photos, prints, and original art sketches (that are not on actual comic books but are rather just on sketch paper or the like? i.e. anything certified by CGC that does not have a grade, are not searchable on their site by the serial number. Only graded comics and magazines - items with grades - are searchable by serial number. However, for such items not searchable on their site, you can call CGC Customer Service and they can verify the item authentication over the phone.
In 1940 the character of Robin, comics most enduring sidekick, made his first appearance in Detective Comics #38. Dick Grayson would go on to set the patten for all other youthful comic-book sidekicks that followed. Appearing alongside Batman as well as in his own solo comic adventures, Robin eventually became a global icon with the portrayal of the character by Burt Ward in the 1960’s Batman television series.
But by 1984, forty-four years after his initial appearance in the Golden Age – and with comics themselves at last maturing for a more adult audience – it was time for Dick Grayson to grow up as well. With story by Marv Wolfman, cover by George Pérez, and interior artwork by Pérez and Romeo Tanghal, The New Teen Titans #39 featured Dick’s last appearance as Robin. Proclaiming “Robin will always be the back half of ‘Batman and – -‘ But Robin Belongs with Batman, fighting at his side. Trouble is – – I don’t.”
Grayson’s decision paved the way for the new characters to assume the mantel of Batman’s trusted crime-fighting partners; Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Damion Wayne and even Carrie Kelley. Of course, just under half a year passed before Grayson made his first appearance as Nightwing – in Tales of the Teen Titans #44. Had Grayson not quite as Robin in The New Teen Titans #39, the latter Robin’s would never have followed, nor would Nightwing (a character that went on to become an important part of DC continuity in his own right, IGN having ranked the character as the fifth in their list of Top 25 Heroes of DC Comics).
The New Teen Titans #39 was a sign of the times as well. The static, unchanging nature of comic book characters’ core aspects had been challenged before (perhaps most notably in the early 1970’s with the revamp of Superman and the return of Batman to his darker roots) but Dick Grayson’s abandonment of his Robin persona was permanent and singled a radical new direction for the character, despite maintaining his close ties to the Batman family of characters.
Of further note, Kid-Flash also leaves the team in this issue and soon – after the events in Crisis on Infinite Earths – becomes the new Flash after Barry Allen apparently dies in issue #8. All told, New Teen Titans #39 is a true gem, an under-appreciated key from the early Copper Age. The comic is professionally graded by CGC at 9.8 and is part of their special Signature Series. With Signature Series books a certified CGC witness actually observes the signing of the comic and then immediately takes possession of the book so there is no possibility of the real autograph being switched out with another. It will be shipped with the utmost care.