With the plethora of Bat-related items that bombarded the youth of the 60's; a trip to the local candy store proved to be no exception. The country was in the rabid throes of "Batmania", capitalism was alive and well, and it seemed that there was no better way to increase candy sales than to use Batman and friends as the hook. One of the more successful ventures as well as desirable confectionary Bat-items of this period was produced by the Phoenix Candy Co. of Brooklyn NY.

The original set of 8 color boxes were double sided and depicted the beginning and apparent end result of different bat-villains run-in with our Caped Crusaders. As you can see, the majority of main characters (Joker, Penguin and the Riddler) were represented as were some of the more obscure and ridiculous (Caveman, Blockbuster and my personal favorite the Deathman; "Oooooh..) They originally sold for 5 cents each and contained some loose candy and a small plastic prize.

Towards the end of the "craze", Phoenix again attempted to pump some new life into sales by releasing their "Joker & his Friends" series. If the description on the side of the box is to be believed, this short lived second set of boxes was more ambitious than it's predecessor in that it promised over 52 different variations; based on a normal deck of playing cards. Given the extreme scarcity of these examples in relation to the smaller first set, chances are that a relatively few number were actually produced for the general public. My best guess is that they were probably test marketed in a few specific cities to gage their probable success. Whatever be the case, these boxes are extremely scarce and command high prices when offered on the collectibles market.

As is general with most small paper items, few numbers of NM examples survived to find their way to our collections. But Phoenix added an apparent twist to assure future scarcity, as on each first-issue box were instructions showing children how they could create their own little "Gadget-belts". By puncturing holes through several boxes and lacing them together with string, children could then tie these around their waists and pretend to be the Batman. Needless to say, after a few "adventures" these were discarded into the trash. The second series faired no better, as the dotted lines around the cards encouraged they be cut out to play card games.

Very seldom do complete candy box sets make themselves available to collectors. I for one, can only recall one time that they were offered entirely (first issue set) and as a result, I ended up purchasing it. Commonly if they are advertised, they are usually the first series boxes. As such, prices for loose examples of the first series run between $20-$35 dependent on condition. For the second series, prices are generally higher; as they are usually between $50-$75 for good examples.