DC Comics - Silver Age Gold in B&W

Do you recall your favorite Silver Age DC Comics stories? Do you wish you could read them again, except your parent threw your comics out or, in a moment of weakness, you sold that part of your collection? How can you acquire these stories?

Well, you could try to identify the issues you’d like to purchase by searching Internet sites such as the Grand Comics Database or asking fan forums such as those on the Superman Homepage or DC Comics? But then you have to find someone to sell these issues to you and…at what cost? Of course, another option is DC Comics’ Archive Editions of such titles as Action Comics, Batman Comics, Detective Comics, and others. These handsomely bound volumes contain selected runs (several issues each) of characters such as Aquaman, the Atom, Batman, Superman, and many others. These hardback volumes are printed in full color on high quality paper and cover a variety of Golden and Silver Age comics. The price tag for each volume varies from $20 – $99 depending upon where you look.

A little pricy you say? Would you be happier with being able to read the story and see the artwork in black and white? This option is available to you for about $10 to $20 each in DC Comics Showcase Presents editions. Each trade-paperback volume contains 500-plus pages of covers, stories, and artwork by the greats of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s: Dick Sprang, Edmond Hamilton, Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil, Curt Swan, Murphy Anderson, Carmine Infantino, Julius Schwartz, Gardner Fox, Ramona Fradon, and Jack Kirby to name only a very few.

The modern Showcase Presents series debuted in 2005 with Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Volume 1 and Showcase Presents: Superman Volume 1. Each volume focuses on Silver Age stories (roughly 1955 through 1975, although there have been some volumes of later characters/teams) of the title characters in their appearance order from the various comics they appeared in. The table of contents in each volume identifies where each story debuted and who the writer, artist, and (sometimes) colorist or letterer was. DC Comics even has a disclaimer that they have made every effort to identify the creative teams correctly and asks readers to submit any errors to them for correction in later printings.

This series is named after DC’s classic Silver Age anthology series, Showcase (Presenting …). During the 60s, Showcase was the comic book DC Comics (then called National Periodicals Publications, Inc.) used to test out new ideas. Each character or team was given a one to four-issue test drive. If sales figures showed a solid core of readers, then a new comic book series would be created around that character or team. Some famous Showcase alumni include:

• Lois Lane – issues 9 and 10
• The Flash (Barry Allen) – issues 4, 8, 13, and 14
• Aquaman and Aqualad – issues 30 – 33
• The Atom (Ray Palmer) – issues 34 – 36
• The Metal Men – issues 37 – 40
• The Inferior Five - issues 62, 63, and 65

As of early 2012, DC has released Showcase Presents for the following Silver Age series, characters, or teams:

• Adam Strange: Volume 1 (1958 – 1963)
• Aquaman: Volumes 1 – 3 (1959 – 1968)
• Atom: Volumes 1 – 2 (1961 – 1968)
• Batgirl: Volume 1 (1967 – 1972)
• Batlash: Volume 1 (1969 – 1982)
• Batman: Volumes 1 - 5 (1964 – 1970)
• Blackhawk: Volume 1 (1957 – 1958)
• The Brave and the Bold: the Batman Team-Ups: Volumes 1 – 3 (1965 – 1977)
• Challengers of the Unknown: Volumes 1 – 2 (1957 – 1964)
• Doom Patrol: Volumes 1 – 2 (1963 – 1968)
• Eclipso: Volume 1 (1963 – 1966)
• Elongated Man: Volume 1 (1960 – 1968)
• Enemy Ace: Volume 1 (1965 – 1985)
• The Flash: Volumes 1 – 3 (1949, 1956 – 1965)
• Ghosts: Volume 1 (1971 – 1982)
• Green Arrow: Volume 1 (1958 – 1969)
• Green Lantern: Volumes 1 – 5 (1959 – 1977)
• Haunted Tank: Volume s1– 2 (1961 – 1973)

• Hawkman: Volumes 1 – 2 (1961 – 1969)
• House of Mystery: Volumes 1 – 3 (1968 – 1975)
• House of Secrets: Volumes 1 – 2 (1969 – 1975)
• Jonah Hex: Volumes 1 – 2 (1970 – 1979)
• Justice League of America: Volumes 1 – 5 (1960 – 1973)
• Legion of Super-Heroes: Volumes 1 – 4 (1958 – 1972)
• The Martian Manhunter: Volumes 1 - 2 (1955 – 1968)
• The Metal Men: Volumes 1 – 2 (1962 – 1969)
• Metamorpho: Volume 1 (1965 – 1967)
• Our Army at War: Volume 1 (1952 – 1954)
• Phantom Stranger: Volumes 1 – 2 (1969 – 1978)
• Rip Hunter, Time Master: Volume 1 (1959 – 1965)
• Robin, the Boy Wonder: Volume 1 (1964 – 1975)
• Secret of Sinister House: Volume 1 (1972 – 1974)
• Sgt. Rock: Volumes 1 – 3 (1959 – 1967)
• The Spectre: Volume 1 (1967 – 1969)
• Strange Adventures: Volume 1 (1955 – 1956)
• Supergirl: Volumes 1 – 2 (1958 – 1965)
• Superman: Volumes 1 - 4 (1958 – 1964)
• Superman Family: Volumes 1 – 3 (1954 – 1960)
• Teen Titans: Volumes 1 – 2 (1964 – 1971)
• The Unknown Soldier: Volume 1 (1970 – 1975)
• The War that Time Forgot: Volume 1 (1960 – 1968)
• The Witching Hour: Volume 1 (1969 – 1972)
• Wonder Woman: Volumes 1 – 4 (1958 – 1968)
• World’s Finest Comics: Volumes 1 – 3 (1952 – 1968)

Hopefully, DC Entertainment (formerly DC Comics) will continue to publish these volumes to give readers a chance to read some of these wonderful Silver Ages stories.

Note: DC Comics did not originate the idea of black and white anthologies. Marvel Entertainment actually started the ball rolling in with their Marvel Essentials series back in 1997.