When Did the Silver Age of Comic Books end?

It is hard to pick a specific date as the end of the Silver Age of Comics.  Most historians say the era ended around 1970 – 1972.  Some historians point to the last 12 cent comic being published (1969); in 1970, comics were 15 cents.

Other historians point to April 1970 when a new creative team was attached to Green Lantern due to reduced sales.    Finally, other historians point to 1972 when Gwen Stacy – Spiderman’s girlfriend was killed by the Green Lantern.

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Which company – DC or Marvel – printed better Silver Age Comic Books?

This is a very hard question to answer.  DC comics started the Silver Age by publishing Showcase #4 – the first appearance of Barry Allen as the Flash.  DC then went to publish hundreds and hundreds of new comics with new superheroes.

Marvel came later to the game – and published fewer comics – but some feel that they had much richer stories.  The reason is that their characters weren’t “perfect” like DC’s characters.  They were flawed and had to overcome self doubt to avenge their foe.

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Who came up with the term – the Silver Age of Comic Books?

There is no clear answer to this question.  However, many point to the Justice League of America #42, published in 1966, as the first time that “silver age” was mentioned with regards to comics.  In the letters column – a reader named Scott Taylor from Connecticut wrote “If you guys keep bringing back the heroes from the [1930s-1940s] Golden Age, people 20 years from now will be calling this decade the Silver Sixties!”  Although Mr. Taylor didn’t specifically say “Silver Age”, the seed had been planted and prtty soon fans started differentiating ages of comics as Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age.

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What is the difference between Earth-One and Earth-Two?

From 1955 to the mid 1960s, DC comics released brand new versions of superheroes that had already existed.  (A new “Flash”, a new “Green Lantern”, etc.  To differentiate the two types of superheroes, they created two earths.   Characters that first appeared in comics before the Silver Age of Comics lived on an earth called Earth-Two.  Characters that were created in the 1950s and 1960s lived on Earth-one.  These two earths existed in the same time/space but were separated by a vibrational field.  There were ways to cross that field, but generally residents of the two earths didn’t know that each other existed.

Eventually more earths were created, with more characters. It got so that it was confusing for both writers and fans to understand the continuity. So DC published “Crisis on Infinite Earths” which destroyed all the infinite earths and created just one earth.

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What are the most expensive and sought out Silver Age Comic Books?

One of the best books about comic books is the Overstreet Comic Book Guide.  Besides having interesting articles, it lists current prices for the majority of American Comic Books printed.  If you don’t have a copy, you should buy one.  According to the 2008 edition, these are the most popular Silver Age Comic Books.

Amazing Fantasy	15	Marvel	First appearance of Spider-Man
Showcase	4	DC Comics	First appearance of Barry Allen as the Flash
Fantastic Four	1	Marvel	First appearance of the Fantastic Four
Amazing Spiderman	1	Marvel	Spider-Man gets his own series
Incredible Hulk	1	Marvel	First appearance of the Hulk
X-Men	1	Marvel	First appearance of X-Men
Showcase	8	DC Comics	Second Silver Age appearance of the Flash
Journey Into Mystery	83	Marvel	First appearance of Thor
Showcase	9	DC Comics	Lois Lane stars in her own adventure
The Flash	105	DC Comics	First Flash comic book since Flash Comics was cancelled with issue #104
Tales of Suspense	39	Marvel	First appearance of Iron Man
Brave and the bold	28	DC Comics	First appearance of the Justice League of America
Adventure Comics	247	DC Comics	Superboy meets the Legion of Super-Heroes
Justice League of America	1	DC Comics	First Issue
Showcase	22	DC Comics	First appearance of Silver Age Green Lantern
Fantastic Four	5	Marvel	First appearance of Dr. Doom
Tales to Astonish	27	Marvel	First appearance of Hank Pym
Fantastic Four	2	Marvel	Second appearance of the Fantastic Four, first appearance of the Skrulls
Green Lantern	1	DC Comics	First issue
Amazing Spider-Man	2	Marvel	First appearance of the Vulture
Action Comics	252	DC Comics	First appearance of Kara “Supergirl” Zor-El

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What was the first Silver Age Comic Book published?

Some Historians point to Detective Comics #225 – the first appearance of Martian Manhunter – as the first Silver Age Comic book.  Others point to Strange Adventures #9, the first appearance of Captain Comet.  However, these comic book historians are in the minority.

Most historians point to Showcase #4 published in October 1956 that brought out a new version of the Flash.   The cover had a film strip on it and had the flash running extremely fast.  It was written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Carmine Infantino.

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Who were writers and artists of the Silver Age of Comic Books?

There were a lot of different creaters that were involved.  For a complete list of the creators of silver age of comic books, check wikipedia. Here is an abbreviated list – the most popular. Writers:

• Gardner Fox
• Robert Kanigher
• Archie Goodwin
• Dennis O’Neil
• Roy Thomas
• John Broome
• Stan Lee

Pencillers

• Neal Adams
• Murphy Anderson
• John buscema
• Steve Ditko
• Gil Kane
• Jack Kirby
• Joe Kubert
• John Romita, Sr.
• Jim Steranko
• Wally Wood

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