from: Dc Comics
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN num: 9781563890796
ISBN number: 1563890798
Label: Dc Comics
Manufacturer: Dc Comics
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: 1972-12
Publishing house: Dc Comics
Sale Popularity Level: 2409298
Studio: Dc Comics
User popularity level:
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The trade paperback THE ESSENTIAL SHOWCASE 1956 - 1959 reprints a selection of stories from the early years of DC's Showcase anthology title; specifically # 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, & 17. A try-out book for new ideas, Showcase quickly ushered in DC's rebirth as a comics powerhouse, jumpstarting the Silver Age of comics with the appearance of The Flash in issue #4. Barry Allen was the very first in a long line of rejuvenated superheroes from DC's Golden Age. The Flash didn't appear regularly, so while he does take center stage in this trade, slots are reserved for other early Showcase regulars Fireman Farrell, The Challengers of the Unknown, Lois Lane, and Adam Strange. Featured creators include writers Jack Schiff, Arnold Drake, Robert Kanigher, John Broome, Dave Wood, Jerry Coleman, Otto Binder, and Gardner Fox; and artists Win Mortimer, John Prentice, Carmine Infantino, Jack Kirby, Al Plastino, Ruben Moreira, and Mike Sekowsky.
Even with this long list of creators, the material contained in this trade is unfortunately a very limited selection of what made Showcase one of the most fun titles of DC's Silver Age. As this book was released about the same time as DC's initial line of "Greatest Stories Ever Told" trades, it certainly could have followed that format with more pages and an expanded selection. By limiting themselves to stories published before 1959, DC excludes other great Showcase favorites, such as Green Lantern, the Sea Devils, Rip Hunter, the Metal Men, Enemy Ace, B'wana Beast, and many others. Still, even though this book is long out of print, it's a neat little item and worth the search. A historical introduction by Paul Kupperberg and cover gallery add to the fun. DC recently returned the Showcase name to prominence as a series of jumbo black-and-white trade paperback reprints for their Silver Age material, so you can certainly locate volumes featuring some of the original Showcase stories... and more volumes are on the way!
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