The LSH first appeared in 1958's Adventure Comics #247
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In the meantime, Jack Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown premiered in Showcase
No. 6 and starred in Nos. 7, 11, and 12 before receiving their own in April
1958 in Challengers of the Unknown No. 1. With her popularity on the then
popular TV show, Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane received her own title in the
appropriately named Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane No. 1 in April 1958
after tryouts in Showcase Nos. 9 and 10. April 1958 brought Adventure Comics
Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #1
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No. 247 featuring the appearance of one of the most enduring teen superteams
of them all, the
Legion of Super-Heroes. They
didn't appear again until No. 267 in December 1959 but then guest starred in a
number of other titles. July 1958 and Action Comics No. 242 brought the first
appearance of one of Superman's most famous enemies, the interstellar villian
Brianiac who travelled the universe gathering entire cities from innocent worlds
for his private collection. The Space Ranger appeared in Showcase No. 15 in
August and then again in No. 16 before taking over Tales of the Unexpected with
No. 40. The legendary Bizarro appeared in Superboy No. 68 in November.
Showcase No. 17 in December 1958 featured the first appearnce of
Adam Strange. Following appearances in
Nos. 18 and 19 he took over Mystery In Space with
No. 53 (August 1959.)
In the rest of the industry, things continued changing. St. Johns Publishing
and Magazine Enterprises went out of business. Over at Marvel, his leftover
stories running out, Stan Lee was hiring freelancers again, and what quality
he was able to hire! Jack Kirby, gone from DC, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett,
Don heck, Al Williamson and Jack Davis were all doing work for Marvel.
January started bright for Marvel with the premieres of Tales of Astonish
No. 1 and Tales of Suspense No. 1, both featuring monster and science-fiction
stories
Back at DC, The Green Arrow was revamped by Jack Kirby in the backup of
January 1959's Adventure Comics No. 256. Aquaman
made his first Silver Age appearance in Adventure Comics No. 260.
Wonder Woman was revamped with No. 105,
modernizing her and giving her a new origin.
The Brave and the Bold started running tryouts with No. 23 like Showcase
had been doing. The Suicide Squad first appeared in The Brave and the Bold
No. 25 in September 1959. Already having tried Batwoman years ago, DC
introduced Superman's cousin Supergirl in Action Comics No. 252, the creation
of Mort Weisinger and Otto Binder who had created Captain Marvel's sister
nearly two decades ago. A similar character had been tried out in
Superman No. 123 nearly a year earlier.
Rip Hunter Time Master #1
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Archie tried getting back into superheroes with a revival of The Shield. Jack
Kirby and Joe Simon produced two issues of him in the Double Life of Private
Strong, No. 1 premiering in June 1959, before it folded. Archie tried again
with The Fly in The Adventures of The Fly No. 1 in August. The Fly ran until
1965 before being renamed Fly Man and lasting another nine issues.
Showcase rolled on, this time spinning off Rip Hunter Time Master after his
debut in No. 20 and subsequent appearances in Nos. 21, 25, and 26. Rip Hunter
Time Master No. 1 hit the stands in March 1961. In a unusual move, DC produced
Green Lantern #1 (Silver Age)
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five issues of Pat Boone, starring the music star, starting in October 1959 but
didn't submit them to the Comics Code Authority, meaning it didn't feature the
Comics Code logo on the cover. Julius Schwartz, having
successfully revived The Flash, repeated the formula with
The Green Lantern
in Showcase No. 22 in
October 1959. Written by Gardner Fox, who had also written The Flash's early
Showcase adventures, with art by Bob Kane, the new GL,
Hal Jordan, continued to appear in Nos.
23 and 24 before getting his own title with
Green Lantern No. 1 in July 1960. The Flash No. 110 introduced Barry
West's nephew Wally West, destined one day become The Flash himself, as Kid
Flash in January 1960.
The JLA 1st appeared in The Brave and the Bold #28
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Charlton tried getting back into the superhero market with their first Silver
Age hero, Steve Ditko's Captain Atom, in Space Adventures No. 60 in March 1960.
Schwartz, riding his wave of
successful revivals, next tried the Golden Age
Justice Society of America, replacing them with the Silver Age Justice League
of America. The JLA first appeared in
Justice League of America #1
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The
Brave in the Bold No. 28 in March 1960, with the cover available online.
The JLA's original members were Superman,
, Wonder Woman,
Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen Flash, and
Hal Jordan
Green Lantern. After appearing in The Brave and the Bold Nos. 29 and 30 in
May and July, they received their own title with
Justice League of America No. 1 in October 1960.
The Elongated Man first appeared in Flash No.
112 in May 1960.
The seemingly endless stream of Showcase spinoffs continued, with Sea Devils
No. 1 premiering in September 1961 after appearing in Showcase No. 27, 28 and
29. DC Comics tried taking a shot at annuals, reprinting Golden Age stories
in Superman Annual No. 1 in October 1960. It was a success and many more
annuals for various titles would follow.
Harvey released Wendy the Good Little Witch No. 1 in August and Richie Rich
No. 1 in November. Richie Rich would go on to become the biggest selling
character in comics
Aquaman was up next for a revival, with Showcase
Nos. 30-33 ending in August 1961, leading to his own title Aquaman No. 1 in
January 1962. Hawkman followed in Showcase Nos. 34-6 and again in Nos. 42-44,
ending in November 1962, then received his own title with Hawkman No. 1 in
April 1964. He became a member of the Justice League of America in JLA No. 31
in November 1964.
In June 1961 Marvel published Amazing Adventures No.1 and changing the title to
Amazing Adult Fantasy with No. 7.
Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, returned in The Flash No. 123 and the
readers leaned of another world, Earth II, where the Golden Age heroes lived.
Following the established path, The Atom was updated in Showcase No. 34-36 from
September 1961 to February 1962 and received his own book in The Atom No. 1 in
June 1962.
