Posted in: Comics, Vintage Paper | Tagged: barry allen, flash, Showcase, Silver Age

Debut of Barry Allen as Flash to Become 1st $1,000,000 Silver Age DC?

Does the highest grade copy of Showcase #4 (DC, 1956), the first appearance of Barry Allen as Flash, have a shot at the $1,000,000 mark?

Showcase #4 (DC Comics, 1956) is the first appearance of the Silver Age version of the Flash, written by Robert Kanigher, drawn by Carmine Infantino, and inked by Joe Kubert under the editorship of Julius Schwartz. Long considered one of the most important comic books of the Silver Age (and arguably, the most important), Showcase #4 is regarded as so pivotal in comic book history that it is universally designated as the starting point of the Silver Age. Perennially considered the top DC Comics key of the Silver Age, the first appearance of the Barry Allen version of the Flash remained neck and neck (or a very close second place) with the start of the Marvel Silver Age, Fantastic Four #1, in the Overstreet Price Guide through the early 2000s.

Of course, the Silver Age market has changed dramatically over the past 20+ years.  Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, has since acquired a firm grasp on the title of top Silver Age key, with a few other Marvel Silver Age keys like X-Men #1, Incredible Hulk #1, Avengers #1, and others surpassing Showcase #4 on the marketplace.  Two Silver Age Marvel comic books have eclipsed the million-dollar mark in recent times: Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 9.6 ($3.6M in 2021, $1.1M in 2011) and Fantastic Four #1 CGC 9.2 ($1.5M in 2022).  And even a Bronze Age Marvel comic book, the first appearance of Ghost Rider in Marvel Spotlight #5 CGC 9.8 has hit $264,000 in 2021, handily surpassing the highest price ever paid for a Showcase #4 at public auction ($179,250 in 2009).

Beyond the soaring popularity of the Marvel characters over this period, one additional reason for Showcase #4 lagging so far behind the Silver Age Marvel keys is that it appears that no copies above CGC 9.0 and only a couple of copies above CGC 8.0 have hit the public market in nearly a decade — which has been a historic boom period for high-grade vintage comics. As is the case with most, if not all, early Silver Age DC Comics keys, Showcase #4 is vastly more difficult to get than its Marvel Silver Age counterparts in high grade — or any grade, for that matter.  There is one entry for Showcase #4 at CGC 9.6 vs. four copies of Amazing Fantasy #15 in that grade (and none higher for either comic),  eight entries for Showcase #4 at CGC 9.0 or above vs. 26 entries for Amazing Fantasy #15 in that range, and overall 589 entries on the census for Showcase #4 vs. 3,829 entries for Amazing Fantasy #15.  Notably, with none of the top copies of Showcase #4 available on the public market during this period, another Silver Age DC Comics key, Justice League of America #1 CGC 9.6 (itself an extreme rarity in that grade on the public market) slipped past it with a 2018 sale at $215,100.

While Barry Allen is the version of the Flash with which most people are familiar, it's hard to imagine his popularity rivaling that of Spider-Man anytime soon.  However, in addition to the issue of rarity, particularly in high grades, Showcase #4 holds a rather unique position in comic book history. When Showcase #4 hit the newsstands in July 1956 (with a September/October 1956 cover date), it had been over five years since the Golden Age version of the character, Jay Garrick, had last appeared in comics at the end of the All-Star Comics series. In the meantime, other comic book genres, including romance, horror, war, western, and crime had been rising to prominence.  Still, Showcase #4 was not the first mid-1950s superhero introduction or revival.  Marvel attempted to reboot Captain America, the Submariner, and the Human Torch in 1953-1955.  Ajax/Farrell briefly revived the Fox superheroes the Flame, Samson, and Phantom Lady from 1954 to 1955.  Among others, Simon and Kirby's Fighting American from publisher Prize and the Avenger and Strongman from Magazine Enterprises also appeared during this period.

But none of those lasted very long, and while they are interesting and important, they are largely regarded as a footnote to what is historically considered the last gasp of the Pre-Code comic book era.  The reintroduction of Flash in Showcase #4 would become the start of something different.  To put this period in perspective, of the 176 comic books to hit newsstands in July 1956, Showcase #4 was one of only nine superhero comics — and the other eight were all Superman and Batman-related.  Showcase was a "try-out" title meant to test the viability of new characters and concepts, and three additional Flash try-out stories eventually led to the resumption of the Golden Age Flash Comics title with Flash #105 — now with Barry Allen, of course.  Along the way, other classic DC Comics heroes were revived,  along with some new characters, in Showcase and Brave and the Bold and the Silver Age was well underway at DC Comics by the end of the decade.  The choice to reintroduce heroes like Flash and Green Lantern as new characters during this period was also perhaps the most direct step leading to the concept of the comic book multiverse as we know it today.

While none of this historical legacy or relative rarity in grade means for certain that Showcase #4 will become the first million-dollar Silver Age DC comic book when the auction for the sole highest-graded Showcase #4 CGC 9.6 copy closes on January 11, 2024, we can already say for certain that it will at least get closer than any Silver Age DC Comic has gotten before.  As of this writing, with ten days left to go before auction close, the bidding stands at $384,000 (edit — now $516,000 with 6 days left), already far and away the highest price ever paid for any copy of a Showcase #4 or any other Silver Age DC Comic on the public market.

Showcase #4 The Flash (DC, 1956) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages. An unbelievable copy of this Silver Age Super Key! CGC's awarded a scant eight issues with a grade as high as VF/NM 9.0, and no other with the grade of this beauty! DC jump-started the Silver Age with this issue, a full five years before rival Marvel launched its own Marvel Age with Fantastic Four #1. The groundbreaking comic was the first of DC's successful revival of Golden Age heroes with the debut of Barry Allen as the new Flash for a new era. With his distinctive costume and dynamic art by Carmine Infantino, who had last rendered the superhero in the final issue of the Golden Age Flash Comics in 1949, he was the perfect choice for DC's "try-out" title Showcase.

After appearing in issues 4, 8, 13, and 14, Editor Julius Schwartz was convinced the Fastest Man Alive was ready for his own comic book series. The Flash paved the way for similar revivals of Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Atom, all before Marvel could get out of the starting block with FF #1! Showcase #4 currently ranks in fourth place on Overstreet's Top 50 Silver Age Comics list, by far DC's loftiest entry. For sheer historical significance, it probably should rank even higher! Overstreet 2023 NM- 9.2 value = $182,000. CGC census 12/23: 1 in 9.6, none higher.

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