Showcase (comic series)

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Showcase is the title of a comic series published by the US publisher DC Comics between March 1956 and September 1970 and between August 1977 and September 1978. Showcase came out monthly and reached 104 issues.

Release history

The series served as a forum for the presentation of new characters and concepts . Both the content of the series and the artists who created it changed constantly. In the context of Showcase, new ideas should be tested for their popularity with the readership, without the financial risk and organizational effort of bringing untested materials onto the market in separate series. In 1970 the series was temporarily discontinued with issue # 94 and continued in 1976 under the old numbering with issue # 95 until it was finally discontinued in 1977 with issue # 104.

Between 1993 and 1996 another 48 issues of Showcase were published, each of which was published under an annual label (Showcase '93, Showcase '94, etc.) and each numbered from # 1 to # 12. The series presented one long and two shorter adventures, which were designed by constantly changing "creative teams" and focused on constantly changing characters. Due to dwindling demand, the series was discontinued with the December 1996 issue.

Content

The characters that were tried out in their own stories as part of Showcase include: the superhero Flash (# 4), the Challengers of the Unknown (# 6), the journalist Lois Lane (# 9), the space adventurer Adam Strange ( # 17), the time-traveling Rip Hunter, Time Master (# 20), Green Lantern (# 22), the diving group Sea Devils (# 27), the superhero Atom (# 34), the robot Metal Men (# 37), the godlike Specter (# 60), the Inferior Five (# 62), the African adventurer B'wana Beast (# 66), the Creeper (# 73), the cave boy Anthro (# 74), the unequal siblings Hawk and Dove (# 75), the gunslinger Bat Lash (# 76), the obscure couple Angel and the Ape (# 77) and the mysterious Phantom Stranger (# 80).

In addition, an edition of "Showcase" presented a comic adaptation of the film James Bond chases Dr. No .

Artist

The artists who worked on the series over the years included the authors Arnold Drake , Robert Kanigher , John Broome , Jack Kirby , Otto Binder and the draftsmen Win Mortimer , Joe Kubert , Ross Andru , Russ Heath , Carmine Infantino .

Reprints

Since the early 1990s, numerous showcase stories have been republished in various forms. Both in anthologies and in the "Showcase Presents" series, which presented facsimile reprints of the old editions in black and white. Apart from the "Presents" on the cover sheet and the lack of coloring, the reprints were identical to the originals.

Anthologies

Edited volumes that contain reprints of stories originally presented in Showcase include:

  • Adam Strange Archives Vol 1. (Reprint of Issues # 17-19)
  • Atom Archives Vol. # 1 (Reprint of Issues # 34–36)
  • Metal Men Archives Vol. 1 (Reprint of Issues # 37–40)
  • Power Girl Trade Paperback (Reprint of Issues # 97-99)
  • The Essential Showcase: 1956–1959 Trade Paperback (Reprint of Issues # 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 17)

Showcase Presents

Showcase Presents has reissued the following old editions:

  • Issue # 6 as "Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown"
  • Issue # 7 as "Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown"
  • Issue # 11 as "Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown"
  • Issue # 12 as "Showcase Presents: Challengers of the Unknown"
  • Issue # 22 as "Showcase Presents: Green Lantern"
  • Issue # 23 as "Showcase Presents: Green Lantern"
  • Issue # 24 as "Showcase Presents: Green Lantern"
  • Issue # 59 as "Showcase Presents: Teen Titans"

Web links

DC Database

Individual evidence

  1. http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Showcase_Vol_1