| Showcase (comics) |
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''Showcase'' has been the title of several Anthology series published by DC Comics . The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing titles. The original series ran from 1956 to 1978. The best-known issue of ''Showcase'' is #4, which introduced an updated version of The Flash . This is generally cited as the beginning of the Silver Age Of Comic Books , as it was followed by the successful updating of several other Golden Age superheroes, and an upswing in the popularity of comics (superheroes especially). Other successful characters to debut in ''Showcase'' were the Challengers Of The Unknown (#6), Adam Strange (#17), the Silver Age Green Lantern (#22), the Silver Age Atom (#34), the Metal Men (#37), the Inferior Five (#62), the Creeper (#73), Hawk And Dove (#75), and Bat Lash (#76). Lois Lane (#9) and the Spectre (#60) also had their own series debut in ''Showcase.'' The series was cancelled in 1970 with #93, featuring Manhunter 2070. In 1977 it was revived. Issue #100 had a cameo by every character that had premiered in ''Showcase''. The series was cancelled again after #104 as part of what is commonly called the DC Implosion in 1978. Issues #105 and #106 saw print in '' Cancelled Comics Cavalcade '' and #105 was later published in '' Adventure Comics ''. DC revived the title in 1993. Because the 1950s retailer reluctance to order new, untested series had largely vanished, replaced in the 1990s with reader enthusiasm for the "#1" issues of new series, DC published it as ''Showcase '93'', a monthly 12-issue limited series, replaced the following year by ''Showcase '94'' #1, etc. However, because unsold comics were no longer returnable, retailers had become reluctant to stock series that did not feature consistent characters and creators from month to month, and despite attempts to link the series each year to various popular characters such as Batman or Superman, reader demand was lukewarm. ''Showcase '96'' #12 was the last regular issue. In 2005, DC began publishing thick, black-and-white reprints of older material under the umbrella title '' Showcase Presents ''. The new line of books has been widely compared to Marvel Comics ' similarly formatted ''Essential...'' line of collections, which that company has been publishing since 1996. The series have received recognition over the years, including the 1965 Alley Award for Best Novel (an untitled story by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson in issue #55). EXTERNAL LINKS
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