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93-584: Salem the Witch Girl ( Salem Nader ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . She is the sidekick and apprentice of the original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson . In Flashpoint Beyond , it is revealed Salem was among the thirteen missing Golden Age superheroes found in the Time Masters ' capsules, retroactively making her a figure of Nelson's past. Born in

186-487: A naturalistic style of superheroes with human failings, fears, and inner demons - heroes who squabbled and worried about the likes of paying the rent. In contrast to the super-heroic do-gooder archetypes of established superheroes at the time, this ushered in a revolution. With dynamic artwork by Kirby, Steve Ditko , Don Heck , and others, complementing Lee's colorful, catchy prose, the new style became very popular among teenagers and college students who could identify with

279-498: A tabloid -sized, 10-by-15-inch (250 mm × 380 mm), 36-page magazine with a card-stock, non-glossy cover. An anthology , it mixed humor features such as the funny animal comic "Pelion and Ossa" and the college-set "Jigger and Ginger" with such dramatic fare as the Western strip "Jack Woods" and the " yellow-peril " adventure "Barry O'Neill", featuring a Fu Manchu -styled villain, Fang Gow. Issue #6 (Oct. 1935) brought

372-498: A Siegel/Shuster creation from the slush pile and used it as the cover feature (but only as a backup story) in Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The duo's alien hero, Superman , was dressed in a cape and colorful tights. The costume, influenced by Flash Gordon 's attire from 1934, evoked circus aerial performers and circus strongmen, and Superman became the archetype of the " superheroes " that would follow. In early 1939,

465-588: A character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . Shiv is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She appeared in 11 issues of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. , two issues of JSA and four issues of JSA All-Stars . Cindy Burman is the daughter of the supervillain the Dragon King . She had a grudge against Stargirl . Shiv was also

558-735: A collection of English-language newspaper inserts originally published in Europe as the 1837 book Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois by Rodolphe Töpffer . The G. W. Dillingham Company published the first known proto-comic-book magazine in the US, The Yellow Kid in McFadden's Flats , in 1897. A hardcover book, it reprinted material—primarily the October 18, 1896, to January 10, 1897, sequence titled "McFadden's Row of Flats"—from cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's newspaper comic strip Hogan's Alley , starring

651-479: A crossover story involving Clock King fighting a series of temporal dopplegangers during "Zero Hour" while trying to obtain a powerful time travel artifact. With the 1995-1996 Showcase series, the focus switched from Batman centric characters to Superman centric characters. This included a story involving the Matrix Supergirl that led into her ongoing series written by Peter David ( Showcase '96 #8) and

744-420: A feature would buy the series when it came out, but would often continue buying Showcase as well. The series was canceled in 1970 with issue #93, featuring Manhunter 2070 . In 1992, DC Comics published a trade paperback reprint collection titled The Essential Showcase: 1956–1959 ( ISBN   978-1563890796 ). This collection reprints selected stories/characters from issues #1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 17 of

837-399: A few issues, and then went away. [DC] decided to create Showcase for the very same reason it was originally created, to have a place to experiment, and if [the feature] sold, great . If not, they were already on to the next idea".[emphasis in original] The revived Showcase , using the original numbering, began with issue #94 and published the first appearance of the new Doom Patrol and

930-399: A form much as it was prior to " The New 52 ". Silver Monkey was seen among the fighters on Lazarus Island, during which he was killed before later being resurrected. During the " Salvation Run " storyline, the second person to operate as Silver Monkey was seen among the villains on the prison planet. American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in

1023-599: A gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority . The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century. Some fans collect comic books, helping drive up their value. Some have sold for more than US$ 1 million. Comic shops cater to fans, selling comic books, plastic sleeves ("bags") and cardboard backing ("boards") to protect

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1116-407: A heritage. The rest of Dark Nemesis worked for Veil again and killed her while framing Risk. The Teen Titans later found evidence to clear Risk's name. The second Scorcher, a member of Dark Nemesis, is a pyrokinetic female and the successor of the previous version. She and the rest of Dark Nemesis were sent to acquire the files on Apex and were easily taken down by a refocused Titans. Scarlet Skier

1209-528: A humanoid appearance and telepathic powers, but leaves him with his bloodthirsty shark instincts. This Shark has fought Green Lantern II, as well as Superman , Aquaman , the Justice League of America and the Black Condor II. The Shark's portrayal on the cover of Action Comics #456 (February 1976) was inspired by the hit 1975 film Jaws . Karshon would return following DC Rebirth as

1302-576: A member of Johnny Sorrow 's incarnation of the Injustice Society . In " The New Golden Age ", Shiv and Dragon King were seen in a flashback fighting Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. The Silver Ghost is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the character, created by Gerry Conway and Ric Estrada , first appeared in Freedom Fighters #1 (March 1976). Within

1395-462: A member of her kind to save a human, but the pair had bonded, and Catwoman became one of the few humans that the Scream Queen saw as a friend. Eventually, the Scream Queen began to change her view of her Scare Tactics teammates, finally seeing them as friends. Following Slither's death, Nina arranged for the group to take his ashes and throw them in his father's face. She also bit and sucked all

1488-662: A member of the Suicide Squad . Shat-Ru is a supporting character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Among the Lords of Order , he was formerly antagonistic against Doctor Fate for perceived failures as an agent of order, believing him to have humiliated the Lords of Orders for failing to abolish the forces of chaos caused by the Lords of Chaos during his tenure as Doctor Fate. Shat-Ru would later challenge Inza Cramer as Doctor Fate, becoming trapped in

1581-603: A million copies a month each; comics provided very popular cheap entertainment during World War II especially among soldiers, but with erratic quality in stories, art, and printing. In the early 1940s, over 90 percent of girls and boys from seven to seventeen read comic books. In 1941, H. G. Peter and William Moulton Marston , created the female superhero character Wonder Woman , who debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman in 1942. MLJ 's Pep Comics debuted as

1674-440: A plan to stop Waller's plans. Sand Demon ( Eddie Slick ) is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Eddie Slick is the manager of the wrestler King Crusher and provided him with mutative steroids to win a match. However, Firestorm eventually defeated him while exposing the steroid operation in the process. Eddie was later exposed to the same drugs as his wrestler and buried in

1767-428: A previously untold story from earlier in the "Knightfall" storyline where Batman fought Two-Face. Showcase '94 #4-5 were part of a crossover with Robin, involving Tim Drake and Huntress fighting a masked priest/vigilante attempting to eliminate his evil mob boss sister's criminal empire. Showcase '94 #8-9 featured a prelude to "Zero Hour Crisis In Time" that featured Monarch's transformation into Extant and #10 featured

1860-454: A profound impact upon the American comic-book industry. Their popularity, along with mainstream media attention and critical acclaim, combined with changing social tastes, led to a considerably darker tone in comic books during the 1990s nicknamed by fans as the "grim-and-gritty" era. The growing popularity of antiheroes such as Wolverine and the Punisher exemplified this change, as did

1953-442: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies. The promotion proved a success, and Eastern Color that year produced similar periodicals for Canada Dry soft drinks , Kinney Shoes , Wheatena cereal and others, with print runs of from 100,000 to 250,000. Also in 1933, Gaines and Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish

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2046-476: A short time by Sal Amendola ), the series gave new writers and artists their first professional opportunity in the comics industry. Notable creators who made their DC debuts with New Talent Showcase include Mark Beachum, Norm Breyfogle , Tom Grindberg , Steve Lightle , Mindy Newell , and Stan Woch . Per editorial policy, the series featured only new characters. DC revived the Showcase title in 1993 when

2139-520: A superhero, science-fiction and adventure anthology, but after the title introduced the teen-humor feature "Archie" in 1942, the feature's popularity would soon eclipse all other MLJ properties, leading the publisher to rename itself Archie Comics . Following the end of World War II, the popularity of superheroes greatly diminished, while the comic-book industry itself expanded. A few well-established characters such as Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman continued to sell, but DC canceled series starring

2232-494: A ten-cent pricetag [ sic ] on the comic books". When Delacorte declined to continue with Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , Eastern Color on its own published Famous Funnies #1 (cover-dated July 1934), a 68-page giant selling for 10¢. Distributed to newsstands by the mammoth American News Company , it proved a hit with readers during the cash-strapped Great Depression , selling 90 percent of its 200,000 print, although putting Eastern Color more than $ 4,000 in

2325-402: A third of all North American sales in the early 1950s. Its 90 titles averaged a circulation of 800,000 copies per title for every issue, with Walt Disney's Comics and Stories peaking at a circulation of three million a month in 1953. Eleven of the top 25 bestselling comic books at the time were Dell titles. Out of 40 publishers active in 1954, Dell, Atlas (i.e. Marvel), DC, and Archie were

2418-508: A true comic book. But it did offer all original material and was sold on newsstands ". The Funnies ran for 36 issues, published Saturdays through October 16, 1930. In 1933, salesperson Maxwell Gaines , sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg , and owner George Janosik of the Waterbury, Connecticut , company Eastern Color Printing —which printed, among other things, Sunday-paper comic-strip sections – produced Funnies on Parade as

2511-772: A vigilante. A genderbent incarnation of Raphael van Zandt / Silver Ghost named Raya van Zandt appears in The Flash episode "The Flash & the Furious", portrayed by Gabrielle Walsh . This version is an ex-Air Force pilot under the call sign "Silver Ghost" who wields a meta-tech key fob that allows her to control any motorized vehicle. Seeking the form the Young Rogues, she recruits Weather Witch to help her break into an A.R.G.U.S. facility and steal an experimental WayneTech car capable of turning invisible. However, XS appeals to Weather Witch's better nature, leading to

2604-847: A way to determine reader interest, without the financial risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing titles. The series began in March–April 1956 and saw the first appearance of several major characters including the Silver Age Flash , the Challengers of the Unknown , Space Ranger , Adam Strange , Rip Hunter , the Silver Age Green Lantern , the Sea Devils , the Silver Age Atom ,

2697-777: A way to keep their presses running. Like The Funnies , but only eight pages, this appeared as a newsprint magazine. Rather than using original material, however, it reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate , the Ledger Syndicate , and the Bell-McClure Syndicate . These included such popular strips as cartoonist Al Smith 's Mutt and Jeff , Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka , and Percy Crosby 's Skippy . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as

2790-461: A year. In 1929, Dell Publishing (founded by George T. Delacorte, Jr. ) published The Funnies , described by the Library of Congress as "a short-lived newspaper tabloid insert" and not to be confused with Dell's 1936 comic-book series of the same name. Historian Ron Goulart describes the 16-page, four-color periodical as "more a Sunday comic section without the rest of the newspaper than

2883-658: Is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Scream Queen ( Nina Skorzeny ) was the vampire lead singer of Scare Tactics. She was created by Len Kaminski and Anthony Williams and first appeared in Showcase '96 #11 (December 1996). A member of the Skorzeny clan of vampires in Markovia, Nina's family were killed by a group of vampire killers called the Graveyard Shift. The group

List of DC Comics characters: S - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-633: Is a fragment of Metamorpho who obtained sentience and took on the name of Shift. Metamorpho attempts to reassimilate his "twin", but the Outsiders convince him that the twin deserves the chance to lead his own life. This second Metamorpho chose the name "Shift" and develops a relationship with Indigo . When she dies, he becomes depressed over her death. After the events of One Year Later , Shift chooses to be reassimilated into Metamorpho after inadvertently killing 44 people during Black Lightning 's escape from Iron Heights Penitentiary . Shift appears as

3069-637: Is a martial artist and mercenary who is a member of the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist. He was hired by the Shan Triad. After a brief fight with Batman, Silver Monkey went after King Snake and fought him. He was knocked into the water by Robin . On the eve of the " Batman: War Games " storyline, Silver Monkey was shot by Scarface . In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called " DC Rebirth " which restored its continuity to

3162-571: Is a metahuman criminal from Earth-2 capable of transforming his body into sand. Zoom sends Sand Demon to Earth-1 to kill the Flash , but the latter uses his electrical powers to turn Sand Demon into glass and shatter him. Mia Saunders first appeared in JSA: All Stars #2 (1999). Mia is the infant daughter of Kendra Saunders ( Hawkgirl ). As a teenager, Kendra got pregnant with Mia and had to give her up for adoption to an Oregon couple. It

3255-401: Is an unnamed arsonist with a flamethrower. Cindy Brand is a pyrokinetic supervillain who is an enemy of Scare Tactics. The first Scorcher that is a member of Dark Nemesis is a pyrokinetic and a human/ H'San Natall hybrid who grew up in the same special orphanage as Blizard. Scorcher later orchestrated a prison break, and Risk discovered her connection with the same aliens with whom he has

3348-597: Is later revealed that Kendra regularly visits her daughter. Scorcher is the name of different characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Scorcher is the leader of the Bike Buzzards and took part in the Sand Scrambler racing event. Scorcher and the Bike Buzzards used unorthodox methods to win the event and were then defeated by the Teen Titans . The second version

3441-464: Is taken symbolically as the beginning of a new era, although his success was not immediate. It took two years for the Flash to receive his own title, and Showcase itself was only a bimonthly book, though one which was to introduce a large number of enduring characters. By 1959, the slowly building superhero revival had become clear to DC's competitors. Archie jumped on board that year, and Charlton joined

3534-616: The Flash and Green Lantern and converted All-American Comics and All Star Comics to Western titles, and Star Spangled Comics to a war title. The publisher also launched such science-fiction titles as Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space . Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics , also known as Atlas, canceled its three formerly high-selling superhero titles starring Captain America (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ),

3627-613: The Human Torch , and the Sub-Mariner , briefly reviving the characters in 1954 only to cancel them again shortly thereafter to focus on horror, science fiction, teen humor, romance and Western genres. Romance comics became strongly established, with Prize Comics ' Young Romance and with Young Love , the latter written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; those two titles' popularity led to an explosion of romance comics from many publishers. Dell 's comic books accounted for

3720-940: The Metal Men , the Inferior Five , the Creeper , Anthro , Hawk and Dove , Angel and the Ape , the Silver Age Spectre , and Bat Lash . In 1962, DC purchased an adaptation of the James Bond novel and film Dr. No , which had been published in British Classics Illustrated , and published it as an issue of Showcase . It was the first American comic book appearance of the character. Showcase stood out from other tryout series in that it maintained its own readership; readers who liked

3813-685: The Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on comic book indecency from April to June 1954. In the wake of these troubles, a group of comics publishers, led by National and Archie, founded the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the Comics Code, intended as "the most stringent code in existence for any communications media". A Comic Code Seal of Approval soon appeared on virtually every comic book carried on newsstands. EC, after experimenting with less controversial comic books, dropped its comics line to focus on

List of DC Comics characters: S - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-580: The United States , on average 32 pages, containing comics . While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics , which included the debut of the superhero Superman . This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II . After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw

3999-711: The World War II -era fighting unit called the Frogmen. His sole appearance is in Showcase #3 (July–August 1956). The story was written by Robert Kanigher , and illustrated by Russ Heath . The second Shark is the secret identity of criminal Gunther Hardwicke . He is a member of the Terrible Trio , along with the Fox and the Vulture. He wears a shark mask and uses fish-themed technology to commit crimes. This Shark—and

4092-663: The Yellow Kid . The 196-page, square-bound, black-and-white publication, which also includes introductory text by E. W. Townsend , measured 5 by 7 inches (130 mm × 180 mm) and sold for 50 cents. The neologism "comic book" appears on the back cover. Despite the publication of a series of related Hearst comics soon afterward, the first monthly proto-comic book, Embee Distributing Company's Comic Monthly , did not appear until 1922. Produced in an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -by-9-inch (220 mm × 230 mm) format, it reprinted black-and-white newspaper comic strips and lasted

4185-781: The Yorùbá culture for the DC Universe . The character, adapted by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake , first appeared in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #95 (March 1990). Within the context of the stories, Shango is a deity and the war chief of the Orishas. He is responsible for asking Ogun to sever the Golden Chain linking Ifé, the land of the gods, with Earth. He is also responsible for restoring it in modern times. When he leads

4278-438: The 1950s retailer reluctance to order new, untested series had largely vanished, and was replaced in the 1990s with reader enthusiasm for the "#1" issues of new series. The new series was published as Showcase '93 , a monthly 12-issue miniseries , replaced yearly by Showcase '94 , '95 and '96 , each one also a miniseries lasting 12 issues. For the first two years (1993–1994), Showcase featured characters and concepts from

4371-535: The 1960s, DC, and then Marvel, began to include writer and artist credits on the comics that they published. Other notable companies publishing comics during the Silver Age included the American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton , Dell , Gold Key , Harvey Comics , and Tower . Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll were featured, as the anti-authoritarian underground comix made waves in 1968, following

4464-457: The 1970s coincided with the appearance of comic-book specialty stores across North America. These specialty stores were a haven for more distinct voices and stories, but they also marginalized comics in the public eye. Serialized comic stories became longer and more complex, requiring readers to buy more issues to finish a story. In the mid-to-late 1980s, two series published by DC Comics , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen , had

4557-542: The 1990s changing the format and distribution of their comic books to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small presses. The development of the modern American comic book happened in stages. Publishers had collected comic strips in hardcover book form as early as 1842, with The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck ,

4650-520: The 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , which historians consider the first true American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of the most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". Distribution took place through the Woolworth's department-store chain, though it remains unclear whether it was sold or given away; the cover displays no price, but Goulart refers, either metaphorically or literally, to "sticking

4743-598: The American comic book has been adapted periodically outside the United States, especially in Canada and the United Kingdom . While comics can be the work of a single creator, the labor of creating them is frequently divided between a number of specialists. There may be a separate writer and artist , or there may be separate artists for the characters and backgrounds. Particularly in superhero comic books,

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4836-542: The Batman family of titles with an emphasis on villain-centric one-off stories. The 1994 Azrael series launched out of Showcase '94 with #10 while a prototype story for what became the Birds of Prey ongoing appeared in Showcase '96 #3. The series also had a series of crossover tie-ins. Showcase '93 had a two-part crossover with the "Knightfall Saga" set while Batman recovered from having his back broken by Bane, which revealed

4929-678: The CCA) stopped publishing crime and horror titles, which was their entire business, and were forced out of the market altogether, turning to magazine publishing instead. By 1960, output had stabilized at about 1,500 releases per year (representing a greater than fifty percent decline since 1952). The dominant comic book genres of the post-CCA 1950s were funny animals, humor, romance , television properties, and Westerns . Detective, fantasy , teen, and war comics were also popular, but adventure, superheroes, and comic strip reprints were in decline, with Famous Funnies seeing its last issue in 1955. In

5022-609: The Modern Horror age. But as of 2009 historians and fans use " Bronze Age " to describe the period of American mainstream comics history that began with the period of concentrated changes to comic books in 1970. Unlike the Golden/Silver Age transition, the Silver/Bronze transition involves many continuing books, making the transition less sharp. The development of the " direct market " distribution system in

5115-658: The Nevada Desert for exposing the drug ring behind the steroids leaving the gangsters broke. Developing the power to control sand, he sought revenge and crossed paths with Firestorm. Firestorm believed Sand Demon to be Martin Stein , who had become too crazy to reason with. He used his powers to overheat Sand Demon and turn him into glass, which shattered when it hit the floor. An alternate universe incarnation of Eddie Slick / Sand Demon appears in The Flash episode "Flash of Two Worlds", portrayed by Kett Turton . This version

5208-706: The Terrible Trio—debuted in Detective Comics #253 (March 1958). The third Shark, who has used the aliases T. S. Smith and Karshon in the past, debuted in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #24 (October 1963). He is a tiger shark that rapidly mutated after exposure to nuclear waste (later retconned to be part of the Kroloteans ' experiments in Green Lantern (vol. 4) #4 (October 2005)). The rapid evolutionary growth gives him high intelligence,

5301-541: The Time Master's capsules, knowledge of her existence was erased from all those whom knew her, including Kent Nelson. She is eventually recued by Stargirl and brought into the present day (2023), where she meets with the current Doctor Fate and relative of Kent, Khalid Nassour. Hostile to him due to having inherited the mantle, he places Salem in the care of the Justice Society, allowing her to take his place on

5394-413: The alcohol from Burnsteel's system when he got drunk to deal with his grief. Following Gross-Out's transformation and departure from Earth, the group was left with only three members. They vowed to carry on, however, and set out to search for new members. The Scream Queen first appeared in DC Rebirth Suicide Squad (vol. 5) Annual #1 (October 2018). Shango is an adaptation of the deity Sàngó from

5487-407: The angsty and irreverent nature of characters like Spider-Man , Hulk , X-Men and Fantastic Four . This was a time of social upheaval, giving birth to a new generation of hip and more counter-cultural youngsters, who found a voice in these books. Because Marvel's books were distributed by its rival, National, from 1957 until 1968 Marvel were restricted to publishing only eight titles a month. This

5580-408: The art may be divided between: The process begins with the writer (often in collaboration with one or more others, who may include the editor and/or the penciller) coming up with a story idea or concept, then working it up into a plot and storyline , finalizing it with a script . After the art is prepared, the dialogue and captions are lettered onto the page from the script, and an editor may have

5673-415: The bandwagon in 1960. In 1961, at the demand of publisher Martin Goodman (who was reacting to a surge in sales of National's newest superhero title The Justice League of America ), writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four for Atlas, which now re-named itself Marvel Comics . With an innovation that changed the comic-book industry, Fantastic Four #1 initiated

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5766-438: The comic books. An American comic book is also known as a floppy comic . It is typically thin and stapled, unlike traditional books . American comic books are one of the three major comic book industries globally, along with Japanese manga and the Franco-Belgian comic books . The typical size and page count of comics have varied over the decades, generally tending toward smaller formats and fewer pages. Historically,

5859-478: The comic-book debut of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the future creators of Superman . The two began their careers with the musketeer swashbuckler "Henri Duval", doing the first two installments before turning it over to others and, under the pseudonyms "Leger and Reuths", they created the supernatural -crimefighter adventure Doctor Occult . In 1938, after Wheeler-Nicholson's partner Harry Donenfeld had ousted him, National Allied editor Vin Sullivan pulled

5952-408: The context of the stories, Raphael van Zandt is a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains as the Silver Ghost. He opposes the Freedom Fighters in general and Firebrand in particular. In an untold story of Earth-Two, this Silver Ghost is a detective who wanted to become a vigilante like Batman . After witnessing Batman defeat some criminals without weapons, Silver Ghost decided not to be

6045-432: The countercultural era. Legal issues and paper shortages led to a decline in underground comix output from its 1972 peak. In 1974 the passage of anti-paraphernalia laws in the US led to the closing of most head shops, which throttled underground comix distribution. Its readership also dried up as the hippie movement itself petered out in the mid-1970s. Wizard originally used the phrase "Bronze Age", in 1995, to denote

6138-408: The country. Some cities passed laws banning comic books entirely. In 1954, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham published his book Seduction of the Innocent , where he discussed what he perceived as sadistic and homosexual undertones in horror comics and superhero comics respectively, and singled out EC Comics due to its success as a publisher of these genres. In response to growing public anxiety,

6231-423: The darker tone of some independent publishers such as First Comics , Dark Horse Comics , and (founded in the 1990s) Image Comics . This tendency towards darkness and nihilism was manifested in DC's production of heavily promoted comic book stories such as " A Death in the Family " in the Batman series (in which The Joker brutally murdered Batman's sidekick Robin ), while at Marvel the continuing popularity of

6324-471: The early days of comic books, this practice had all but vanished during the 1940s and 1950s. Comic books were produced by comic book companies rather than by individual creators (EC being a notable exception, a company that not only credited its creative teams but also featured creators' biographies). Even comic books by revered and collectible artists like Carl Barks were not known by their creator's name— Disney comics by Barks were signed " Walt Disney ". In

6417-417: The efforts of Arnold Burnsteel and Fate. The pair also freed Fang, Slither, and Gross-Out. Burnsteel suggested the group form a band to serve as cover while they try to outrun R-Complex agents. The Scream Queen met Catwoman on one occasion. The pair battled Graveyard Shift members and an elderly vampire in Gotham City. Nina was forced to kill the vampire to save Catwoman's life. She felt some guilt over killing

6510-444: The final say (but, once ready for printing, it is difficult and expensive to make any major changes), before the comic is sent to the printer. The creative team, the writer and artist(s), may work for a comic book publisher who handles the marketing, advertising, and other logistics. A wholesale distributor, such as Diamond Comic Distributors , the largest in the US, distributes the printed product to retailers. Another aspect of

6603-483: The introduction of the Comics Code Authority in the wake of Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency , which, ignoring the social problems caused by the wars of 1939–45 and 1950–52, sought to blame those problems solely on comics. While there was only a 9% drop in the number of releases between 1952 and 1953, circulation plummeted by an estimated 30–40%. The cause of the decrease is not entirely clear. Television had begun to provide competition with comic books, but there

6696-628: The late 1940s and early 1950s horror and true-crime comics flourished, many containing graphic violence and gore. Due to such content, moral crusaders became concerned with the impact of comics on the youth, and were blaming comic books for everything from poor grades to juvenile delinquency to drug abuse. This perceived indecency resulted in the collection and public burning of comic books in Spencer, West Virginia and Binghamton, New York in 1948, which received national attention and triggered other public burnings by schools and parent groups across

6789-680: The latter secretly stopping van Zandt and escaping with her. As of the episode "Gone Rogue", Weather Witch reveals she abandoned van Zandt in Bolivia . Sidd is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Sidd is a minor villain in Batman: The Brave and the Bold and later teams up with Clayface and Facade in Justice League . Silver Monkey is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Silver Monkey

6882-433: The major players in volume of sales. By this point, former big-time players Fawcett and Fiction House had ceased publishing. Circulation peaked in 1952 when 3,161 issues of various comics were published with a total circulation of about one billion copies. After 1952, the number of individual releases dropped every year for the rest of the decade, with the biggest falls occurring in 1955–56. The rapid decline followed

6975-532: The mid 1900s as a native of Limbo Town, she inherited a curse from her mother whom escaped the dimension which unwittingly caused misfortune to those she interacted with. In 1940, she encountered Fate, who was immune to the curse, and together they thwarted Wotan 's plot. Becoming Doctor Fate's sidekick, Salem adopted the name "Salem the Witch Girl" and was aided by her black cat familiar Midnight before mysteriously disappearing following her curse nearly killing Inza Cramer, Nelson's girlfriend and partner. Due to being in

7068-460: The original Showcase series. Several other issues were included in other reprint collections. In August 1977, Showcase was revived for 11 issues after the cancellation of 1st Issue Special , which ran from 1975 to 1976. Writer Paul Kupperberg reminisced: "1977 was an expansionary time at DC, and Jenette Kahn was supportive of trying new things. There were a lot of new ideas being thrown around at that time. A lot of books came around, lasted

7161-466: The previous, old body of Kent Nelson unable to release himself without risking his destruction. Over time, Shat-Ru bonds with Nelson and Inza while posing as Kent's grandfather whom he is supposedly named to continue his work as a college teacher teaching archaeology . He also serves as Nelson's patron temporarily and enters a relationship with the human Dorothea. Shift is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He

7254-559: The process involved in successful comics is the interaction between the readers/fans and the creator(s). Fan art and letters to the editor were commonly printed in the back of the book, until, in the early 21st century, various Internet forums started to replace this tradition. The growth of comic specialty stores helped permit several waves of independently-produced comics, beginning in the mid-1970s. Some early examples of these – generally referred to as "independent" or "alternative" comics – such as Big Apple Comix , continued somewhat in

7347-505: The publication of Robert Crumb 's irregularly published Zap Comix . Frank Stack had published The Adventures of Jesus as far back as 1962, and there had been a trickle of such publications until Crumb's success. What had started as a self-publishing scene soon grew into a minor industry, with Print Mint , Kitchen Sink , Last Gasp and Apex Novelties among the more well-known publishers. These comix were often extremely graphic, and largely distributed in head shops that flourished in

7440-650: The red. That quickly changed, with the book turning a $ 30,000 profit each issue starting with #12. Famous Funnies would eventually run 218 issues, inspire imitators, and largely launch a new mass medium . When the supply of available existing comic strips began to dwindle, early comic books began to include a small amount of new, original material in comic-strip format. Inevitably, a comic book of all-original material, with no comic-strip reprints, debuted. Fledgling publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications, which would evolve into DC Comics , to release New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935). This came out as

7533-514: The reemergence of the pantheon in Africa, he encounters Firestorm . He and the pantheon are taken to task by Firestorm for their abandonment of Africa. The Shark is the name of three fictional characters in DC Comics publications, none of which should be confused with King Shark . The first Shark is a non-superpowered commando. Along with his companions named Sardine and Whale, he is part of

7626-574: The satirical Mad —a former comic book which was now converted to a magazine format in order to circumvent the Code. DC started a revival in superhero comics in 1956 with the October 1956 revival of its former golden age top-seller The Flash in Showcase #4. Many comics historians peg this as the beginning of the Silver Age of American comic books, although Marvel (at this point still known variously as both Timely and Atlas ) had started reviving some of its old superheroes as early as 1954. The new Flash

7719-408: The size was derived from folding one sheet of Quarter Imperial paper (15 in × 11 in or 380 mm × 280 mm), to print 4 pages which were each 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 by 11 inches (190 mm × 280 mm). This also meant that the page count had to be some multiple of 4. In recent decades, standard comics have been trimmed at about 6.625 x 10.25 inches. The format of

7812-511: The solo adventures of Power Girl . Issue #100 (May 1978) had a cameo by almost every character that had premiered in the original run of Showcase in a story co-written by Paul Kupperberg and Paul Levitz and drawn by Joe Staton . The series was cancelled again after issue #104 (September 1978), as part of what is commonly called the " DC Implosion ". Issues #105 and #106 saw print in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade and #105

7905-754: The success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman , who debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). The period from the late 1930s through roughly the end of the 1940s is referred to by comic book experts as the Golden Age of comic books . It featured extremely large print-runs, with Action Comics and Captain Marvel selling over half

7998-555: The team until she was ready to reconcile with him. She would make several appearances in major crossovers, including " Titans: Beast World " and " Absolute Power ". In the latter event, Salem alongside several members of the JSA are depowered by the Amazo android Jadestone but manage to regroup in the Tower of Fate, where they're greeted by Khalid's current sidekick, Stitch, and work to formulate

8091-418: The time of the cancellation there were still no Huntress stories in production, and the slated content for Showcase #107–109 was Gerry Conway 's Western adventure The Deserter . DC published New Talent Showcase , which ran for 15 issues (Jan. 1984 – March 1985), briefly changed its title to Talent Showcase , and then ended with issue #19 (Oct. 1985). For the most part edited by Karen Berger (and for

8184-417: The tradition of the earlier underground comics , while others, such as Star Reach , resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned ventures or by a single artist. This so-called " small press " scene (a term derived from the limited quantity of comics printed in each press-run) continued to grow and diversify, with a number of small publishers in

8277-546: The various X-Men books led to storylines involving the genocide of superpowered "mutants" in allegorical stories about religious and ethnic persecution. In addition, published formats like the graphic novel and the related trade paperback enabled the comic book to gain some respectability as literature. As a result, these formats are now common in book retail and the collections of US public libraries . Showcase (comics) Showcase featured characters in either one-shot appearances or brief two- or three-issue runs as

8370-408: Was a cloud with a silver lining, and proved the making of Marvel, allowing the company to concentrate its brightest and best talent on a small number of titles, at a time when its rivals were spreading their creative talents very thin across a huge number of monthly titles. The quality of Marvel's product soared in consequence, and sales soared with it. While the creators of comics were given credit in

8463-464: Was also a rise in conservative values with the election in 1952 of Dwight Eisenhower . The Comics Code Authority, a self-censoring body founded to curb the juvenile delinquency alleged to be due to the crime and horror comics, has often been targeted as the culprit, but sales had begun to drop the year before it was founded. The major publishers were not seriously harmed by the drop in sales, but smaller publishers were killed off: EC (the prime target of

8556-594: Was later published in Adventure Comics . Issue #106 was included in The Creeper by Steve Ditko hardcover collection published by DC in 2010. Two other series were announced before the series cancellation: The Huntress , which would have spun out of her feature in Batman Family ; and World of Krypton , which was published as DC's first miniseries in 1979. According to editor Paul Levitz, at

8649-421: Was responsible for many vampire concentration camps as they attempted to exterminate all the vampires in Markovia. Nina was able to survive their efforts and escaped to America. This left her with a deep distrust of humans, whom she called "breathers" or "normals." After making it to America, she was captured by R-Complex, a government agency that subjected her to numerous experiments. She was eventually rescued by

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