Silver Age Hierarchy - 22nd to 24th (corrected)

[James Howlett]

Dang, J'onn j'onzz getting no love. I think that was actually the last book for me to get out of the top 24. Just not too many copies.

[conditionfreak]

I was ten in 63. I was immediately a Marel zombie. DC was "not cool". All of that "Shazam", "Holy Zonkers" and "Pow" stuff, was not cool to me and my fellow comic collectors, on average.

 

But I will admit that Batman was still a favorite (mostly because of the TV show which ran from 66 to 68).

 

Yep I know. Seems like it ran for ten years or longer. Doesn't it. But it only ran 120 episodes over two and a half years.

 

Without that TV series, I believe Marvel would have OWNED the sixties, in the comic book world. That TV show carried DC, for those years and after. Prior to that, Marvel ruled the day. From 62 to 66. We kids cared little about Superman, and only a little more for Flash. Jonn Jonz and all the rest, were barely known to us.

 

At least in my circle of friends.

 

 

 

 

[Hepcat]

I was ten in the summer of 1962 and Marvel's covers and heroes just struck me as junky. When I eventually gave the Fantastic Four, Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man a try in 1964, I had to admit that despite the junkiness they were compelling reads.

 

[1koko]

This round has now closed.

 

22nd TTA #27

23rd Action #252

24th Tec #225

 

Thanks for voting.

 

The 5 surviving books with the least votes throughout the 3 elimination rounds so far are:

 

1 vote each to date:

Avengers #4

JIM #83

 

3 votes each so far:

Hulk #1

Showcase #22

TOS #39

 

 

 

Next round starts in 10 mins

[sakaridis]

I was ten in 63. I was immediately a Marel zombie. DC was "not cool". All of that "Shazam", "Holy Zonkers" and "Pow" stuff, was not cool to me and my fellow comic collectors, on average.

 

That would've been undoubtedly difficult, considering DC wasn't publishing anything "Shazam"-related in the 60s. (thumbs u

 

(Ah, Marvel Zombies. No sense of history whatsoever )

[Hepcat]

And "Holy Zonkers" was from the Batman TV show which debuted in late 1965. As far as "Pow" is concerned, I'm not sure that DC had any kind of lead over Marvel when it came to sound effects in 1963. Marvel superhero covers were certainly busier with captions though.

 

 

[Flash105]

thats just talking sales results. Yes Marvbel took a few years to catch up and outsell Marvel.

 

But, gee, isnt that th esame thing as saying that Marvels -- since they appeared -- were GROWING in importance abnd readers while DCS - - who started the 60s as the leader - - TANKED in popularity, or, at least began the slide of losing readers to Marvel?

 

Im a DC fan, but IMO no question Marvel had their mojo (and the momentum) almost from day one.

 

Not a few years, the whole decade. Momentum for Marvel built very slowly. DC Comics did not tank in popularity in the 60s, Marvel just caught up with them in the 60s. In 1965 ASM was not even in the top 100 books sold. JIM was the only Marvel title to crack the top 50. Even in 1967, ASM was not a top 10 book. It was not until 1969 that it finished in the top 10 at number 7. I still contend the destruction of DC did not occur until the bronze age, when comics made the permanent shift from kids to teens and adults.

[jjonahjameson1]

thats just talking sales results. Yes Marvbel took a few years to catch up and outsell Marvel.

 

But, gee, isnt that th esame thing as saying that Marvels -- since they appeared -- were GROWING in importance abnd readers while DCS - - who started the 60s as the leader - - TANKED in popularity, or, at least began the slide of losing readers to Marvel?

 

Im a DC fan, but IMO no question Marvel had their mojo (and the momentum) almost from day one.

 

Not a few years, the whole decade. Momentum for Marvel built very slowly. DC Comics did not tank in popularity in the 60s, Marvel just caught up with them in the 60s. In 1965 ASM was not even in the top 100 books sold. JIM was the only Marvel title to crack the top 50. Even in 1967, ASM was not a top 10 book. It was not until 1969 that it finished in the top 10 at number 7. I still contend the destruction of DC did not occur until the bronze age, when comics made the permanent shift from kids to teens and adults.

 

Was all of the aforementioned sales rankings documented in an article? I'd love to read it.

[Flash105]

Website. It really shows that the idea of Marvel was huge in the 60s, but the realty as shown by sales was still tiny.

 

Comic Sales in the 1960s

 

 

 

[Aman619]

thats a cool database, but, the publishers werent very consistent in listing sales. Look at 1963. Dennis Menace won because DC never reported their numbers.

 

[Flash105]

That's fine but I think it is fair to say even though there are gaps you can interpolate Marvels sales and how far behind they were. But there is no denying by 1968 they were on the come.

[Hepcat]

I was ten in 63. I was immediately a Marel zombie. DC was "not cool". All of that "Shazam", "Holy Zonkers" and "Pow" stuff, was not cool to me and my fellow comic collectors, on average.

 

Actually with respect to the "Pow" stuff in 1963 punch-ups were much more prevalent in Marvel comics than in DC comics. Superhero plotlines in DC comics typically revolved around the hero outsmarting the villain with his knowledge of some arcane scientific fact. Marvel's plotlines had punch-ups overlaid over ongoing soap operas centred around the hero's personal problems.

 

 

[RockMyAmadeus]

still, "importance" is very subjective. I think Flash 123 is VERY important. But Legion less so. as for Marvel guys having no clue for DCs? well, they are a big part of the fan base, so I guess we have to include their votes. The only way to eliminate the bias would be to have a totally DC-centric top 25 - no Marvels allowed - - and see what happens.

 

and lets face it... the Silver Age was mainly Marvels Age. In its simplest form, they created new characters and a new universe from scratch while DC re-introduced theirs. I think that has led to a greater excitement for Marvel fans ..

 

I would disagree with that. The silver age belonged to DC from 1956-1968. Marvel did not overtake DC i sales until late into the 60s.

 

1971. Hard to believe, huh?

 

[Prince Namor]

Primarily thanks to the Superman titles, but you'd be hard pressed to find a whole lot of keys in those books during the Silver Age.

Based on the limited data available, many of the Marvel titles gained and surpassed Batman, Detective, Justice League, and many others, as early as 1967. ASM was only in it's fourth year and already surpassing most all of the non-Superman books.

 

 

[Flash105]

still, "importance" is very subjective. I think Flash 123 is VERY important. But Legion less so. as for Marvel guys having no clue for DCs? well, they are a big part of the fan base, so I guess we have to include their votes. The only way to eliminate the bias would be to have a totally DC-centric top 25 - no Marvels allowed - - and see what happens.

 

and lets face it... the Silver Age was mainly Marvels Age. In its simplest form, they created new characters and a new universe from scratch while DC re-introduced theirs. I think that has led to a greater excitement for Marvel fans ..

 

I would disagree with that. The silver age belonged to DC from 1956-1968. Marvel did not overtake DC i sales until late into the 60s.

 

1971. Hard to believe, huh?

 

I beleive.