Was Showcase 4 the best selling superhero title for the month of September 1956?

[tth2]

There isn't a bright line delineating the start and end of any age. Even if you agree that GA starts with Action 1, that doesn't mean that all books from all publishers changed that same month. Nor is their agreement on when the GA ended and whether there is such a thing as an Atomic Age.

 

In order for a comic to start an age it has to inspire and have a noticeable success. This excludes Tec 225. There's no evidence I'm aware of a creator being contemporaneously inspired by Martian Manhunter, much less comic fans declaring him "favorite hero" or handing out awards to the creative team. Nor was it very successful judging by the fact that it received top billing on a comic starting only in June 1964. He didn't make a cover appearance until B&B 28.

 

Challengers wasn't a superhero team but Kirby's version of the adventure stories like DC had in My Greatest Adv and Tales of the Unexpected. I suspect that was the reason it got the green light for a solo title, just like FF 1 was probably approved because it superficially looked like Marvel's perhero monster book more than a superhero book. Challengers had no super-powers, special costume, alter-egos, hidden identities etc. that were hallmarks of the super-hero revival. In addition it was a team book when the majority of the coming wave of super-heros/heroic characters were solo actors.

 

It's not significant that Flash waited a couple years to get his own title. Superman's second cover appearance was Action 7, his third Action 10. Basically, DC had burned out on publishing anything but Supe, Bats, and WW and only the finalizing of the sales results induced them to run a second and a third trial. Results came in 3 months following the distribution date after which the decision was made to do any Flash story -- which would have taken a month. That's why there's at least a 4 month gap between the first 3 appearances of Flash.

 

Flash was a re-interpretation of the original GA Flash with a science fiction twist. That was the pattern for GL, Atom, Hawkman etc. B&B 28 was the natural evolution of the All Star/ Justice Society concept for the new heroes. Even the Marvel hero origins were science fiction based, though with the Kirby/Lee/Ditko spin loved by Marvel zombies and others. The creators and fans all noticed the difference in super-heros before Flash and after Flash, and gave awards to Schwartz/Infantino/Anderson. There were superheros created/revived throughout the 50s but the one that "stuck" was the Flash.

[MrBedrock]

Anecdotal stuff...

I have a friend who was born in 1944, collected Mighty Mouse as a young kid, got hooked on the Superman titles around 1952 and continued collecting through the early 70s. He had complete runs of all the Superman Family of titles through all of those years. The book he said he and his friends most looked forward to buying new, had the biggest buzz due to the house ads, and was held in the highest regard after it was released....Showcase 4.

 

Coincidentally Roy Thomas has said much the same on many occasions.

[adamstrange]

Your post is interesting and points well made. But I would like to redirect in one area. There was no real organized comic fandom in 1956, no awards except the National Cartoonists Society Awards that in 1956 started including a category for comic books. . Infantino won the comic book award in 1958. But then Wood won it twice 1957 and 1959. Eisner won it six times. The Alley Awards started in 1961. The Shazam's in 1970 The Kirby's, The Eisner's, the Harvey's - all MUCH, MUCH later.

 

Comic fandom's history is well documented but hard to summarize. There was a definite fan base following of the EC comic line. Several fanzines were published (EC Fan Bulletin, Hoo-Haa)! and others. This fell apart with the Comics Code Authority and EC's demise. The second was a result of the 2nd Heroic age. Most collectors/historians agree that Jerry Bails Alter Ego (1961) established comic fandom as we know it. Stan Lee has stated numerous times that before Marvel started their line of Super hero books, fan mail consisted of "my comic only had one staple, I want a nickel back".

 

My Point: If you base your "ages" in comic book history on awards, inspiration and notable succcess you have to fast forward a few years. Maybe more than just a few years.... If you fast forward a few years - you leave Showcase 4 behind.

I should have been more clear about fan award/influence in that there was very little formal (semi-formal) fan love ever for Challengers or Martian Manhunter but quite a bit for Flash & GL once fandom starting getting rolling in 1961 or so.

 

MrBedrock's anecdote supports that the readers at the time recognized Showcase 4 as a watershed event. I have heard the same from other collectors who grew up in the 50s and I believe it consistent with fanzine content in the 60s.

 

Infantino won the comic book award in 1958. But then Wood won it twice 1957 and 1959.

I suspect that Infantino's win in '58 is related to his work on the Flash but I don't know that. If you or anyone has details about the likely underlying reason for the award that could provide further evidence for supporting the importance of Showcase 4 as we don't have a similar award related to Kirby or Certa for their work.

 

I would not say that there is a perfect case for Showcase 4 as the start of the SA because all "ages" are categorizations written with hindsight. I am confident, however, that you can't build a better case with any other comic.

[adamstrange]

For a very, very long time I was 100% convinced as you are that Martian Manhunter was bit player and could not count as the beginning of anything. A careful look at the facts at least strongly challenges that opinion. To begin with, J'onn-J'onzz ran over 100 issues in Detective comics. Then transferred to HOM as the main feature for 30 more issues. J'onn was one of the founding members of the JLA along with the likes of Superman, Batman, Flash, GL and Wonder Woman.

Warm-up bands and character actors may appear in dozens of productions over several decades but if they weren't ever a headliner then it becomes a bit difficult to slot them in as having been significant in the start of an "age." The first time we have Manhunter featured on a cover is in 1964, by which time the SA had been well-established for several years at DC and for a year or two at Marvel. The cover run was both short-lived and interrupted in a title that, while it featured him, was shared with other characters.

 

Compare this to the sputtering starts of the Flash and Green Lantern.

The start for the solo Flash title was the most delayed of almost any of the successful SA heroes, which I believe argues for it being different enough that management felt it too risky to do without verifying newsstand returns. The confirmation of it's success gave enough DC confidence with the follow up heroes to go for a 3 issue trial run followed by the launch of a solo title if the numbers looked good.

 

Once started, DC has published a large number of comics devoted to Flash and GL over the last 50 years, against a miniscule number that were solely devoted to Manhunter.

[bronze johnny]

This is great thread and many thanks to the participants!

 

- If you take the DC Silver Age exclusively and underscore the already existing successful run of the Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman books, then the superhero revival becomes the basis for defining the Silver Age.

 

However, there's an "800 pound guerrilla" in the "Silver Age Room"- Marvel Comics.

 

And Marvel Comics is not about superhero revivalism but the creation of new characters. Did Marvel create these new characters in a vacuum?

 

The question of whether Showcase 4 is the first Silver Age book should only be addressed after we define what the Silver Age was primarily about. The revivalism of the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice League of America has a significant place in the history of the Silver Age and the American Comic Book. But does this limited revivalism (limited in the sense that DC was successfully publishing superhero titles without interruption for decades) outweigh the original creations of the entire Silver Age? That is, the original creations of the "Collective Silver Age of Marvel and DC?" After all, isn't that how the Silver Age is distinguished from the period preceding it?

 

And the birth of this Age of Great Creativity begins with DC's and Jack Kirby's first new and original Silver Age creation, the Challengers of the Unknown.

 

While Challengers went on for the remainder of the Silver Age and even the great team of Adams and O'neil, could not prevent the Green Lantern from going into hiatus, the new Silver Age creations like Spidey, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers went further than the Fastest Man Alive.

 

Creations that also involved Jack Kirby.

 

John

[peewee22]

Not to derail, but I believe BB28 put the SA on the road map. It's iconic (and has Flash in it). The cover is world-wide known. Even mentioned on Wheel of Fortune.

 

As much as I love Marvel, let's give credit where credit is due.

[VintageComics]

Collectors should realize that the first Overstreet Price Guide came out in 1970. Collectors around in 1970 didn't realize that the "Silver Age" had ended - or was going to end in a few months. The term Silver Age was not even commonly used. If used at all. Much more common were the terms "1st and 2nd Heroic Age". At that time - in 1970 and for at least another decade if not longer, collectors dated the 2nd Heroic Age as starting with Flash 105. The early Showcases, Lois Lane and Challengers were viewed as sort of prequels. They lead up to the explosion of new superhero titles - but did not start them.

 

 

I started a discussion that is related to this topic in the General Forum a few weeks ago.

[Tony S]

Collectors should realize that the first Overstreet Price Guide came out in 1970. Collectors around in 1970 didn't realize that the "Silver Age" had ended - or was going to end in a few months. The term Silver Age was not even commonly used. If used at all. Much more common were the terms "1st and 2nd Heroic Age". At that time - in 1970 and for at least another decade if not longer, collectors dated the 2nd Heroic Age as starting with Flash 105. The early Showcases, Lois Lane and Challengers were viewed as sort of prequels. They lead up to the explosion of new superhero titles - but did not start them.

 

 

I started a discussion that is related to this topic in the General Forum a few weeks ago.

 

The discussion gets way off topic from time to time on the discussion you started - common enough on these boards!

 

I posted up - and I want to post up here as well. My intention is to do something long'ish and better researched this weekend.

 

I'll start by saying now though that history has been written. For better or for worse fandom has accepted the (flawed I believe) "ages". Back in 1993 or so Editor Gary Carter of Comic Book Marketplace ran a survey on "when did the SA begin?" as it was being hotly debated in the pages of his magazine. by myself and others. I don't remember the exact results of the survey. But Showcase 4 won convincingly. I believe it was something like 10% Flash 105 25% Detective 225 and 65% Showcase 4.

 

The 1974 Edition of the Overstreet Price Guide only used the terms 1st and 2nd Heroic age (start Flash 105) and a "Golden Era" (Not Golden Age) of comic books following Action 1. Some dealer ads in that same price guide referenced selling Golden Age books but none mentioned Silver Age.

 

The 1975 OCPG was the first to mention a Silver Age . It was in Thomas Inge's long running (in the OPG) "Chronology of the Development of the American Comic Book." For 1956, he credited Showcase 4 as first of a series of popular revivals of DC superheroes "that lead to the "Silver Age" comic book history". NOT STARTED - LEAD TO. It's not clear when the OPG made the leap from "lead to the SA" to "began the SA". Further research is necessary - maybe tonight. I'm up through 1993 and the OPG still says "lead to". OPG's of the last five years say began.

 

It is obvious from Price Guides all through the 70's and into the 80's - that no one knew that the Silver Age was over. Not the dealer ads, not the market report, not Mr. Inge's running chronology. Most everyone - including collectors like myself - thought when we were purchasing our 15-20--25 -30-35 cent new issues we were living in the 2nd Heroic Age/Silver Age. My own impression at that time was we (collectors) didn't think something might have changed fundementally until perhaps DC's 1978 implosion (they cancelled a slew of books) And it was clear there was some sort of "revival" taking place by 1983 when what seemed like a gazillion self published titles (small press) were entering the market. This a result of print to order/sell directly to comc shops. Still, even then no one ever heard of "Bronze Age".

 

Because it didn't exist then. I don't remember the term Bronze Age being used until the early 90's. The OPG's through 1993 makes no mention of a BA.

 

I've come to the conclusion that "ages" of gold, silver, bronze and copper are contrived and add little to the understanding the hobby and its' rich history. More on that later. I also believe that a lot of collectors have just "accepted" the ages as presented. Not the people posting here - clearly all have thought about it.

 

[kimik]

This is great thread and many thanks to the participants!

 

- If you take the DC Silver Age exclusively and underscore the already existing successful run of the Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman books, then the superhero revival becomes the basis for defining the Silver Age.

 

However, there's an "800 pound guerrilla" in the "Silver Age Room"- Marvel Comics.

 

And Marvel Comics is not about superhero revivalism but the creation of new characters. Did Marvel create these new characters in a vacuum?

 

The question of whether Showcase 4 is the first Silver Age book should only be addressed after we define what the Silver Age was primarily about. The revivalism of the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Justice League of America has a significant place in the history of the Silver Age and the American Comic Book. But does this limited revivalism (limited in the sense that DC was successfully publishing superhero titles without interruption for decades) outweigh the original creations of the entire Silver Age? That is, the original creations of the "Collective Silver Age of Marvel and DC?" After all, isn't that how the Silver Age is distinguished from the period preceding it?

 

And the birth of this Age of Great Creativity begins with DC's and Jack Kirby's first new and original Silver Age creation, the Challengers of the Unknown.

 

While Challengers went on for the remainder of the Silver Age and even the great team of Adams and O'neil, could not prevent the Green Lantern from going into hiatus, the new Silver Age creations like Spidey, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers went further than the Fastest Man Alive.

 

Creations that also involved Jack Kirby.

 

John

 

I thought it has been posted in other threads that B&B #28 was the tipping point in Stan being give the green light to create a superhero team, the FF, which started the Marvel Silver Age, not the Challengers?

[Tony S]

Stan has been quoted as saying the success of Justice League of America is what lead to Goodman wanting try a superhero team book at Marvel. To my knowledge Stan never said B&B 28 - just Justice League.

 

Fantastic Four 1 came out 1 year after JLA 1 (Oct 1961 vs Oct/Nov 1960). JLA #1 came out just four months after B&B 30, I seriously doubt Marvel knew exactly how well JLA was selling. Some idea maybe - perhaps they could get someone at World Color Press to share print run info. I think more likely is they judged the JLA's success based on it quickly it rolled into it's own title.

 

I like where the overall on this is going though. As I'm sure I've made clear, I feel 1956 is too early a start date for the Silver Age.

 

Flash 105! Flash 105! 2-3/59! 2-3/59! .

 

.

[nmtg9]

I would not be surprised if there were people at DC who talked to people at Marvel and maybe they wound them up saying how well the new super hero title was doing.

 

This may have been how Martin and Stan found out.

 

 

[rjpb]

I'm not sure how reliable Stan's memory is when it comes to specifics and chronology in his accounts of the early years of Marvel. Goodman had a long history of jumping on trends in the comic book world and it would not have gone unnoticed that DC was building on the success of The Flash by repopulating their superhero universe with new versions of old characters.

 

That DC had moved to the step of feeling it was viable to reinvent The Justice Society might have been enough to get Goodman to agree to letting Lee try out their own superhero revival without certain knowledge of sales figures. I'm sure if the distribution issues that resulted in an 8 title a month limit hadn't come about, Goodman would have been publishing a half dozen superhero books by the end of 1960.

 

Marvel was covering their bets with Fantastic Four #1, and it's clear with the Kirby designed matching uniforms, without even a logo in the first issue, that the Challengers were likely as much an influence as the JLA. Stan also covered the bases with the team's powers, reviving the most visually striking of Timely's Golden Age heroes with the Human Torch, swiping the once popular Plastic Man's powers, throwing in a dash of Romance with Sue Storm ( it's unclear if he was deliberately cribbing Invisible Scarlet O'Neil, last seen in 1956), and appealing to the Kirby Monster fans with The Thing. That the most prominent character on the front cover is a giant subterranean Kirby monster is an indication that Stan was hoping that the loyal readers of TTA/TOS/JIM/ST would be buying the book, not just superhero fans.

 

I brought this up in an earlier thread, but I think it gets overlooked that the first couple years of the Marvel Age were an equal blend of superhero revivalism and the Fantasy Monster books they were successfully publishing already. Misunderstood Monsters (The Thing, The Hulk), Insect powers ( Ant-Man, Spider-man), Robots ( Iron Man) and a mythical hero from a bygone era ( Thor) all fit as comfortably into the world of the 50s sci-fi movie inspired creature comics as they do into a world of costumed heroes.

 

It complicates discussions as to where the Silver Age begins when their isn't full agreement as to what the Silver Age encompasses. Does it just pertain to the superhero revivalism of the late fifties through the end of the 60s, or does it include a wider variety of genres? Combine that with a lack of clarity as to when continuously published Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman titles make the transition, and it's clear there will always be argument as to what books constitute the Silver Age and what don't, but with the possible exception of a few curmudgeons, there is broad agreement that the Barry Allen Flash was Silver Age hero from the start, and there is no earlier book than Showcase #4 for which there is an overwhelming consensus that it features a Silver Age hero.

 

I've long been intrigued by the fits and starts of superhero comics during the 1950s, Quality's horror/superhero hybrid era, the rise in anti-communist storylines, the Atlas revival and lesser known Ajax revival of Fox heroes, both of which along with Plastic Man crept into the post code era, post code titles like Yellow Claw which were only later retconned into Silver Age continuity, and see the reappearance of the Flash as part of a larger continuum that may well have resulted in a "Silver Age of Costumed Heroes" without his revival, but I still come back to the feeling that if any book can be considered the "start" of the Silver Age it is Showcase #4. Expanding or limiting the definition to begin the era earlier or later is a personal prerogative, but don't expect broad agreement if you do so.

[Zonker]

- Lois Lane in Showcase #9? Not revolutionary, just a further extension of the Superman Family, as a sister book to the Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen title introduced a few years earlier (pre-Showcase #1). Both of those successes likely driven by the popularity of the George Reeves TV show still broadcast in syndication at the time.

 

- Martian Manhunter in Detective #225? No, just another in a long line of 1950s gimmick detective characters in the back of Detective Comics: Roy Raymond, the TV detective; Sierra Smith, the western lawman; Mysto, the magician detective; Captain Compass, the maritime crimefighter; John Jones, the martian manhunter. In the early days of the MM strip, almost all of the action took place with plain clothes detective John Jones walking around in a trenchcoat, only secretly using his Martian powers to solve crimes. I'll wager if it were not for the need to fill out the roster of the JLA, then J'onn J'onzz would have slipped into obscurity by 1961.

 

- Challengers of the Unknown? It was certainly influential, not only on Kirby's later Fantastic Four, but also on a whole slew of DC non-super-powered adventurers in the early 1960s: Sea Devils, Rip Hunter's crew, Cave Carson's crew, etc.

 

I think only in retrospect was Showcase #4 apparent as a template for the Second Heroic Age-- Jerry Bail's term-- later re-branded as the "Silver Age." Rightly or wrongly, the early comics fans felt what was most significant about the 1960s was the return to prominence of the costumed super-hero, with super-powers, secret identities, etc. Think of not only the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom, but also Captain America, Human Torch and Sub-Mariner (no secret identities on the latter two, but neverthless Golden Age super-character revivals).

[markseifert]

Some data that is tangential to this discussion (though unfortunately, not exactly on point):

 

In that huge 75 Years of DC Comics book by Paul Levitz, they run a few pages from Irwin Donenfeld's sales chart books.

 

A few points of interest:

 

All-Star Comics 57, Feb/Mar 1951 (last issue of All-Star as superhero title) -- 252,000 sold

Superman 100, Sept 1955 -- 693,000

Flash 123, Sept 1961 -- 341,000

 

And something of particular historical interest -- the Batman tv show hit in January 1966. Watch the numbers:

 

Batman 178, Feb 1966 -- 305,000

Batman 179 -- 450,000

Batman 180 -- 770,000

Batman 181 (Poison Ivy) -- 935,000

Batman 182 (80 pg Giant) -- no data listed

Batman 183 -- 1,134,000

 

Unfortunately, there is only a little bit of data from these sales chart books shown. I'd love to see more.

 

All this aside, it's worth noting that we're probably not asking exactly the right question here. Keep in mind that this was not a pre-order system like we know today. The publisher set the print run, had it distributed, took the sales reports, and used the sell-through percentage to gauge the print run of subsequent issues. (in the case of the Batman run shown above, they were getting excellent sell through and were adjusting print runs upward quickly as a result)

 

Given that, it's very possible that Showcase #4 had the lowest (or nearly so) raw sales numbers of any DC superhero book that month, but probably had very good sell-through. Given that it was a try-out book, they knew that sell-through might vary widely from issue to issue depending on the cover feature, and so they were probably relatively conservative on setting print runs.

[bronze johnny]

Interesting. Yet, Showcase 6 and 9 probably had an even higher sell through than Showcase 4 - perhaps contributing to Lois Lane and the Challengers getting their own books before the Flash?

 

John

[Zonker]

I don't think we know enough to say one way or another. I do think the Lois Lane launch would have been a no-brainer given the success of all things Superman-- including the Jimmy Olsen title-- in the 1950s. Challengers is an interesting question. Maybe, as others have said in this thread, it was thought of as a less risky proposition, just an extension of the 1950s adventure books DC had been doing, such as House of Mystery/Secrets and My Greatest Adventure. Or maybe Kirby was simply available to DC and ready to roll, whereas Infantino was already being put to work on the Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space titles, and so the Flash just had to wait until it fit into Infantino's schedule?

 

But I suspect the reason it took so long for Flash to move into its own comic was that the publishers still remembered the great super-hero bust of the post-WWII years, and the subsequent failed relaunch of the Atlas super-heroes in the mid-1950s, and so no one wanted to stick his neck out until they had lots more confirming sales figures. Imagine the second guessing that would have occured if the Flash had flopped: "Why have you wasted our print run and rack space on a type of comic that everyone knows has consistently failed to attract readers for the last 5-10 years?"

[markseifert]

Looking at the release date pattern, we also see:

 

Sep/Oct 1956 -- Showcase 4 (Flash)

Jan/Feb 1957 -- Showcase 6 (Challengers)

Mar/Apr 1957 -- Showcase 7 (Challengers)

May/June 1957 -- Showcase 8 (Flash)

July/Aug 1957 -- Showcase 9 (Lois)

Sep/Oct 1957 -- Showcase 10 (Lois)

Nov/Dec 1957 -- Showcase 11 (Challengers)

Jan/Feb 1958 -- Showcase 12 (Challengers)

Mar/April 1958 -- Lois Lane 1

Mar/April 1958 -- Showcase 13 (Flash)

April/May 1958 -- Challengers 1

May/June 1958 -- Showcase 14 (Flash)

Feb/Mar 1959 -- Flash 105

Sept/Oct 1959 -- Showcase 22 (Green Lantern)

Nov/Dec 1959 -- Showcase 23 (GL)

Jan/Feb 1960 -- Showcase 24 (GL)

Feb/Mar 1960 -- Brave & Bold 28 (JLA)

Apr/May 1960 -- Brave & Bold 29 (JLA)

Jun/July 1960 -- Brave & Bold 30 (JLA)

July/Aug 1960 -- Green Lantern 1

Oct/Nov 1960 -- JLA 1

 

So, Flash got his own title 27 months after Showcase 4 (and 8 months after his final Showcase tryout).

 

Challengers got their own title 14 months after Showcase 6 (and 2 months after their final Showcase tryout).

 

Lois got her own title 5 months after her final Showcase tryout.

 

GL got his own title 5 months after his final Showcase tryout.

 

 

Looking back at the Batman numbers I previously posted, it took them 5 months to actually increase print run (the bigger sales numbers in the meantime were the result of much better sell-through), so based on that and what we see from these release dates, that 5 months was basically the smallest interval possible to make a move based on sales data.

 

Given all this, I think it's hard to argue that Showcase 4 set the world on fire with its sales -- even given any scheduling conflicts, even given bias against superheroes at the time, that 27 month interval is a pretty big space. You'd have to think if they had gotten blockbuster sell-through on #4, they would have tried to launch something within months of #8 if those sales were also good. Based on what we see here, they were a little too early and I think they knew it.

 

Challengers also had a much shorter interval from initial tryout to title launch, and it seems clear by the time they got numbers back on Showcase 11 that they knew they were going to roll out the title.

 

As others have said, since Lois was part of the Superman family, as soon as they got decent sales data back on the tryout, they had the confidence to launch the title immediately.

 

And given what we see here and what we know from history, by mid-1960, they knew that superheroes were back -- they launched GL at the minimum 5-month interval and knew before B&B 30 that they were going to launch the JLA title, it seems.

 

[Zonker]

Here's a quote from Carmine Infantino from his book "The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino" (2001), pg. 54:

 

I was on the the third Flash issue of Showcase [#13] when I learned the first one sold great. Julie said to me, "You're going to be doing a lot more of these"

[markseifert]

I was on the the third Flash issue of Showcase [#13] when I learned the first one sold great. Julie said to me, "You're going to be doing a lot more of these"

 

Feels like we're missing a piece of the puzzle. Even at the time #13 came out, Showcase #4 was 18 months old. In any case, here's quote which somewhat conflicts with the one above, about the lead-up to the series from the 2010 TwoMorrows Carmine Infantino book:

 

Well, they didn't tell you very much, you know. I came into the office one day and Julie said 'The Flash is going to be a regular series.' He said nothing else. I didn't have any feeling one way or another. It was work, and, after Senator Kefauver and Doctor Wertham's witch hunts, that's all I cared about at the time.

 

(either way, of course, we all realize these events happened some half a century prior to these recountings of them, so either version - or something else - could be correct)

 

However! Perhaps this is what accounts for the delay:

 

Robert Kanigher helped develop the new version and wrote the character in Showcase #4 and #8. By the time of #13, John Broome was the writer. Infantino says, "Something happened there I wasn't privy to, but when I went in to get the next story, I saw that John Broome had written it. I looked at Bob [Kanigher], he looked at me and shook his head."

 

Infantino goes on to say that Kanigher was unhappy about this situation and that Kanigher and Julie Schwartz didn't like each other.

 

So, one could imagine the following scenario:

 

* #4 comes out and does indeed sell well.

* #8 comes out and sells well.

* Kanigher and Schwartz have some falling out over the new direction.

* Eventually Broome is brought in to take over the writing on the character.

* By this time, because Showcase is bi-monthly, a year and a half has passed (and they've got another writer on board) so it's prudent to do another 2-issue test.

* New test (#13, 14) is successful and it's off to the races on the series.

 

[rjpb]

I imagine as long as there was steady work, Infantino didn't inquire about sales figures on anything he'd already done, it wasn't like he would be getting royalties, so it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't in the loop on sales.