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How popular was Flash during the period from 1959 - 1963?

Started by bronze johnny,

48 posts in this topic

bronze johnny

bronze johnny

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When Flash 105 came out at the beginning of 1959, DC Comics added another superhero to the already successful Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Challengers of the Unknown titles. Green Lantern came onto the scene 7 months later in Showcase 22 and was awarded his own series approximately 10 months thereafter. In the race for sales, did the "Fastest Man Alive" place at or near the top of DC's sales anytime during the period that followed Flash 105 where DC Comics continued to regularly introduce and tryout new superheroes in the greatest period of one of the company's premiere runs, Showcase? Did the Flash's popularity have any impact on the sales of DC's other superhero titles during this period?

 

Just how popular was the Flash during this period?

 

Thanks for any insight,

 

John

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rjpb

rjpb

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Every DC book that outsold Flash back then was either Superman or Batman related, except for Blackhawk. It's no wonder Lois got her own book before The Flash. My guess is that DC was pretty happy with the Flash's sales, since the Silver Age revival took of pretty fast after he got his own book, and I don't see DC spending the effort if it wasn't working already.

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rjpb

rjpb

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Perhaps they were worried about oversaturating the market. I've wondered why they took so long to up Batman and Superman to monthly status, instead of the eight times a year schedule they had during most of the Silver Age.

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Wayne-Tec

Wayne-Tec

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The sales figures are available at a site called Comichron. In 1960, for example, the Flash placed 18, with quite a few DC titles above it. Surprisingly Showcase finished a couple of spots below the Flash.

 

http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales/1960s/1960.html

 

 

How accurate are these figures?

 

In 1964, Little Dot outsold the Amazing Spider-Man which didn't even crack the Top-56?

 

EDIT: The website states that "No Statements were filed in 1964 for Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man (they wouldn't start in the titles until 1966), but sales on the horror-turned- super-hero titles Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense increased."

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bronze johnny

bronze johnny

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Interesting point and a reason why I raised this question. Trying to get an idea as to just how popular Flash was and how much he contributed to the overall interest readers and collectors had during the 5 year period DC introduced most of its major superhero characters in the Showcase and Brave and the Bold titles. I'm just not sure what the Flash did to add to the overall interest in sales for DC Comics. One thing the circulation stats tell us is that circulation for the Superman and Batman titles decreased overall during this 5 year period. We know why Batman's sales went down but the decline in Superman sales? What does it mean if the impact of the Flash on the overall sales and/or increase in readership of other DC Superhero titles was minimal?

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frozentundraguy

frozentundraguy

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Interesting point and a reason why I raised this question. Trying to get an idea as to just how popular Flash was and how much he contributed to the overall interest readers and collectors had during the 5 year period DC introduced most of its major superhero characters in the Showcase and Brave and the Bold titles. I'm just not sure what the Flash did to add to the overall interest in sales for DC Comics. One thing the circulation stats tell us is that circulation for the Superman and Batman titles decreased overall during this 5 year period. We know why Batman's sales went down but the decline in Superman sales? What does it mean if the impact of the Flash on the overall sales and/or increase in readership of other DC Superhero titles was minimal?

 

I don't think the decline in Superman sales were related to the uptick in Flash sales. (I checked and found the Flash had risen to #14 by 1962, and Walt Disney had dropped out of the top 50.) In my opinion two primary factors were at work.

 

1) The vast increase in TV ownership in the early 60's. TV ownership in the US had increased from 55% in 1954 to 90% by 1962 (per Wiki). In addition by the mid 60's Color TV was becoming even more prevalent.

 

2) The price increase from 10 cents in 1962 may also have had an impact. I recall being upset myself by the increase. Nowadays 2 cents is nothing, but in 1962 my allowance was 50 cents a week, and that 50 cents didn't go very far.

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Bomber-Bob

Bomber-Bob

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2) The price increase from 10 cents in 1962 may also have had an impact. I recall being upset myself by the increase. Nowadays 2 cents is nothing, but in 1962 my allowance was 50 cents a week, and that 50 cents didn't go very far.

 

I remember being upset also. A quarter would get me two 10 cent comics and a nickel candy bar. At 12 cents, I didn't get my candy bar !?!

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rjpb

rjpb

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Interesting point and a reason why I raised this question. Trying to get an idea as to just how popular Flash was and how much he contributed to the overall interest readers and collectors had during the 5 year period DC introduced most of its major superhero characters in the Showcase and Brave and the Bold titles. I'm just not sure what the Flash did to add to the overall interest in sales for DC Comics. One thing the circulation stats tell us is that circulation for the Superman and Batman titles decreased overall during this 5 year period. We know why Batman's sales went down but the decline in Superman sales? What does it mean if the impact of the Flash on the overall sales and/or increase in readership of other DC Superhero titles was minimal?

 

I don't think the decline in Superman sales were related to the uptick in Flash sales. (I checked and found the Flash had risen to #14 by 1962, and Walt Disney had dropped out of the top 50.) In my opinion two primary factors were at work.

 

1) The vast increase in TV ownership in the early 60's. TV ownership in the US had increased from 55% in 1954 to 90% by 1962 (per Wiki). In addition by the mid 60's Color TV was becoming even more prevalent.

 

2) The price increase from 10 cents in 1962 may also have had an impact. I recall being upset myself by the increase. Nowadays 2 cents is nothing, but in 1962 my allowance was 50 cents a week, and that 50 cents didn't go very far.

 

 

I believe Dell and Gold Key sales info is unavailable for 1962, which is why they are not listed. If you look over the info, you'll see that not all Marvel books are listed for each year during this time period as well. The lists are not top 50 lists, but a list of books for which paid distribution numbers can be found.

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frozentundraguy

frozentundraguy

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Interesting point and a reason why I raised this question. Trying to get an idea as to just how popular Flash was and how much he contributed to the overall interest readers and collectors had during the 5 year period DC introduced most of its major superhero characters in the Showcase and Brave and the Bold titles. I'm just not sure what the Flash did to add to the overall interest in sales for DC Comics. One thing the circulation stats tell us is that circulation for the Superman and Batman titles decreased overall during this 5 year period. We know why Batman's sales went down but the decline in Superman sales? What does it mean if the impact of the Flash on the overall sales and/or increase in readership of other DC Superhero titles was minimal?

 

I don't think the decline in Superman sales were related to the uptick in Flash sales. (I checked and found the Flash had risen to #14 by 1962, and Walt Disney had dropped out of the top 50.) In my opinion two primary factors were at work.

 

1) The vast increase in TV ownership in the early 60's. TV ownership in the US had increased from 55% in 1954 to 90% by 1962 (per Wiki). In addition by the mid 60's Color TV was becoming even more prevalent.

 

2) The price increase from 10 cents in 1962 may also have had an impact. I recall being upset myself by the increase. Nowadays 2 cents is nothing, but in 1962 my allowance was 50 cents a week, and that 50 cents didn't go very far.

 

 

I believe Dell and Gold Key sales info is unavailable for 1962, which is why they are not listed. If you look over the info, you'll see that not all Marvel books are listed for each year during this time period as well. The lists are not top 50 lists, but a list of books for which paid distribution numbers can be found.

 

Looking ahead at the figures from 1963, the only DC title listed is Sea Devils, and only 38 titles in all. So I would agree, when looking at more of the data they have over several other years, being only partial data, it's hard to draw an accurate picture.

 

 

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Stevenrams

Stevenrams

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All I know is back in the day all my friends read The Flash. We had our own comic book club and had about 15-20 members. We would meet monthly at one another's homes and our mothers would prepare sandwiches, kool-aid, and cookies. No kidding. And The Flash by far was the most popular comic amongst our members. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

 

 

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bronze johnny

bronze johnny

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Interesting point and a reason why I raised this question. Trying to get an idea as to just how popular Flash was and how much he contributed to the overall interest readers and collectors had during the 5 year period DC introduced most of its major superhero characters in the Showcase and Brave and the Bold titles. I'm just not sure what the Flash did to add to the overall interest in sales for DC Comics. One thing the circulation stats tell us is that circulation for the Superman and Batman titles decreased overall during this 5 year period. We know why Batman's sales went down but the decline in Superman sales? What does it mean if the impact of the Flash on the overall sales and/or increase in readership of other DC Superhero titles was minimal?

 

I don't think the decline in Superman sales were related to the uptick in Flash sales. (I checked and found the Flash had risen to #14 by 1962, and Walt Disney had dropped out of the top 50.) In my opinion two primary factors were at work.

 

1) The vast increase in TV ownership in the early 60's. TV ownership in the US had increased from 55% in 1954 to 90% by 1962 (per Wiki). In addition by the mid 60's Color TV was becoming even more prevalent.

 

2) The price increase from 10 cents in 1962 may also have had an impact. I recall being upset myself by the increase. Nowadays 2 cents is nothing, but in 1962 my allowance was 50 cents a week, and that 50 cents didn't go very far.

 

 

I believe Dell and Gold Key sales info is unavailable for 1962, which is why they are not listed. If you look over the info, you'll see that not all Marvel books are listed for each year during this time period as well. The lists are not top 50 lists, but a list of books for which paid distribution numbers can be found.

 

Good points- So if Superman sales decreased as a result of increased competition from the television medium, price increases, and advent of the Marvel SA, then where is the great increase in readership for DC superhero titles? While we probably see an increase in superhero readership in the Marvel SA, what does this say about the DC superhero revival led by the Flash especially when the Superman titles continued to out sell the heroes who returned?

 

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rjpb

rjpb

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Superman sales don't start dropping until 1966, when they eclipsed by Batman, no doubt due to the popularity of the TV show. Back then more than a few comics were bought sporadically by parents to keep kids occupied from time to time, which probably accounts for the dominance of Disney books as much as anything else, and also may be why Superman sales suffered at the expense of Batman. If you are just grabbing a single book for little Jimmy to read, it's probably going to be the most popular character you are aware of.

 

Superman and Batman take a noticeable hit starting in '68, and I would imagine this is largely due to the increased number of titles from both DC and Marvel competing for the same meager allowance money. It wasn't until I got a paper route at 12 that I could afford to buy everything I wanted off the stands.

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