''Showcase'' is a comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of the series was to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring untested characters in their own ongoing titles. ''Showcase'' is regarded as the most successful of such tryout series, having been published continuously for more than 14 years, launching numerous popular titles, and maintaining a considerable readership of its own. The series ran from March–April 1956 to September 1970, suspending publication with issue #93, and then was revived for eleven issues from August 1977 to September 1978.

Original series

''Showcase'' featured characters in either one-shot appearances or brief two- or three-issue runs as 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, the Metal Men, the Inferior Five, the Creeper,

Anthro Anthro may refer to: * Anthropo-, a prefix meaning human, humanoid, human-like * Anthro, short for: ** Anthroposophy ** Anthropology **Anthropomorphism * Anthro (comics) Anthro is a fictional superhero character published by DC Comics, present ...

, 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 A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

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 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.

Full list of issues

Reprint collections

In 1992, DC Comics published a

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

reprint collection titled ''The Essential Showcase: 1956–1959'' (). This collection reprints selected stories/characters from issues #1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 17 of the original ''Showcase'' series. Several other issues were included in other reprint collections.

Revival

In August 1977, ''Showcase'' was revived for 11 issues after the cancellation of ''

1st Issue Special ''1st Issue Special'' was a comics anthology series from DC Comics, done in a similar style to their ''Showcase'' series. It was published from April 1975 to April 1976. The goal was to showcase a new possible first issue of an ongoing series eac ...

'', 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 a few issues, and then went away. Cdecided to create ''Showcase'' for the very same reason it was originally created, to have a place to experiment, and if

he feature He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

sold, ''great''. If not, they were already on to the next idea". mphasis in originalref name="back71"> The revived ''Showcase'', using the original numbering, began with issue #94 and published the first appearance of the new Doom Patrol and 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 was later published in ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New 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 A collective of fictional characters appear in American comic books published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman as the main protagonist. Since Batman's introduction in 1939, the character has accumulated a number of recognizable suppo ...

''; and ''

World of Krypton ''World of Krypton'' is an American three-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series written by Paul Kupperberg and penciled by Howard Chaykin. It was the comics industry's first Limited series (comics), miniseries. ''World of Krypto ...

'', which was published as DC's first miniseries in 1979. According to editor Paul Levitz, at 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''.

Full list of issues

Reprint collections

''New Talent Showcase''

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 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 Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratcat ...

, Tom Grindberg, Steve Lightle, Mindy Newell, and

Stan Woch Stan Woch (born July 8, 1959) is an American comics artist who has worked on comic strips and comic books. Career After attending the Pratt Institute and The Kubert School, Stan Woch's early career included work as an assistant to Gray Morrow o ...

. Per editorial policy, the series featured only new characters.

''Showcase'' 1990s

DC revived the ''Showcase'' title in 1993 when 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 A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, replaced yearly by ''Showcase '94'', '' '95'' and '' '96'', each one also a miniseries lasting 12 issues. ''Showcase '96'' #12 was the last issue.

''Showcase Presents''

In 2005, DC began publishing thick, black-and-white reprints of older material under the umbrella title ''Showcase Presents''.

References

External links

* * * {{comicbookdb, type=title, id=269, title=''Showcase '93''
''Showcase'' #55: The Glory of Murphy Anderson
Comics magazines published in the United States 1956 comics debuts 1970 comics endings 1977 comics debuts 1978 comics endings 1984 comics debuts 1985 comics endings 1993 comics debuts 1993 comics endings 1994 comics debuts 1994 comics endings 1995 comics debuts 1995 comics endings 1996 comics debuts 1996 comics endings Comics by Arnold Drake Comics by Bob Haney Comics by Dennis O'Neil Comics by Gardner Fox Comics by Jack Kirby Comics by Paul Kupperberg Comics by Paul Levitz Comics by Peter J. Tomasi Comics by Robert Kanigher Comics by Steve Ditko DC Comics limited series DC Comics titles Defunct American comics Magazines established in 1956 Magazines disestablished in 1970 Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 1978 Magazines established in 1984 Magazines disestablished in 1985 Magazines established in 1993 Magazines disestablished in 1993 Magazines established in 1994 Magazines disestablished in 1994 Magazines established in 1995 Magazines disestablished in 1995 Magazines established in 1996 Magazines disestablished in 1996 Superhero comics