Make Mine Paperback Week 60 - Silver Age, Its Comic Time In the City: Showcase #4 from DC Comics

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Make Mine Paperback! Moving on from Golden Age comics, the next logical step is to discuss the Silver Age. Serving as the bridge between the two eras is Showcase #4 (1956), written by Bob Kanigher and John Broome with art by Carmine Infantino and colors by Joe Kubert. Often regarded as the comic that heralded in the Silver Age, Bary Allen takes on the mantle of The Flash while giving a nod to his Golden Age counterpart, Jay Gerrick. Although the company that would become DC had plenty of existing material and characters to work with, The Flash was born out of the Comics Code Authority. Showcase #4 is able to follow the restrictive Comic Code in a creative fashion that results in a fresh take on the comic book genre. In their bid to avoid controversy, the writers effectively created the template for Silver Age comics, which resulted in some of the most influential and well-known characters being developed that are still popular today. Listen in to the discussion of the comic book that created The Flash we know and love today as well as the story that served to advance the comic book genre to a new era.