The Silver Age of Comic Books: Hot or Not?

The Silver Age of Comic Books Broken Down by Genre

What is the Silver Age of Comics? And why is it important?

Let's begin by explaining what "Silver Age" means.

There are five main eras of comic book publishing:

• Golden Age -- 1938-56 -- cover price 10c
• Silver Age -- 1956-70 -- cover price 12c or 15c
• Bronze Age -- 1970-1981 -- cover price 15c through 35c
• Copper Age -- 1981-1991 -- cover price 40c through 75c
• Modern Age -- 1991-date -- cover price $1 and higher

The most notable reason that Silver Age comics are important is the resurgence of superheroes.

As well as DC Comics bringing back superheroes in 1956 with Showcase #4, in 1961 we saw the start of the so-called Marvel Age of Comics with Fantastic Four #1.

This means that most of the heroes we've grown up with in popular culture, from Spider-Man and the Hulk to the Justice League of America, first appeared during the Silver Age.

Read on for more about this critical era.

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1) Silver Age Superhero Comic Books

The biggest and most valuable category, superhero comics published in the Silver Age are hugely popular today.

With a few exceptions, the world's best-known comic book characters have their origins in the Silver Age. Here are a few of the most expensive Silver Age comics.

Amazing Fantasy #15
Origin and first appearance of Spider-Man

Lowest price $10,000

Average price $30,000

Record price $3,600,000

There is absolutely no doubt that this is THE Silver Age comic book! Spider-Man was first debuted in this, the final issue of a tryout series Amazing Fantasy.

He went on to become the world's greatest comic book character, effectively catapulting Marvel to the forefront of comic book publishing for decades.

The record sale of $3.6M was for a CGC 9.6. This is exceptional for any Silver Age comic. Most copies of AF#15 turn up in 2.5-4.0 condition.

Showcase #4
1st Barry Allen as Flash; the book which launched the Silver Age of Comics

Lowest price $3,500

Average price $30,000

Record price $900,000

The huge importance of this issue cannot be overstated. Superheroes were in the doldrums since the late 1940s.

Showcase #4 relaunched not only Flash comic books, but also all superhero books, leading to the explosion led by Fantastic Four and the Marvel Age of Comics.

Flash #139
1st Reverse Flash/Professor Zoom

Lowest price $90

Average price $750

Record price $8,400

Reverse Flash is a huge villain in the DCU, and this first appearance is very collectible.

2) Horror Comics of the Silver Age

Publishing is cyclical, like many other businesses. The Silver Age of comic books tended to follow the trends of movies, TV, music and other pop culture channels.

Horror simply wasn't very popular during the Silver Age. There are some exceptions, as we'll show you below, but for the most part, horror comics were on the sidelines.

House of Mystery #174
New look, Mystery format

Lowest price $50

Average price $250

Record price $7,500

This book was a relaunch issue. It established the new look for House of Mystery moving forward.

The classic beckoning cover by George Roussos is instantly recognizable.

Strange Adventures #205
1st Deadman

Lowest price $75

Average price $500

Record price $4,100

Deadman is the most notable creation of this series in the 1960s. He has a future in the expanded DCU.

Long overdue a price bump.

3) Funny Books, including Archie Comics

Fans wouldn't have known this -- there were more and more varied Archie Comics titles published in the Silver Age of comic books than at any other time -- but the writing was on the wall for Archie.

The 1950s era vibe of high school boys innocently taking their girls to the soda fountain or the movies was losing its appeal, as the swinging sixties put the emphasis on more edgy lifestyles and pop culture.

Archie did attempt to adapt, with lots of references to psychadelics and hippy clothing appearing on the covers. Archies also pivoted into sci-fi and horror at times.

But they were hamstrung by their historic focus on being goofy humor comics. It was hard to get past that. Sales began declining and titles began to be cancelled into the late 60s and mid-70s.

There are still plenty of valuable Silver Age Archie comics, including some of the horror experiments. See below for examples.

Archie's Madhouse #22
1st Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Lowest price $150

Average price $650

Record price $18,000

Sabrina the Teenage Witch became very popular in the 1960s and 1970s, and her first appearance is significant.

Betty and Me #16
"Beat Off" innuendo cover

Lowest price $75

Average price $450

Record price $3,350

One of the more unbelievable Archie covers, and surprisingly popular.

As for other funny books, the days when funny animal comics were popular were long since over by the Silver Age of comic books. There are very few valuable ones, including Disney.

4) War Comics

There are definitely some valuable Silver Age war comic books, most notably the first Sgt Rock appearances, and Marvel's Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos.

The golden age of war comics was over; the Comics Code Authority meant that graphic covers and story art were no longer allowed.

War comics have always been a niche market, with low volume of sales, so high-grade copies of key issues are usually very rare.

Our Army at War #83
1st Sgt Rock

Lowest price $400

Average price $5,000

Record price $16,700

While war comics are a niche market for sure, there is no bigger character in the entire genre than Sgt Rock, the leader of Easy Company.

This is a brutally tough book, given its mostly black cover and relatively early publication date of 1959. DC Comics generally turn up in lower grade than Marvels from the same era.

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