First appearance

In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a character's first appearance.

Contents
1 Ambiguity of first appearance
2 Value of first appearance issues
3 Famous first appearances
4 See also
5 External links

Ambiguity of first appearance

While seemingly a simple concept, in reality, determining first appearance may be actually more complex. For instance, the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and related characters illustrate some of the problems that complicate the determination of first appearance:

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Amazing Fantasy #15

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The Incredible Hulk #181

Another common problem is when a character first appears in the last panel of an issue as foreshadowing of the character's greater role in the next issue. Arguments can ensue over whether the character's first appearance is the issue in which the character had a final-page or final-panel cameo appearance or the subsequent issue, in which the identity, agenda, abilities, history, etc., of a character is made clear. A good example of this is the Marvel Comics mutant Wolverine. His first appearance is usually given as The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974); however, he actually makes a cameo appearance on the last panel of Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974).

Retconning can also complicate first appearance. Initially, the Marvel Comics character Cable was intended to be mercenary from the future, and as such, he made his first appearance, a cameo, in New Mutants #86 (February 1990). However, writers at Marvel later decided to change his background, rewriting his history so that he was actually the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, and as such, his first appearance, as an infant, actually came in Uncanny X-Men #201 (January 1986).

First cover appearance refers to the first time a character appears on the cover of a comic book. It is not always the same as first appearance.

Value of first appearance issues

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Detective Comics #27

First appearance issues of famous characters are among the most valuable comic books. This is because by the time a character is truly legendary, it has probably already been many years since the character's first appearance, and thus only a few copies remain in the entire world of the first appearance issues. These comic books may be worth thousands of U.S. dollars; for example, in 2004, a copy of Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), featuring the first appearance of the Flash, was auctioned for US$42,000 [1].

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Action Comics #1

The first appearance issue of a famous character is often more valuable than the first issue of a book; for example, Detective Comics #27 is much more valuable than Detective Comics #1 because #27 features the first appearance of Batman; similarly, Amazing Fantasy #15 is worth far more than Amazing Fantasy #1 because #15 features the first appearance of Spider-Man.

The most valuable comic book in the world is probably Action Comics #1 (June 1938), featuring the first appearance of Superman. This issue essentially ushered in the Golden Age of Comic Books and began the superhero comic book industry. Less than 100 copies of Action Comics #1 are known to exist in the entire world, and in 2003, US$1 million was offered for a near-mint copy [2].

Famous first appearances

Here are some famous first appearances (this is not intended to be a comprehensive list, only a sampling of some of the most renowned first appearances):

See also

External links

See also: First appearance, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966