Challengers of the Unknown #1 for Sale - First Appearance of Abdul the Fire Eater - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 1958 series)
Issue: #1
Publication date: April-May 1958
Key date: 1958-04-00
On-sale date: 1958-02-11
Indicia publisher: National Comics Publications Inc.
Price: $0.10
Pages: 36
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of Abdul the Fire Eater - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	The Human Pets!	cover	1	pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Jack Kirby; letters: Ira Schnapp	Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan
1	The Secret of the Happy Pig!	public service announcement	1	script: Jack Schiff; pencils: Otto Feuer; inks: Otto Feuer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Mervin Mouse, Peter Porkchops, Wolfie
2	-	foreword, introduction, preface, afterword	1	pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Marvin Stein	Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan
3	The Man Who Tampered with Infinity	comic story	14	script: Jack Kirby; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Marvin Stein; letters: Pat Gordon	Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan, June Robbins
5	Danger: Space Ship Landing	text story	1	letters: typeset	Fred Wallace; Jim McCoy
6	-	comic story	1	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff	Abdul the Fire Eater First
7	The Human Pets	comic story	10	script: Jack Kirby; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Marvin Stein; letters: Pat Gordon	Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan
8	-	comic story	1	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff	Professor Eureka

Plus 6 pages of advertisements and other matter across 5 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Challengers of the Unknown #78	1973	On eBay ›
Challengers of the Unknown #79	1973	On eBay ›
Super DC Giant #S-25	1971	On eBay ›
Challengers of the Unknown Archives #1 ISBN 1-56389-997-3	2003	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents Challengers of the Unknown #1 ISBN 1-4012-1087-2	2006	On eBay ›
Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby #[nn] ISBN 978-1-4012-3474-4	2012	On eBay ›
Challengers of the Unknown by Jack Kirby #[nn] ISBN 978-1-4012-7719-2	2018	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

1 of 87#2 ›

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com