Detective Comics #225 (1955) - Printings, Contents and Key Issues

Identification plate

Series: Detective Comics (DC, 1937 series)
Issue: #225
Publication date: November 1955
Key date: November 1955
On-sale date: September 27, 1955
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

From the editorial file First appearance of the Martian Manhunter, November 1955, nearly a year before Showcase #4. Whether the Silver Age starts here or with the Flash is a genuine argument among historians, which makes this the quietest era-defining comic ever published.

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	If I Were Batman!	cover	1	pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]
2	If I Were Batman	comic story	12	script: Edmond Hamilton; pencils: Sheldon Moldoff; inks: Charles Paris	Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Robin [Dick Grayson]
4	Buzzy Asks: "Do You Know Your Neighbors?"	public service announcement	1	script: Jack Schiff; pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Buzzy Brown
5	The Money That Came to Life!	comic story	6	script: Jack Miller; pencils: Amilcar Ruben Moreira; inks: Amilcar Ruben Moreira	Roy Raymond
6	-	comic story	0.67	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Casey the Cop
8	-	comic story	0.75	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Varsity Vic; Bill
10	Four Tricks of the Detective's Trade	text article	2	script: Jack Miller
11	The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel	comic story	6	script: Joe Samachson, Jack Miller; pencils: Joe Certa; inks: Joe Certa; letters: Pat Gordon	Martian Manhunter [J'onn J'onzz; aka John Jones] (introduction, origin); Dr. Mark Erdel (introduction, death); Lt. Saunders
12	We Point with Pride to Our "Hall of Trophies!"	promo (ad from the publisher)	1
13	-	comic story	0.5	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Homer

Plus 5.08 pages of advertisements and other matter across 7 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Secret Origins #1	1961	On eBay ›
World's Finest Comics #175	1968	On eBay ›
World's Finest Comics #226	1974	On eBay ›
Mysteries in Space: The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics #[nn] ISBN 0-671-24775-1	1980	On eBay ›
Secret Origins Replica Edition #1 ISBN 1-56389-440-8	1998	On eBay ›
Millennium Edition: Detective Comics 225 #[nn]	2001	On eBay ›
DC Silver Age Classics Detective Comics 225 #[nn]	1992	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents: Martian Manhunter #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-1368-8	2007	On eBay ›

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

Before you buy

Golden-age paper is brittle. Ask about page suppleness and check edges for chips in the photos.
Check for trimmed edges, married covers, and clipped coupons - all common on books this old.
Confirm the indicia matches this plate; many golden-age titles changed names mid-run.

Series context

‹ #224225 of 883#226 ›

Sources

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

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