Showcase #22 - First Appearance of Hal Jordan, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: Showcase (DC, 1956 series)
Issue: #22
Publication date: September-October 1959
Key date: September 1959
On-sale date: July 28, 1959
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 Hal Jordan becomes Green Lantern, October 1959, by John Broome and Gil Kane. The second great Silver Age revival after the Flash, and the foundation of the Green Lantern mythology as it exists today.

First appearance of Hal Jordan - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Green Lantern - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Carol Ferris - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Abin Sur - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Green Lantern - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Carl Ferris - 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	Menace of the Runaway Missile!	cover	1	pencils: Gil Kane; inks: Gil Kane; letters: Ira Schnapp	Green Lantern First, Hal Jordan First
2	SOS Green Lantern!	comic story	6	script: John Broome; pencils: Gil Kane; inks: Joe Giella; letters: Gaspar Saladino	Green Lantern First, Green Lantern First, Hal Jordan First, Abin Sur First
5	Green Oddities	comic story	1	script: Julius Schwartz; pencils: Morris Waldinger
6	Secret of the Flaming Spear!	comic story	8.67	script: John Broome; pencils: Gil Kane; inks: Joe Giella; letters: Gaspar Saladino	Carol Ferris First, Carl Ferris First, Green Lantern First, Hal Jordan First
10	Pioneer Guided Missiles!	cartoon	1
11	Test Pilot!	text article	1	letters: typeset	Oliver; Orville Wright; Wilbur Wright; Ellehammer; Henry Farman; Leon Delagrange; Glen H. Curtiss
12	Menace of the Runaway Missile!	comic story	9.67	script: John Broome; pencils: Gil Kane; inks: Joe Giella; letters: Gaspar Saladino	Carol Ferris First, Green Lantern First, Hal Jordan First

Plus 7.66 pages of advertisements and other matter across 11 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Green Lantern #73	1969	On eBay ›
Green Lantern and Green Arrow #1	1972	On eBay ›
Secret Origins #2	1973	On eBay ›
DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #22	1982	On eBay ›
Hawkworld #30	1993	On eBay ›
Green Lantern Annual, No 1, 1963 Issue #[nn] ISBN 1-56389-451-3	1998	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents: Green Lantern #1 ISBN 1-4012-0759-6	2005	On eBay ›
Millennium Edition: Showcase 22 #[nn]	2000	On eBay ›
DC Silver Age Classics Showcase 22 #[nn]	1992	On eBay ›
Green Lantern Archives #1 ISBN 1-56389-087-9	1993	On eBay ›
Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes #[nn]	1976	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

‹ #2122 of 104#23 ›

Sources

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

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