Strange Adventures #117 - First Appearance of Gardner Grayle, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: Strange Adventures (DC, 1950 series)
Issue: #117
Publication date: June 1960
Key date: June 1960
On-sale date: April 26, 1960
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 Gardner Grayle - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Marene Herald - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Wayne Hobard - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Hollis Hobard - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Douglas Herald - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

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

First appearance of The Black Baron - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

Origin story on record for: Bryndon, Douglas Herald, Gardner Grayle, Hollis Hobard, Marene Herald.

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	Challenge of the Gorilla Genius!	cover	1	pencils: Gil Kane; inks: Murphy Anderson; letters: Ira Schnapp
2	Challenge of the Gorilla Genius!	comic story	9	script: John Broome; pencils: Carmine Infantino; inks: Joe Giella
3	-	cartoon	1	script: Julius Schwartz; pencils: Morris Waldinger; inks: Tommy Nicolosi; letters: Milt Snapinn
4	The Readers' Choice!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Mike Sekowsky, Joe Kubert; inks: Murphy Anderson, Joe Kubert	Aquaman; J'onn J'onzz; Wonder Woman; Flash; Green Lantern; Amazo; Professor Ivo; Rip Hunter
6	The Rise of the Atomic Knights!	comic story	8	script: John Broome; pencils: Murphy Anderson; inks: Murphy Anderson; letters: Gaspar Saladino	The Black Baron First, Gardner Grayle First, Douglas Herald First, Marene Herald First, Hollis Hobard First, Wayne Hobard First, Bryndon First
7	-	cartoon	1	script: Julius Schwartz; pencils: Morris Waldinger; inks: Tommy Nicolosi; letters: Milt Snapinn
8	-	letters page	1	script: Julius Schwartz; pencils: Raymond Perry; inks: Raymond Perry
9	The Atomic Knights, Part II	comic story	8	script: John Broome; pencils: Murphy Anderson; inks: Murphy Anderson	The Black Baron First, Gardner Grayle First, Douglas Herald First, Marene Herald First, Hollis Hobard First, Wayne Hobard First, Bryndon First
10	Science-Snaps	cartoon	1	script: Martin Naydel; pencils: Martin Naydel; inks: Martin Naydel; letters: Martin Naydel
12	Be Your Own Boss!	public service announcement	1	script: Jack Schiff; pencils: Bernard Baily; inks: Bernard Baily; letters: Ira Schnapp

Plus 4 pages of advertisements and other matter across 4 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Metal Men #20	1966	On eBay ›
Strange Adventures #217	1969	On eBay ›
Strange Adventures #218	1969	On eBay ›
DC Super Stars #2	1976	On eBay ›
Mysteries in Space: The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics #[nn] ISBN 0-671-24775-1	1980	On eBay ›
The Atomic Knights #[nn] ISBN 978-1-4012-2748-7	2010	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

‹ #116117 of 244#118 ›

Sources

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

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