The Superman Family #185 - First Appearance of Ak-Var, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: The Superman Family (DC, 1974 series)
Issue: #185
Publication date: September-October 1977
Key date: September 1977
On-sale date: June 14, 1977
Indicia publisher: DC Comics Inc.
Price: $1.00
Pages: 84
Barcode: 0709893159910
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 Ak-Var - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Flamebird - 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	-	cover	1	pencils: Neal Adams; inks: Neal Adams	Kara Zor-El, Flamebird First, Clark Kent, Krypto, Lois Lane, Nightwing, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl, Superman, Ak-Var First, Perry White, Van-Zee
1	The Superman Family!	table of contents	1	script: E. Nelson Bridwell; pencils: Kurt Schaffenberger; inks: Kurt Schaffenberger	Kara Zor-El, Flamebird First, Clark Kent, Krypto, Lois Lane, Nightwing, Jimmy Olsen, Supergirl, Superman, Ak-Var First, Van-Zee
2	The Fantastic Fists and Fury Feet of Jimmy Olsen	comic story	13	script: Tom DeFalco; pencils: Schaffenberger; inks: Joe Giella	Jimmy Olsen
3	-	letters page	2	script: E. Nelson Bridwell; pencils: Nick Pascale, Kurt Schaffenberger; inks: Kurt Schaffenberger
4	The Great Superman Locked-Room Puzzle	comic story	8	script: Martin Pasko; pencils: Kurt Schaffenberger; inks: Vince Colletta	Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Superman
5	The Sinister Secret of the Street-Stalker!	comic story	12	script: Tom DeFalco; pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Vince Colletta; colors: Bob Le Rose
6	The Stray Superdog	comic story	8	script: Bob Toomey; pencils: Juan Ortiz; inks: Steve Mitchell	Krypto
7	Beginnings	comic story	10	script: Paul Kupperberg; pencils: Ken Landgraf; inks: Romeo Tanghal; colors: Bob LeRose; letters: Debra Schulman	Flamebird First, Nightwing, Ak-Var First, Van-Zee
8	The Voodoo Machine	comic story	12	script: Jack C. Harris; pencils: José Delbo; inks: V. Colletta; colors: Liz Berube; letters: Morris Waldinger
9	Swamp Thing from the Beginning	in-house column	1	script: Jenette Kahn

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Superman: The Adventures of Nightwing and Flamebird #[nn] ISBN 978-1-4012-2525-4	2009	On eBay ›

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

Before you buy

Check the price box: Marvel ran 30-cent and 35-cent test-market price variants in 1976-77.
Canadian and Whitman editions exist for many bronze books; match the barcode area to the plate.
Look for Mark Jewelers inserts and date stamps - they affect collector preference, not authenticity.

Series context

‹ #18422 of 59#186 ›

Sources

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

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