World's Finest Comics #81 for Sale - First Appearance of Fireman Fred Farrell Jr. - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: World's Finest Comics (DC, 1941 series)
Issue: #81
Publication date: March-April 1956
Key date: 1956-03-00
On-sale date: 1956-01-24
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 Fireman Fred Farrell Jr. - 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 True History of Superman and Batman!	cover	1	pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer; letters: Ira Schnapp	Batman, Dick Grayson, Clark Kent, Robin, Superman, Bruce Wayne
2	The True History of Superman and Batman	comic story	12	script: Edmond Hamilton; pencils: Dick Sprang; inks: Stan Kaye; letters: Pat Gordon	Batman, Dick Grayson, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Robin, Superman, Bruce Wayne, Perry White
3	-	comic story	0.667	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Shorty
5	Healthy Teeth for You and Your Pet!	public service announcement	1	script: Jack Schiff; pencils: Win Mortimer; inks: Win Mortimer	Allergy Biggs, Binky Biggs
6	The G.A. Goes G.I.	comic story	6	pencils: George Papp; inks: George Papp; letters: Pat Gordon	Green Arrow, Roy Harper, Oliver Queen, Speedy
7	Hot as a Firecracker!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: John Prentice; inks: John Prentice; letters: Ira Schnapp	Fireman Fred Farrell Jr. First
8	-	comic story	0.667	script: Henry Boltinoff; pencils: Henry Boltinoff; inks: Henry Boltinoff; letters: Henry Boltinoff	Peg
9	-	statement of ownership	0.333	letters: typeset
10	Spotlight on a New Sport	text article	2	script: Jerry Maxton
11	The Frontier Informer	comic story	6	pencils: Fred Ray; inks: Fred Ray; letters: Pat Gordon	Tom Hawk, Dan Hunter, Tomahawk

Plus 5.333 pages of advertisements and other matter across 6 sequences, as published.

Where to read it

Collection	Year
80 Page Giant Magazine #15	1965	On eBay ›
World's Finest Comics Archives #1 ISBN 1563894882	1999	On eBay ›
Batman in the Fifties #[nn] ISBN 1-56389-810-1	2002	On eBay ›
Showcase Presents: World's Finest #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-1697-9	2007	On eBay ›
Batman and Superman in World's Finest: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-6112-2	2016	On eBay ›
Batman & Superman in World's Finest Comics: The Silver Age #1 ISBN 978-1-4012-6833-6	2017	On eBay ›
Batman in the Fifties #[nn] ISBN 978-1-77950-950-5	2021	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

‹ #8080 of 322#82 ›

Sources

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

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