Black Canary’s First Appearance Is Already a Collector’s Grail but This Copy Is One-of-a-Kind

One of the best and worst things about loving DC Comics is its Golden Age. Virtually every DC hero you can name off the top of your head debuted before Marvel Comics ever even existed, emerging in the years immediately surrounding World World II. It’s a testament to the work of creators like Gardner Fox, Bill Finger, and William Moulton Marston that their heroes and villains have managed to weather some of the most consequential decades of social change in our history, their optimism and decency seen as old-fashioned, but not unwelcome. Reading virtually any DC title today carries with it the direct legacy to the work of these and other creators eighty years ago. That tangible connection to comic book history is poignant for many collectors, and is the reason they collect. This is where DC’s golden age legacy has its downside: the first appearance of many of DC’s most iconic characters are completely unobtainable — and that doesn’t just mean expensive. Most “grail” comics are unattainable in one sense of the word: Amazing Fantasy #15 comes with a higher price-tag than most Spider-Man fans could ever hope to afford. But the CGC (Certified Guarantee Company) estimates that there are well over four thousand graded copies in the world. In comparison, the CGC estimates less than one hundred Action Comics #1 exist in any graded condition.

Golden Age first appearances predate the literal concept of comic book preservation, most copies that survive into the present can be described as a fluke. Besides DC’s A-list, the most beloved characters to fall under this category are the members of the first super-hero team in comic book history: the Justice Society of America. Though founding members range from the Golden Age iterations of the Flash and Green Lantern to cult favorites like the Spectre and Doctor Fate, it was the JSA’s final Golden Age addition who went on to be one of its most iconic: Black Canary. One of the best-loved heroines in the DC Universe, and a later member of teams like the Justice League of America and the Birds of Prey, Black Canary was the last great character to come from DC’s Golden Age, debuting in 1947’s Flash Comics #86. Next week, Goldin Auctions is auctioning a one-of-a-kind copy, the only PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)-graded 7.0 copy in the world.

How Black Canary Took a Founding JSA Member’s Place in Flash Comics

Black Canary is part of a distinguished group: iconic comic book characters who are nowhere to be found on the cover of their first appearance (some other members of the club: Wonder Woman, the Joker, and Zatanna). Instead, Flash Comics #86 emphasizes the Flash’s battle with the “Stone Age Menace” of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, and makes no mention of the new heroine who would debut in a six-page Johnny Thunder back-up story. Who is Johnny Thunder? Simply put, Johnny Thunder is a founding member of the Justice Society, a young man who finds a magic ring containing the “Thunderbolt” genie. Honestly put, Johnny Thunder is one of the only JSA member DC has never figured out how to make cool (even the Star-Spangled Kid’s sidekick Stripesy got a mech), and even legendary artist Carmine Infantino would refer to him as “not much of a character.”

For her debut appearance, Infantino and writer Robert Kanigher conceived Black Canary as an anti-heroine, a thief who steals only from criminals. She manipulates Johnny Thunder into helping her commit one crime, then is caught by mobster Socks Slade (yes, really — they were running out of good mobster names by 1947) in the middle of her next robbery, necessitating a rescue from Johnny and his Thunderbolt. She would return the following two issues, and beginning with #89, was featured in every issue until the comic’s 1949 cancellation with #104. Through issue #91, these were team-up stories, after that, she replaced Johnny Thunder entirely. The thief angle was swiftly dropped, as was her first appearance domino mask, leaving only a blonde wig to set her apart from her secret identity of Dinah Drake (introduced in Flash Comics #92).

Around the same time, she first teams with the Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics #48, before being offered membership in All-Star Comics #51. After Flash Comics‘ cancellation, All-Star Comics would be Black Canary’s home until its own cancellation in 1951. As with most of DC’s Golden Age heroes, Black Canary would spend the fifties in hibernation, waiting for inspiration to strike writer Gardner Fox and editor Julius Schwartz.

Why Black Canary’s Return Lead to Some of DC’s Most Confusing Retcons

Beginning with the original Jay Garrick Flash in 1961’s The Flash #123, writer Gardner Fox gradually reintroduced DC’s roster of Justice Society characters to a new generation of readers (and heroes). Fox accomplished this by incorporating the relatively-new scientific idea of the “multiverse,” positing that DC’s Golden Age occurred on an alternate, parallel Earth to its Silver Age stories. Earth-One and Earth-Two, as they came to be known, split beginning with 1956’s Showcase #4, the debut of the Barry Allen Flash (today recognized as the issue that inaugurated the Silver Age of Comics). With Black Canary among the roll call, the Justice Society would make a cameo in the Earth-Two set The Flash #129 and a full return the following year in Justice League of America #21, a blockbuster two-issue team-up between the teams.

These JSA-JLA team-ups became an annual feature of Justice League of America throughout the decade, turning the JSA into firm fan favorites. Black Canary was also given her first solo Silver Age story in 1965, appearing in two issues of The Brave and the Bold, teamed with fellow JSA member Starman. Following the 1969 JSA-JLA crossover, a major continuity gave Black Canary a chance to move from Earth-Two to Earth-One, and from the Justice Society to the Justice League. At the time, writer Denny O’Neil was scripting both Justice League of America and Wonder Woman, and was seeing Wonder Woman through major changes. Not the least of these was her departure from the Justice League, leaving the team without a female member. O’Neil chose Black Canary to replace her, leaving the Justice Society and Earth-Two behind following the death of her husband Larry Drake.

O’Neil gave Black Canary real super-powers, endowing her with a super-sonic scream, and paired her with Green Arrow, giving birth to one of the best-loved couples in comic history. O’Neil and subsequent Bronze Age writers would refer to this Black Canary as the same character from her Golden Age appearances. By the early eighties, this would mean that she was almost sixty, though the character had not aged in-universe to reflect this. Roy Thomas stepped in with an incredibly convoluted retcon which explained that the sonic scream-powered, Earth-One Black Canary was a different character, the daughter of the original Black Canary and Larry Drake. Succinctly, Black Canary II was cursed during childhood with her super-sonic scream and placed in suspended animation. Her mother took on a fatal dose of radiation during Justice League #73-74, and transferred her memories into her daughter’s now-adult body, turning her into the new Black Canary.

A less-complicated version of this backstory was retained after Crisis on Infinite Earths reset all of DC’s continuity and eliminated the original DC multiverse. Now, the JSA was the same-universe precursor to the JLA, who had fought crime in the 1940s and 1950s and subsequently retired. Black Canary I had simply passed the mantle to her daughter (think Watchmen: Black Canary was the primary inspiration for Silk Spectre), who trained under the former members of the JSA. Post-Crisis, Black Canary has remained just as central to DC Comics mythology, remaining a key character in both Justice League and Green Arrow comics, as well as co-founding the “Birds of Prey” with Barbara Gordon. It was this Post-Crisis version that served as the primary inspiration for many adaptations of Black Canary, with the fan favorite being her appearances, voiced by Morena Baccarin, on Justice League Unlimited (most written by Birds of Prey author Gail Simone). A loose adaptation also appeared in the DCEU’s Birds of Prey, played by Jurnee Smollett.

As member of some of DC’s most iconic super-hero teams and a memorable part of several of its most iconic multimedia adaptations (even making a cameo in The Lego Batman Movie), Black Canary continues to cement her legacy. Reading or watching DC, encountering Black Canary is an inevitability, and most fans find themselves immediately intrigued. Her costume and powers are striking, and she shares history with virtually the entire DC Universe. More than that, the character stands up on her own, one of the best-developed and most complex heroines in comic books. And although she doesn’t make the cover, that seventy-nine year history began in the pages of Flash Comics #86, making it little wonder that with more than a week left to bid, Goldin’s sample has already reached a price of $6k.

This Golden Age Batman Key Issue Looks Perfect, But There’s a Catch