The Silver Age of DC Comics

it’s groovy, man How the writers and artists of Batman and Superman reinvented the iconic characters for the swinging 60s

Ijust fell in love with comic books. I didn’t expect to,” says legendary comic artist Neal Adams in The Silver Age of DC Comics. It’s easy to see why: following the Golden Age of DC Comics in its early years, it experienced a resurgence in the 1960s, when writers and artists tapped into more sci-fi themes.

Author Paul Levitz has trawled DC’s archives from 1955 until 1970 to create this in-depth yet accessible compendium, and it’s a terrific journey for the publisher from graphic novels to tie-in TV series, movies and merchandising. There’s something rather quaint about seeing the pendrawn and hand-coloured comics of yore, but they nonetheless deliver a strong sense of character and story.

Of course, you could pick up the original comics themselves if you really wanted, but Paul’s bite-sized, knowledgeable curation fills you in on important backstory and snippets of information. It’s part of a five-volume series on DC’s history, which covers its inception to the present day. Based on The Silver Age we’d say they’re essential – if weighty – additions to any comic fan’s bookcase.

The Legion of Super-Heroes find themselves in a tight spot, as scripted by a young Jim Shooter.