| Title |
Date |
Notes |
| Action Comics #1 |
June 1938 |
First appearance of Superman[1] |
| Action Comics #252 |
May 1959 |
First appearance of Supergirl[2] |
| Adventure Comics #61 |
April 1941 |
First appearance of Starman (Ted Knight)[3] |
| Adventure Comics #247 |
April 1958 |
First appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes[4] |
| All Star Comics #3 |
Winter 1940 |
First appearance of the Justice Society of America[5] |
| All Star Comics #8 |
December 1941–January 1942 |
First appearance of Wonder Woman[6] |
| All-Star Western #10 |
February–March 1972 |
First appearance of Jonah Hex[7] |
| Batman #1 |
Spring 1940 |
Debut issue of series; first appearance of the Joker and the Catwoman[8] |
| Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 |
March 1986 |
First issue of mini-series by Frank Miller[9] |
| The Brave and the Bold #28 |
February–March 1960 |
First appearance of the Justice League of America[10] |
| The Brave and the Bold #85 |
August–September 1969 |
Redesign of Green Arrow by Neal Adams[11] |
| Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 |
April 1985 |
First issue of maxi-series by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez[12] |
| Detective Comics #1 |
March 1937 |
Debut issue of series[13] |
| Detective Comics #27 |
May 1939 |
First appearance of the Batman[14] |
| Detective Comics #38 |
April 1940 |
First appearance of Robin (Dick Grayson)[15] |
| Detective Comics #225 |
November 1955 |
First appearance of the Martian Manhunter[16] |
| Detective Comics #327 |
May 1964 |
"New-look" for Batman by John Broome and Carmine Infantino[17] |
| Detective Comics #359 |
January 1967 |
First appearance of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)[18] |
| Detective Comics #395 |
January 1970 |
First Batman story by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams[19] |
| The Flash #123 |
September 1961 |
"Flash of Two Worlds" by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino[20] |
| Flash Comics #1 |
January 1940 |
First appearance of the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) and Hawkman[21] |
| Gen13 #1 |
February 1994 |
First issue of mini-series[22] |
| Green Lantern #76 |
April 1970 |
First Green Lantern/Green Arrow story by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams[23] |
| Hellblazer #1 |
January 1988 |
Debut issue of series[24] |
| House of Mystery #1 |
December 1951–January 1952 |
Debut issue of series[25] |
| House of Secrets #92 |
June–July 1971 |
First appearance of the Swamp Thing by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson[26] |
| JLA #1 |
January 1997 |
1990s relaunch of the Justice League[27] |
| Justice League #1 |
May 1987 |
1980s relaunch of the Justice League[28] |
| Kingdom Come #1 |
May 1996 |
First issue of mini-series by Mark Waid and Alex Ross[29] |
| Mad #1 |
October–November 1952 |
Debut issue of series[30] |
| The Man of Steel #1 |
October 1986 |
1980s relaunch of Superman by John Byrne[31] |
| Military Comics #1 |
August 1941 |
First appearance of Blackhawk[32] |
| More Fun Comics #73 |
November 1941 |
First appearance of Aquaman and Green Arrow[33] |
| More Fun Comics #101 |
January–February 1945 |
First appearance of Superboy[34] |
| Mysterious Suspense #1 |
October 1968 |
One-shot featuring the Question by Steve Ditko[35] |
| New Gods #1 |
February–March 1971 |
First appearance of the New Gods by Jack Kirby[36] |
| New Teen Titans #1 |
November 1980 |
Debut issue of series by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez[37] |
| Our Army at War #81 |
April 1959 |
First appearance of Sgt. Rock[38] |
| Plop! #1 |
September–October 1973 |
Debut issue of series[39] |
| Police Comics #1 |
August 1941 |
First appearance of Plastic Man[40] |
| Preacher #1 |
April 1995 |
First appearance of Jesse Custer by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon[41] |
| Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 |
February 1984 |
"The Anatomy Lesson" by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, and John Totleben[42] |
| The Sandman #1 |
January 1989 |
First appearance of Dream of the Endless by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg[43] |
| Sensation Comics #1 |
January 1942 |
Wonder Woman feature begins. First appearance of Mister Terrific and Wildcat[44] |
| The Shadow #1 |
October–November 1973 |
The Shadow by Dennis O'Neil and Michael W. Kaluta[45] |
| Showcase #4 |
October 1956 |
First appearance of the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen)[46] |
| Showcase #9 |
August 1957 |
Featuring Lois Lane[47] |
| Showcase #22 |
September–October 1959 |
First appearance of the Silver Age Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)[48] |
| Spirit #1 |
May 1944 |
The Spirit by Will Eisner[49] |
| Superboy #1 |
March–April 1949 |
Debut issue of series[50] |
| Superman #1 |
Summer 1939 |
Debut issue of series[51] |
| Superman #76 |
July–August 1952 |
First team-up of Superman and Batman; regular team-ups began in World's Finest Comics #71[52] |
| Superman #233 |
January 1971 |
1970s relaunch of Superman by Dennis O'Neil, Curt Swan, and Murphy Anderson; first chapter of the Sandman Saga[53] |
| Superman vol. 2 #75 |
January 1993 |
"The Death of Superman" by Dan Jurgens[54] |
| Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 |
September–October 1954 |
Debut issue of series[55] |
| Watchmen #1 |
September 1986 |
Debut issue of maxi-series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons[56] |
| Whiz Comics #2 |
February 1940 |
First appearance of Captain Marvel[57] |
| WildC.A.T.S: Covert Action Teams #1 |
August 1992 |
First comic book published by Wildstorm Productions[58] |
| Wonder Woman #1 |
Summer 1942 |
Debut issue of series[59] |
| Wonder Woman vol. 2 #1 |
February 1987 |
1980s relaunch of Wonder Woman by Greg Potter and George Pérez; first chapter of the "Gods and Mortals" storyline.[60] |
| World's Finest Comics #71 |
July–August 1954 |
Regular team-ups of Superman and Batman begin; first team-up was in Superman #76[61] |
| Young Romance Comics #1 |
September–October 1947 |
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby create the romance comics genre[62] |