Showcase #12
(January-February 1958)

DC, 1956 Series
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Price
0.10 USD
Pages
36
Indicia Frequency
bi-monthly
On-sale Date
1957-11-17
Publisher's Age Guidelines
Approved by the Comics Code Authority
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
National Comics Publications Inc.
Brand
Superman DC National Comics
Editing
Whitney Ellsworth (credited) (editor); Jack Schiff (actual editor)

Issue Notes

Fourth appearance of the Challengers of the Unknown.

On-sale date from copyright registration.

Menace of the Ancient Vials! (Table of Contents)

Challengers of the Unknown / cover / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Jack Kirby
Inks
Jack Kirby (sourced); Rosalind Kirby (sourced) (blacks)
Colors
?
Letters
Ira Schnapp
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Another monstrous creature released from one of those magic bottles!
Genre
adventure
Characters
The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
The Kraken
Reprints
Keywords
giant octopi; speed boats
Cover Thumbnail for Showcase (DC, 1956 series) #12
Edit cover
Cover gallery

Draw Bob Hope! (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

Art Instruction, Inc. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Chapter 1: The Menace of the Ancient Vials! (Table of Contents: 2)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Dave Wood
Pencils
Jack Kirby
Inks
Leonard Starr ?
Colors
?
Letters
Artie Simek
First Line of Dialogue or Text
What was the nature of the strange, unknown forces manipulated by the brilliant minds of...
Genre
adventure
Characters
The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Amos Hunter (archeologist); Karnak (villain); Brommer (villain); Gortz (villain)
Synopsis
Karnak and his men land on an island while trying to escape from the Challengers. There they find Amos Hunter and 5 mysterious vials. The first vial makes two members of the gang into giants.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Lettering credit from Rodrigo Baeza via the GCD-chat mailing list, March 2007. Previous indexer's identification of the inker as George Klein is disputed by Nick Caputo and Tony Rose.

The Kings of Comedy! (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Rocket Take-Off... (Table of Contents: 4)

comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Mort Drucker (sourced)
Pencils
Mort Drucker (sourced)
Inks
Mort Drucker (sourced)
Colors
?
Letters
Mort Drucker
First Line of Dialogue or Text
At first consideration, it would seem obvious that the most advantageous...
Genre
non-fiction; math & science
Reprints

Chapter Two: The Fire Being! (Table of Contents: 5)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Dave Wood
Pencils
Jack Kirby
Inks
Leonard Starr ?
Colors
?
Letters
Artie Simek
First Line of Dialogue or Text
The sorcery that produced giants in the ancient past has unleashed the same phenomenon today.
Genre
adventure
Characters
The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Amos Hunter (archeologist); Karnak (villain); Brommer (villain); Gortz (villain); fire creature
Synopsis
The next vial releases a fiery salamander that begins to burn down the island.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Previous indexer's identification of the inker as George Klein is disputed by Nick Caputo and Tony Rose.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Professor Eureka / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Henry Boltinoff (signed)
Pencils
Henry Boltinoff (signed)
Inks
Henry Boltinoff (signed)
Colors
?
Letters
Henry Boltinoff (signed)
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Professor, your research and development...
Genre
humor
Characters
Professor Eureka
Synopsis
Professor Eureka finds a way to continue funding his experiments after the government cuts his budget.

Indexer Notes

First line from Arthur Lortie.

Chapter 3: The Demon from the Depths (Table of Contents: 7)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Dave Wood
Pencils
Jack Kirby
Inks
Leonard Starr ?
Colors
?
Letters
Artie Simek
First Line of Dialogue or Text
The greed of desperate men, running wild and unchecked, proves as...
Genre
adventure
Characters
The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Amos Hunter (archeologist); Karnak (villain); Brommer (villain); Gortz (villain); fire creature; The Kraken
Synopsis
The fiery salamander is defeated but the third vial releases a giant octopus creature.
Reprints
Keywords
kraken

Indexer Notes

Previous indexer's identification of the inker as George Klein is disputed by Nick Caputo and Tony Rose.

Wanted: A Teen-Age Code (Table of Contents: 8)

public service announcement / 1 page (report information)

Script
Jack Schiff
Pencils
Ruben Moreira
Inks
Ruben Moreira
Colors
?
Letters
Ira Schnapp
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Listen, Dave, you know Sally Perkins.
Genre
advocacy
Characters
Dave; Sally Perkins
Synopsis
Goaded by peer-pressure, Dave crashes a party that Sally is hosting.

The Day I Climbed Magic Mountain (Table of Contents: 9)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Letters
typeset
First Line of Dialogue or Text
You won't find the name "Magic Mountain" on any map.
Characters
John Craven; Hadango
Synopsis
John Craven hires a mountain guide to lead the way to Magic Mountain.
Keywords
Tibet

Chapter 4: The Deadly Duplicates! (Table of Contents: 10)

Challengers of the Unknown / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script
Dave Wood
Pencils
Jack Kirby
Inks
Leonard Starr ?
Colors
?
Letters
Artie Simek
First Line of Dialogue or Text
Still at grips with another strange and fearful life form, released by the...
Genre
adventure
Characters
The Challengers of the Unknown: Rocky Davis; Prof Haley; Ace Morgan; Red Ryan
Amos Hunter (archeologist); Karnak (villain); The Kraken; Sheriff Chet Hollister; Doctor Rodney
Synopsis
The fourth vial turns Karnak into 50 copies of himself.
Reprints
Keywords
kraken

Indexer Notes

Feature continued in Challengers of the Unknown (DC, 1958 series) #1. Previous indexer's identification of the inker as George Klein is disputed by Nick Caputo and Tony Rose.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

Garcelon Stamps / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 12) (Expand) /

Nutty Putty / advertisement / 0.5 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

100 Toy Soldiers / advertisement / 0.5 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

Stephens Credit Sales Mottoes / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 15) (Expand) /

Daisy Air Rifles / Daisy B-B Guns / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Editing
Issue at my.comics.org
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. Menace of the Ancient Vials!
    Challengers of the Unknown
  2. 1. Draw Bob Hope!
    Art Instruction, Inc.
  3. 2. Chapter 1: The Menace of the Ancient Vials!
    Challengers of the Unknown
  4. 3. The Kings of Comedy!
  5. 4. Rocket Take-Off...
  6. 5. Chapter Two: The Fire Being!
    Challengers of the Unknown
  7. 6. ["Professor, your research and development..."]
    Professor Eureka
  8. 7. Chapter 3: The Demon from the Depths
    Challengers of the Unknown
  9. 8. Wanted: A Teen-Age Code
  10. 9. The Day I Climbed Magic Mountain
  11. 10. Chapter 4: The Deadly Duplicates!
    Challengers of the Unknown
  12. 11. ["Free! Wonderful offer!"]
    Garcelon Stamps
  13. 12. ["Nutty Putty... real crazy!!!"]
    Nutty Putty
  14. 13. [no title indexed]
    100 Toy Soldiers
  15. 14. ["Do you want spending money?"]
    Stephens Credit Sales Mottoes
  16. 15. ["How to get your Daisy Air Rifle for Christmas!"]
    Daisy Air Rifles / Daisy B-B Guns
This issue was modified by, among others
  • Katie
  • Rodrigo Baeza
  • Mark Billian
  • Ray Bottorff Jr
  • Nick Caputo
  • John Censullo
  • Clayton Emery
  • Gregory Fischer
  • Jochen G.
  • Del Gruber
  • Donald Dale Milne
  • John Monagle
  • Mike Nielsen
  • Tony R. Rose
  • Jim Stangas
  • Jim Van Dore
  • Mike White
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