When Did the Silver Age of Comics Begin?

Again, you'll get some controversy.

For those whom think the sun rises and sets on DC Comics, the answer can only be the resurrection of The Flash in Showcase Comics # 4.

But there's a problem with that.

While Showcase # 4 did indeed return a superhero to front and center in a comic book, it wasn't a very influential book. It was a few years until The Flash returned from this tryout, and while the Justice League of America did debut in The Brave & The Bold to some fanfare, one may read both Showcase # 4 and B & B #27 and think that the Golden Age never ended---the stilted DC house style was virtually identical to what came before the JSA were knocked from their collective perch.

Thus, I think the Silver Age began with a truly influential book: Fantastic Four # 1:



This book took off like a rocket and enabled Stan Lee to build Marvel Comics around it. In its wake was an explosion of creativity which shook the industry to its core, including an incredible 100-issue run by the Fantastic Four creative team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on this very book, unlike the one-shot Showcase # 4.