First Issue Special #9, December 1975
First Issue Special is an odd little series. It was the brainchild of then-DC Publisher Carmine Infantino, who, in a time of falling sales, really needed a solid gold hit. He then came up with an idea that could’ve been a stroke of genius: if the first issue of any new series sold better than subsequent issues, then a series made up entirely of first issues was bound to be a huge seller.
It wasn’t.
While it appears to be a kind of try-out title for new concepts in order to gauge sales and reader interest, it was actually something of a “dumping ground” for inventory material that was sitting around the DC offices. Atlas (FIS #1), Manhunter (#5) and Dingbats (#6) were all Jack Kirby creations. His erstwhile partner, Joe Simon, came up with The Green Team (#2) and The Outsiders (#10). Mike Grell contributed Warlord (#8), Steve Ditko revived The Creeper (#7), and Bob Kanigher gave the world Lady Cop (#4).
On occasion Infantino engaged creators to come up with brand new First Issues, essentially reviving the old Showcase book in all but name, such was the case with Dr Fate in #9. I wrote an article for Back Issue #24 looking at the story behind this comic, probably the most fondly-remembered First Issue Special. Written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Walter Simonson, this re-imagining of DC’s master mage was very influential, and cast a long shadow over pretty much every subsequent appearance of the character.
It seems that Infantino’s original notion was to actually number each issue as #1, but that never happened and the series follows a conventional numbering sequence. There were 13 issues in total, but ultimately only two ideas graduated to their own series: Gerry Conway’s revival of The New Gods (#13) and Grell’s Warlord. And even then, Warlord was actually earmarked as a regular series before it appeared in FIS!
Second and third issues of both the Dingbats and the Green Team were produced, but languished in a drawer as inventory material. No more was seen of Kirby’s final kid gang, but the Green Team saw very limited life in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade a couple of years later.
While it was never a fabulous series, First Issue Special has some nice work and is a lot of fun — the Outsiders has to be seen to be believed! If nothing else, the Doctor Fate issue is well worth seeking out.
Cover by Joe Kubert.
Image ©2011 DC Comics
Cover swiped from Wonder Woman (V1) #113.
With the best will in the world, Pat, that’s not a swipe.
Not a direct swipe, perhaps, but certainly inspired by WW 113.
I doubt it. I can’t really see Carmine digging out a 15 year old comic, handing it to Joe Kubert and saying “Draw something like this…”
That there’s a flying Sphinx on both covers is just a coincidence. Here it illustrates a scene in the comic when the villain materializes a Sphinx above Boston.
It was reprinted in 1984 in the first issue of The Immortal Doctor Fate. This was a three part baxter reprint mini series of the Martin Pasko stories.
I only have this issue. for the Walt Simonson art. It also had a Paul Levitz and Joe Staton/Mike Nasser ‘Secret Origin, from DC Special Series#10. Plus a Gardner Fox/Hal Sherman short from 1940.
The remaining two issues are Flash backups with Keith Giffen on the art.
Yeah, I had that at the time. Quite a nice little series.
Just bought this issue on ebay and it arrived this week. Bought the original off the spinner rack one lunchtime on a school day and owned the reprint All-Star Digest some years later. You are right, though. They were too small.