The Silver Age of comics was an incredibly productive period with the creation of many major characters, substantial evolutions across publishers, and further stabilization of superhero comics within pop culture. For an entire generation of fans, it also served as their introduction to comic books. Lucky ducks.

In his new book, Rise of the Superheroes ‒ Greatest Silver Age Comic Books and Characters, author David W. Tosh takes a deep dive into the Silver Age. In summary, he presents the key moments, the trends, the connection to what else was happening during the time period, and how it all shaped the comics industry.

The cover promises action and adventure, depicting the greats like Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Thor, Superman, and Spider-Man. Inside, the book is well organized in a format that presents popular styles and themes within the Silver Age in chronological order.

Rise of the Superheroes starts with the transition into the Silver Age when the popularity of superheroes was starting to dwindle, prompting some to be revised to adapt and others to be completely reintroduced as second generation versions. From there, the early ’60s are explored with DC creating the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes, along with notable storylines and different book formats. Continuing in that pivotal period of the early ’60s, it switches to Marvel, taking a look at the incredible slate of characters ‒ like the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man – that were introduced in that period, plus featured content on Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko.

Things take a turn toward camp for the pop art years during the mid-’60s, with special attention paid toward Batman, both in comics and onscreen. Next comes a chapter that spotlights other superheroes of the time – the good, the bad, and the weird – from publishers like Archie, Gold Key, Harvey, and Tower. Following the bright and silly pop art period came changes toward more serious, even suspenseful stories, with a spotlight on Neal Adams. In the closing chapter, Tosh shares how the Silver Age came to an end, making way for the Bronze Age.

Early in the book, Tosh shares that he was a child when the Silver Age began, and his progression as a fan is chronicled through personal touches with sidebars “In My Neighborhood” and “Where Was I?”. He recounts his experiences with comics, learning about new characters, titles, and artists, their effect on him, and what he enjoyed reading at the time.

Since so many movies and TV shows grew out of this period, the book is peppered with segments on those projects. Tosh provides some historical info, context details on their creation, cast, directors, plus box office results.

Stepping out of comics, but remaining in entertainment, there are bullet-point style timelines of significant pop culture events – some of which have connection and influence on the comics ‒ within the chapters.

And of course, the book is chock full of artwork. Key issues like Showcase #22, Justice League of America #1, The Fantastic Four #1, and Amazing Fantasy #15 are represented, but so are some less recognizable covers and pages depicting popular styles of the Silver Age. Tosh illustrates his points about thematic transitions of the period with choice images of covers and original art pages.

While there’s plenty of industry jargon, it’s still accessible to readers who only have passing knowledge of comics. In addition to being entertaining, it can assist comics fans looking for new content to explore and guide collectors looking to build an impressive collection from the Silver Age.

Rise of the Superheroes ‒ Greatest Silver Age Comic Books and Characters was published by Krause Publications. The large format hardcover contains 176 pages and retails for $24.99.

To read an interview with Tosh, check out our In the Limelight section of Scoop.

-Amanda Sheriff