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I'd argue that the main reason Flash was tried a second time was that everything else featured in Showcase up to that point had been an unambiguous and resounding failure, and that even a modest success was grounds for hope. I suggest that if Flash had been more than a marginal success, he'd have been brought back for more than a single issue run in #8--and that in turn if the results of #8 had been more definite, there would have been no necessity for a third attempt in #13-14, which finally convinced DC that Flash was worth continuing. The nearly two year spread covered by this series of test runs was a culturally important period of development in American culture--in popular music and televison, for instance. Same thing for comics.



James, my point was the way Showcase was set up at that time, Julie didn't have another chance to try Flash for four issues, until his turn with the book came around again. Sales were good, likely very good, but the powers that be weren't sold on superheroes. Flash was the first of his kind and the money men had to be convinced. So we got Flash in Julies next book, Showcase #8. By then TPTB were beginning to realize that one book every eight months was no way to build readership and they'd starting to shifting to a couple of issues in a row of the next tryouts. By the time Julies turn came again he ran two issues of Flash. When the final numbers came in, along with the good sales for 4 and 8, he could easily show the viability of Flash as a title. Even then it took six months for the first issue of the revived Flash to hit the stands. The way Showcase was set up in those first dozen or so issues precluded any quick conversion to a regular title unless the market was already known to be there. (Why Mort bothered with Lois Lane tryouts, for example, is beyond me. She had Superman's fans AND the romance/girl fans to support her -- the title was a sure thing.)

Again, the bi-monthly status of Showcase, the rotation of the editors on the title (each with his favorite feature to promote), and the long wait for FINAL sales numbers by the conservative owners were why the Silver Age took so long to take off. NOT because the culture was changing -- though there's no way to completely disregard that --. Still, if Superman is selling (in the million range!), why shouldn't the Flash or some other superhero (not burdened by Jack Schiff's endless aliens, monsters, batmites, etc. in the Batman titles)?

Another example is it took so long for Challengers to make it into their own title. A conservative management wanted to be SURE it had a hit.