Four-Star Spectacular
Encyclopedia
Four-Star Spectacular was an anthology
comic book
series published by DC Comics
in the mid-1970s. The series was edited by E. Nelson Bridwell
and ran for six issues from March/April 1976
to January/February 1977
. The books were in the "giant size" format and consisted mostly of superhero reprints, with some new material. A total of four characters from DC's roster of superheroes appeared in each issue — hence the title. (Half of the title's issues, however, only featured three stories.) Each issue featured a Superboy
story, a Wonder Woman
story, and at least one other story (usually a team-up story).
Adam Strange in Worlds War,
Flash in Double Jeopardy,
'Mazing Man in Kitty Catastrophe,
The Creature Commandos in The War That Time Forgot.
Batman appears in all shorts as a secondary character and cameo appearance.
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in the mid-1970s. The series was edited by E. Nelson Bridwell
E. Nelson Bridwell
Edward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics...
and ran for six issues from March/April 1976
1976 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1976.- Year overall :* American Splendor, Harvey Pekar's long-running autobiographical comic book title, publishes its debut issue.* Fantagraphics Books, Inc. founded by Gary Groth and Michael Catron....
to January/February 1977
1977 in comics
- Year overall :* Wendy and Richard Pini establish WaRP Graphics.* Jan and Dean Mullaney establish Eclipse Comics.* The United Kingdom's Eagle Awards are established.* Bob Brown dies at age 62.* Ciao magazine is launched.-January:...
. The books were in the "giant size" format and consisted mostly of superhero reprints, with some new material. A total of four characters from DC's roster of superheroes appeared in each issue — hence the title. (Half of the title's issues, however, only featured three stories.) Each issue featured a Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
story, a Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
story, and at least one other story (usually a team-up story).
The issues
| Issue | Heroes | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Superboy Superboy (Kal-El) The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville... , Hawkman Hawkman Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940.... , Wonder Woman Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.... , the Flash |
March/April 1976 | 64-page giant |
| 2 | Superboy, Wonder Woman, Kid Flash Kid Flash Kid Flash is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero The Flash. The first incarnation of the character, Wally West, debuted in The Flash #110... |
May/June 1976 | 48-page giant |
| 3 | Wonder Woman, Supergirl Supergirl Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out... , Green Lantern Green Lantern The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and... |
July/August 1976 | 48-page giant; Superboy featured in a one-pager |
| 4 | Wonder Woman, Superboy, Hawkman | September/October 1976 | 48-page giant |
| 5 | Superboy, Vigilante Vigilante (comics) Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:... , Green Arrow Green Arrow Green Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City... , Wonder Woman |
November/December 1976 | 48-page giant |
| 6 | Wonder Woman, Superboy, Etta Candy Etta Candy Etta Candy is a fictional character from the DC Comics Wonder Woman series.-Golden Age:In her 1940s introduction, Etta Candy is a sickly malnurished woman Wonder Woman discovers at a local hospital. When next she is seen Etta is transformed into a spirited, rotund young woman who has a great love... , Blackhawk Blackhawk (comics) Blackhawk, a long-running comic book series, was also a film serial, a radio series and a novel. The comic book was published first by Quality Comics and later by DC Comics. The series was created by Will Eisner, Chuck Cuidera, and Bob Powell, but the artist most associated with the feature is Reed... |
January/February 1977 | 48-page giant |
Television
The concept of Four-Star Spectacular is used in the episode of the same named in the show Batman:The Brave and the Bold where it contains four episodes starring each heroes,Adam Strange in Worlds War,
Flash in Double Jeopardy,
'Mazing Man in Kitty Catastrophe,
The Creature Commandos in The War That Time Forgot.
Batman appears in all shorts as a secondary character and cameo appearance.
See also
- DC Super StarsDC Super StarsDC Super Stars was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics from March 1976 to February 1978. Starting off as a reprint title, it finished its run with original stories...
- DC Special SeriesDC Special SeriesDC Special Series was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. DC Special Series was published in four different formats: Dollar Comics, 48...
- DC SpecialDC SpecialDC Special was a comic book anthology series published by DC Comics originally from 1968 to 1971; it resumed publication from 1975 to 1977...
- List of DC Comics publications