Price history & market evidence
PriceCharting guide history
Dated guide estimates for this edition, separate from completed sales.
1 dated observation—one point does not establish a trend. Last recorded 2026-10-06. Source record #2388748
Price observations belong to this edition. Guide estimates, catalog references and completed sales are separate kinds of evidence.
| Grade | Amount | Evidence | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | $13,145.30 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_4_0_valueguide | 1956-09-01 |
| 6.0 | $33,593.04 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_6_0_valueguide | 1956-09-01 |
| 8.0 | $76,500.00 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_8_0_valueguide | 1956-09-01 |
| 9.2 | $99,450.00 | PANEL_PROFITS · grade_9_2_valueguide | 1956-09-01 |
| RAW | $6,168.78 | PANEL_PROFITS · ungraded_valueguide | 1956-09-01 |
| 9.4 | $93,800.00 | ComicBase · catalog referencecatalog | Date not recorded |
Reading this edition’s market
Compare the same cover, printing and grade before setting a bid. A raw guide or a higher-grade price does not establish a slab’s value. Include selling fees, shipping and the depth of completed-sale evidence when assessing an exit price.
The table includes 5 guide observations and 1 catalog references. These are reference values, not guaranteed sale proceeds.
Graded population
CGC records 688 graded copies for Showcase #4 (1956). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.
The Flash: "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!'
Barry Allen) is a police scientist who is doused with chemicals that are struck by lightning. Barry soon finds that he has been endowed with super-speed and creates a costume which contracts and hides in his ring). He takes on the name of his favorite comic book character: The Flash).
In his first mission as the Flash, Barry goes after the criminal known as the Turtle Man), dubbed the world's slowest man. The Turtle Man tries to rob a bank. However, he is ultimately thwarted by the Flash, despite the fact that his super-speed often worked against him going after the plodding Turtle Man. Ultimately, the Flash captures his opponent and turns him over to the police.
| Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * The Flash (Barry Allen)) Flash **Supporting Characters:** * Iris West) **Antagonists:** * Turtle Man) **Other Characters:** * The Flash (Jay Garrick)) comic book **Locations:** * Central City ** Central City Police Department Scientific Detection Bureau **Items:** * Flash's Costume Ring * Flash Comics Vol 1 13 **Vehicles:** * **Concepts:** *
| Writer2_1 = John Broome | Penciler2_1 = Carmine Infantino | Inker2_1 = Joe Kubert | Colorist2_1 = | Letterer2_1 = Gaspar Saladino | Editor2_1 = Julius Schwartz
| StoryTitle2 = The Flash: 'The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier!" | Synopsis2 = Central City is hit with a number of strange crimes where a series of items begins vanishing from people's possessions. Barry Allen) becomes involved as the Flash when a beaker he's experimenting with vanishes as well. Tracking down the culprit puts Barry up against Mazdan), a criminal from the future who was supposed to be sent to the 50th Century to serve his sentence on a desolate Earth but was sent to the past by mistake instead.
Able to avoid Mazdan's weapon, Flash captures the crook. However, he manages to break out of prison using his superior scientific knowledge. Catching up with Mazdan again, the Flash tries to capture him again but stops when Mazdan petitions the Flash to allow him to return to his own time. Instead of allowing him to go in his own time capsule, the Flash instead breaks the time barrier by running at super speed, turning Mazdan over to the authorities in the future. Mazdan is sent to the correct era to serve out his punishment. The Flash then returns to his own time and resumes his civilian life once more.
| Appearing2 = **Featured Characters:** * The Flash (Barry Allen)) **Supporting Characters:** * **Antagonists:** * Mazdan) **Other Characters:** * Henry Brown **Locations:** * 1956 ** Central City *** Central City Police Department Scientific Detection Bureau * 38th Century * 50th Century * Timestream **Items:** * Flash's Costume Ring **Vehicles:** * **Concepts:** * Time Travel
| Notes = * "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt!" was reprinted in: ** Secret Origins Special Giant Issue Vol 1 1 ** Secret Origins Vol 1 1 ** The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told (Collected) ** The Essential Showcase 1956-1959 (Collected) ** Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told (Collected) ** The Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years (Collected) ** The Flash: 80 Years of the Fastest Man Alive – The Deluxe Edition (Collected) ** Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes (Collected) * "The Man Who Broke the Time Barrier!" was reprinted in The Flash Vol 1 215 and DC Comics Presents: The Flash Vol 2 1. * The entire issue was reprinted in: ** DC Silver Age Classics: Showcase Vol 1 4 ** Millennium Edition: Showcase Vol 1 4 ** The Flash Archives Vol. 1 (Collected) ** Showcase Presents: The Flash Vol. 1 (Collected) ** The Flash Chronicles Vol. 1 (Collected) ** Showcase Presents: Showcase Vol. 1 (Collected) ** The Flash Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collected). ** The Flash: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (Collected) ** DC Finest: The Flash: The Human Thunderbolt (Collected) * This issue is usually cited as the beginning of the Silver Age. * While referred to as a fictional comic book character, the original Flash), would later be retconned as living in a parallel universe dubbed Earth-Two, and both men would meet later on. * The native time period of Mazdan is not identified in the second story. It was revealed to be the 38th Century in Mazdan's second appearance, The Flash Vol 1 254.
| Trivia = * The cover to this issue is iconic, and many artists have done homages. This is a list of examples.
File:Flash 0057.jpg|The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen (Collected) File:Flash Rebirth 2.jpg|The Flash: Rebirth #2
| Recommended = | Links =
Creative credits
Writers: Robert Kanigher, John Broome
Interior art: Carmine Infantino, Carmine Infantino
Source records & attribution
Panel Profits keeps each source identity attached to its edition record.
COMICBASE: comicbase:974959
GCD: 13042
PANEL PROFITS: 2388748