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Collection · 3,153 listings

Golden Age (1938–1956)

Golden Age comics from 1938 to 1956: the first superheroes, wartime covers and the pre-Code horror and crime books that started the hobby.

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Golden Age guides

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  • Key issues

    When Was Wonder Woman Created? All Star Comics #8, 1941

    Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston and artist H. G. Peter and first appeared in All Star Comics #8, published by DC Comics with a cover date of December 1941 – January 1942. That issue is the original Wonder Woman comic that collectors mean by her first appearance.

    Updated Oct 11, 2026

  • Values

    Wonder Woman #1 Release Date: Summer 1942 and What Sets the Price

    Wonder Woman #1, her first solo title from DC Comics, began in Summer 1942, after her debut in All Star Comics #8 and her first cover and regular feature in Sensation Comics #1. Its price depends mainly on grade, page quality and label type, so check recent sold prices for the exact grade you are considering.

    Updated Oct 11, 2026

  • Collecting

    What are the ages of comic books? Golden, Silver, Bronze, Copper and Modern explained

    Collectors divide American comics into eras: the Golden Age (1938 to the mid-1950s), the Silver Age (1956 to about 1970), the Bronze Age (about 1970 to 1985), the Copper Age (about 1985 to 1991) and the Modern Age (1991 to today). The boundaries are conventions rather than official dates, but each era has its own print runs, survival rates, paper and pricing, which is why listings and price guides always state one.

    Updated Oct 11, 2026

About Golden Age comics

The Golden Age runs from Action Comics #1 in 1938 to the arrival of the Comics Code in the mid-1950s. Print runs were huge but survival rates were tiny — paper drives, cheap newsprint and decades in attics mean that even mid-grade copies of major keys are scarce, and the census for many books is measured in dozens rather than thousands.

Because so few copies survive, condition works differently here than in later eras. A 4.0 Golden Age key is a serious book, page quality matters as much as the numeric grade, and restoration is common enough that we treat a blue Universal label as the baseline. Every Golden Age slab we list is checked against the grader's census, and raw copies are examined for colour touch, tear seals and trimming before they go on sale.

Every book ships double-boxed, signature-required and insured to full value, and you have 14 days from delivery to inspect it. Undisclosed restoration is refundable with no time limit under our authenticity guarantee. Have Golden Age books of your own to grade or sell? Start a grading submission or request an appraisal.