Hop Harrigan

Few characters carry the authentic thrill of comics' earliest days quite like Hop Harrigan, who burst onto the scene in All-American Comics #1 in 1939 — the very first issue of a title that would become legendary — making him a true ground-floor figure of DC's Golden Age. Created by Carl Claudy and Stan Asch, Hop carved out his niche across the pages of All-American Comics and All-Star Comics, sharing that storied real estate with some of the most iconic names in superhero history: Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Flash, and Wonder Woman herself. That he endured across nearly five decades, with appearances stretching all the way to 1988, speaks to a staying power that goes well beyond a mere curiosity, and two of his appearances carry recognized key-issue status for collectors who know where to look. For anyone tracing the roots of the DC universe back to its most adventurous, wide-eyed beginnings, Hop Harrigan is an essential piece of the puzzle.