Adventure Comics #250
Adventure Comics #250 (cover-dated July 1958) marks a genuine hinge point in DC's Silver Age: it is widely recognized as the first Earth-One appearance of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and Speedy, drawing a retroactive line between the Golden Age archer and his Silver Age counterpart, and it inaugurates Jack Kirby's eleven-issue run on the Green Arrow backup — a brief but notable stretch of work from one of the medium's most consequential artists. The issue also contains what some sources identify as the first Silver Age appearance of Aquaman, distinguished by a change in glove color from yellow to green, though that specific designation is contested and the true Silver Age Aquaman relaunch is more solidly anchored at issue #260. Arriving just three issues after the landmark debut of the Legion of Super-Heroes in #247, this issue reflects the rapid creative momentum Adventure Comics was generating at the dawn of the Silver Age, packing three distinct hero features — Superboy, Green Arrow, and Aquaman — into a single anthology package that kept all three characters continuously in print across the Golden-to-Silver Age transition.
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When artist George Papp moved from the Green Arrow backup to become the regular penciler on the Superboy lead feature, the Green Arrow slot needed a replacement; editor Jack Schiff, aware of Kirby's prolific output on Challengers of the Unknown, offered him the assignment. Kirby accepted, reportedly reading a handful of prior issues to familiarize himself with the character, and brought his wife Roz Kirby on as inker for the entire run. The Superboy story 'The Imposter from the Year 2958' was scripted by veteran Batman creator Bill Finger and drawn by John Sikela, while the Aquaman backup 'The Guinea Pig of the Sea' was penciled and inked by Ramona Fradon, who had been the character's principal artist since Adventure Comics #167 in 1951. The cover was penciled by Curt Swan and inked by Stan Kaye.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: July 1958; published by DC Comics as part of Adventure Comics Vol. 1.
- Considered the first Earth-One (Silver Age) appearance of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and Speedy (Roy Harper), marking the retroactive boundary between the Golden Age and Silver Age versions of the character.
- Jack Kirby penciled the Green Arrow backup story 'The Green Arrows of the World,' with inks by his wife Roz Kirby — the opening chapter of an eleven-issue Kirby run on the feature.
- The Green Arrow story was scripted by Bill Finger (per DC Database and Key Collector, though some sources also credit Ed Herron or Dave Wood); it depicts a global convention of archer crime-fighters, a concept adapted from the 'Batmen of All Nations' story in Detective Comics #215 (1955).
- The Superboy lead story, 'The Imposter from the Year 2958,' was written by Bill Finger and drawn by John Sikela; its time-traveling villain Lorac-K7 originates from 2958 A.D., the same era as the Legion of Super-Heroes introduced just three issues earlier in #247.
- The Aquaman backup 'The Guinea Pig of the Sea' was penciled and inked by Ramona Fradon, who served as the character's primary artist for roughly a decade.
- Some sources classify this issue's Aquaman story as the first Silver Age Aquaman appearance based on a change in glove color from golden-age yellow to green, though this designation is disputed — the gloves fluctuate between colors for several subsequent issues, and Adventure Comics #260 is the more widely cited Silver Age Aquaman landmark.
- Reprints: 'The Imposter from the Year 2958' was reprinted in 80-Page Giant #10; 'The Green Arrows of the World' was reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #23, Showcase Presents: Green Arrow Vol. 1 (2006), and The Jack Kirby Omnibus: Volume 1; 'The Guinea Pig of the Sea' was reprinted in DC Finest: Aquaman: The King of Atlantis.
Cast · 10 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Dr. Rush is so determined to analyze Aquaman and study his biology that he actually captures him in a cage to study him against his will. Ultimately, Aquaman gets his sea creature allies to free him so he can save the foolhardy Dr. Rush from a sea storm. Dr. Rush then apologizes for what he did to Aquaman.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).