Whiz Comics No. 2

Whiz Comics #2 Date: February 1940 Publisher: Fawcett Publications Cover Price: 10¢ 2013 Price Range: $8,000 - $176,000 Stats: 64 color pages plus ads Writers: Bill Parker and ? Artists: C.C. Beck and ? Notable Notes: 1st appearances of Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, Golden Arrow, Spy Smasher, Scoop Smith, Lance O'Casey and Dan Dare! Is It This Or Is It That? Captain Marvel, aka Shazam, has a long and complicated history. The complications begin with this issue and the question of "Is it issue #1 or issue #2?" The inside front cover lists this as issue #2 of Whiz Comics, and a little bit of searching reveals that the first issue was actually an ashcan copy created for trademark purposes and it wasn't even called Whiz Comics! Anyway, this issue (the true #1 but actually marked as #2) is where all the magic happens. Oh yeah, there are other complications too - such as the name "Captain Marvel", his close resemblance to Superman and his integration into the DC Universe after DC…