COPPER AGE
1984–1991
The direct market matures and independent publishers take real share. Print runs balloon toward the end of the period, which is why so much of it is common today, and the era introduces the multiple-cover and enhanced-cover practices that became routine later. Its genuinely scarce books tend to be small-press rather than superhero.
2,206
SERIES
21,732
ISSUES
824
KEY ISSUES
PUBLISHERS OF THE ERA
KEY ISSUES FROM THE COPPER AGE
Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham #1
Earliest catalogued appearances of Judge Dredd, Judge Anderson, Judge Death, and 1 more.
The New Mutants Annual #2
Earliest catalogued appearances of Betsy Braddock and Meggan.
Green Lantern #48
Earliest catalogued appearances of Kyle Rayner and Alexandra Dewitt.
Batman: Son of the Demon #1
Earliest catalogued appearance of Damian Wayne.
Adventures of Superman #500
Earliest catalogued appearance of Superboy (Kon-El).
Booster Gold #1
Earliest catalogued appearances of Booster Gold, Skeets, Goldstar, and 4 more.
Wonder Woman #105
Earliest catalogued appearances of Wonder Girl and Helena Sandsmark.
Legends #1
Earliest catalogued appearances of Amanda Waller, Rick Flag, and Brimstone.
Flash #91
Earliest catalogued appearance of Bart Allen.
Crisis on Infinite Earths #1
Earliest catalogued appearances of Blue Beetle (Kord) and Pariah.
Superman: The Man of Steel #22
Earliest catalogued appearance of Steel (John Henry Irons).
Web of Spider-Man #18
Earliest catalogued appearance of Eddie Brock.
LONGEST RUNS STARTED IN THIS ERA
Morning
1991 · 1,559 issues
Betty & Veronica (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest
1987 · 336 issues
Betty and Veronica Double Digest
1987 · 334 issues
Hellblazer
1988 · 300 issues
Betty and Veronica
1987 · 278 issues
Flash
1987 · 232 issues
Adventures of Superman
1987 · 228 issues
Superman
1987 · 228 issues
Wonder Woman
1987 · 228 issues
Veronica
1989 · 210 issues
Archie's Double Digest Magazine
1984 · 204 issues
Jughead's Double Digest
1989 · 200 issues
Series are placed by the year they began, so a long run appears in the age it started rather than every age it ran through. Where an age begins and ends is a matter of convention, and the edges are argued over. All ages.