Jack Kirby’s strong cover leads the way into the very first original concept book of the Silver Age. This issue contains the very first appearance as well as the origin of the Challengers of the Unknown. All four members of the team also make their first appearance in this issue. Kirby was no stranger to team concepts. He had created some of the most memorable boy groups of the Golden Age. The concept was left over from the break-up of his professional partnership with Joe Simon, but the execution is very clearly Kirby at his best. This time out, he was working directly with adult characters in a time when the comic industry was in a very strange state of flux. Even with the successful introduction of the Silver Age Flash the previous year, publishers were leery of the market place. No one was really sure how the market was going to go. Readers really grabbed onto the idea of men living on borrowed time. The basic thought behind the team is very clearly stated in the dialogue balloon in the center, “…Anything out of this world is our specialty!” The story was scripted by Dave Wood. Kirby did the interiors. Marvin Stein also contributed interior art. From this tryout issue, the Challengers would go on to a few more Showcase appearances and than their own title. The team concept of the Challengers is still alive in the DC Universe today. The pages are white. This unrestored book is CGC-certified 7.0 (FN/VF). According to the CGC Census this copy is tied with four others as the third-highest graded copy they have seen.