Irwin Donenfeld
[6] A teenager when Superman and Batman debuted in 1938/1939, and son of the characters' publisher, Donenfeld often claimed he was the first kid in America to read the adventures of two of the world's most famous superheroes.[1] Becoming the company's editorial director in 1952, in the mid-1950s, Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase.Instead of reviving the old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome, penciler Carmine Infantino, and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent.The Flash's reimagining in Showcase #4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of the Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of comic books.In 1964 he gave editors Julius Schwartz and top artist Carmine Infantino a deadline of six months to turn the then-flagging Batman comic around, or it would be cancelled.[8] A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales, and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation (Filmation[broken anchor] created most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media.