This is my 300th blog. Not a big deal to people who blog everyday – they would hit 300 in their first year, but for me? A big deal.
The 300th issue (or any anniversary issue) is a big deal in comic books, too. It’s a chance to celebrate an anniversary with a special issue (and increased sales) featuring the end of an epic story arc – or the beginning of one. It could be the final issue – or debut – or a new creative team or character.
It only really became a big deal in the Bronze Age. The few Silver Age 300th issues were ignored, at least on the cover. Probably because sales were not yet sluggish enough that there was a NEED to celebrate.
It takes time. Published monthly, a comic book would reach its 300th issue in 25 years.
I honestly believed I found all of them – American comics only of course … let me know if I missed any. Enjoy!
4 Color from November 1950
The only #300 from the Golden Age I could find! 4 Color printed several comics per month, sometimes weekly and at times even six per month! No wonder it only took a bit over ten years to reach the milestone!
Most Disney comics were published by multiple companies over the years. Fortunately they kept the numbering intact. Scroll over the comics to see issue name and date.
People forget about one of the longest running comics ever!
Big Boy June 1996
Oddly, I checked Popeye and other popular cartoon figures and the only one whose comic made it to #300 was …
November 1977
Dave Sim said from the beginning that Cerebus would only go to issue #300. How I loved the comic in the early to mid-1980s. A shame the run ended with little fanfare. It is the only independant I could find…
March 2004
No Harvey comics made it to #300. Timely, Quality & Fawcett didn’t last long enough for their comics to reach #300.
But the big two had plenty, so did Archie. Primarily because both DC and Archie (MJL) published comics steadily since the 1940s.
Scroll over the comics to see the title and date. Note that Laugh and Pep were published first and got to #300 4 years or so before the character-titled comics.
DC’s #300s holds no real surprises… the Legion of Superheroes was formerly called Superboy and Adventure also once hosted their … er … adventures as well (making Superman-themed comics account for 1/3rd of the DC comics listed) . Our Army at War and House of Mystery were the pinnacle of their genre. Hellblazer may be a surprise to some, but only because of its late date.
Note that the Silver Age comics (Adventure, Action, Detective), made very little tadoo about their 300th issue.
Several Marvel comics made it to #300 due to their sheer popularity! These comics were raised to monthly status much quicker than their DC bretheren. The dates vary widely, too, helped by the fact that Captain America, Hulk, & Thor had different titles during the Silver and Bronze Age (Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish and Journey into Mystery respectively) but kept their numbering when named for their stars…
Will we ever see #300s again? I don’t know. In this day and age of reboots and “Special Collector’s first issues” we may never see comics reaching #100! Time will tell.
What were my favorites? Frankly, the ones I bought from the stands: Superman 300, Batman 300 and Wonder Woman 300.
What were your favorites?
See you at 400!
Special thanks to Lone Star Comics for searching their data base and using their photos!
Michael Curry
Currytakeaways 
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