Flash (comics) 1956, DC Comics successfully revived superheroes, ushering in what became known as the Silver Age of comic books. Rather than bringing back the same Golden Age heroes, DC rethought them as new characters for the modern age. The Flash was the first revival, in the tryout comic book "Showcase" #4 (Oct. 1956). This new Flash was (Barry Allen), a police scientist who gained super-speed when bathed by chemicals after a shelf of them was struck by lightning. He adopted the name "The Scarlet Speedster" after reading a comic book featuring the Golden Age Flash. After several more appearances in "Showcase",
Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors order of business was to administer the Alley Awards, which traced their origin to "a letter to Jerry dated October 25, 1961," by Thomas, in which he suggested to Bails that his fanzine "Alter-Ego" create its own awards to reward fandom's "favorite comic books in a number of categories" in a manner similar to the Oscars. Initially suggested as "The Alter-Ego Award," the resulting idea was soon named "The Alley Award," "named after V. T. Hamlin's Alley Oop" by Thomas "because surely a caveman had to be the earliest superhero chronologically." The first Alley Awards, given for the calendar year