Black Canary First Appearance: Flash Comics #86 Value

Black Canary first appeared in Flash Comics #86, cover-dated August 1947, as a supporting character in the Johnny Thunder feature, written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Carmine Infantino (Wikipedia). That first Black Canary is Dinah Drake. ComicBook.com adds that the debut was a six-page Johnny Thunder backup, not the cover story, and that she then appeared in every Flash Comics issue from #86 until the series was cancelled at #104 in 1949. She joined the Justice Society's adventures in All-Star Comics #48 and was offered membership in #51.

In her first story she is presented as a villain, and ComicBook.com describes her as a thief who steals only from criminals. Wikipedia explains that it is later revealed she had infiltrated a criminal gang, so the villain role was a cover.

PriceCharting values for Flash Comics #86 (1947), read on September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $2,250.01
• CGC 2.0: $4,676.40
• CGC 3.0: $5,499.94
• CGC 4.0: $7,830.94 (about 1 sale a year)
• CGC 5.0: $9,185.22
• CGC 6.0: $15,775.28 (about 1 a year)
• CGC 8.0: $17,080.00 (about 1 a year)
• CGC 9.2: $48,000.00 (about 1 a year)

With about one sale a year per grade, PriceCharting marks many of these as estimates; its 7.0 figure ($13,200.00) is even below its 6.0 figure. Treat them as a range, not a quote. For a live example, ComicBook.com reported on September 2, 2026 that Goldin Auctions was selling the only PSA 7.0 copy, with the bid at $6,000 and more than a week to go.

There are two later keys, and sellers mix them up:

• Justice League of America #21 (August 1963): the "Crisis on Earth-One" team-up that brings back the Justice Society. Cosmic Teams' JSA chronology lists #21 to #22 as Black Canary's first Silver Age story appearances. PriceCharting: raw $62.99, CGC 8.0 $456.00, CGC 9.2 $2,195.01.
• Justice League of America #75 (November 1969): the first appearance of Dinah Laurel Lance, the daughter who takes over the name (Wikipedia). PriceCharting: raw $50.00, CGC 8.0 $214.00, CGC 9.2 $761.43, CGC 9.8 $3,922.31.

Several PriceCharting seller listings for #75 describe it as a "1st Silver Age App Black Canary". By story date #21 comes first; #75 is the first of the second Black Canary. Check which one a listing means before paying a key premium.

Dinah Laurel Lance begins a relationship with Green Arrow after joining the Justice League (Wikipedia). They marry in the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special (November 2007), which led into the Green Arrow and Black Canary series that ran from December 2007 until DC's 2011 relaunch.

In the main continuity the sources we read list no child of Dinah and Oliver. The children people remember come from elsewhere:

• Olivia Queen: their biological daughter in the alternate-future story Kingdom Come #2 (June 1996).
• Connor Hawke: Oliver's son with Moonday Hawke, first seen in Green Arrow (vol. 2) #0 (October 1994).
• Robert: Oliver's son with Shado, from the Longbow Hunters era.

Wikipedia's Black Canary article does not describe either Dinah as LGBTQ, and her main romances in print are with Larry Lance (Dinah Drake) and Green Arrow (Dinah Lance). Extraño is DC's first openly gay superhero, according to both DC's own blog and Wikipedia. He was created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton and first appeared in Millennium #2 (January 1988). DC notes that older characters, such as Obsidian and Pied Piper, came out as gay later on.

• Date and title: the indicia should read Flash Comics #86, August 1947; Black Canary is not the cover feature (ComicBook.com).
• Find the Johnny Thunder story: Black Canary's debut is inside, in the six-page Johnny Thunder backup.
• Completeness: Golden Age books are often missing pages or coupons; a grader checks this, and incomplete copies sell far lower.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the title, issue number, date and publisher; reprints and facsimiles usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: old newsprint tans at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and replaced covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them. See spot a fake or restored comic.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia and the back cover. The ComicLens app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches them to the checks on this page, and there are free scans every day. The indicia photo settles most reprint and variant questions.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI, and every fact was checked against the sources listed at the bottom of the page: Wikipedia (Black Canary; Green Arrow and Black Canary; List of Green Arrow supporting characters; Extraño), ComicBook.com, Cosmic Teams, DC's blog and PriceCharting. Prices are PriceCharting figures read on September 25, 2026 unless another source and date are named; they move with the market.