Alright, using that as a criteria then....

Not in order from 1-20 in terms of quality or preference, just the 20 I would show to someone to showcase what was cool about the Silver Age as I think of them...

1) Showcase #4-The debut of Barry Allen's Flash showing the quintessential Silver Age DC super-hero in action, the classic Silver Age origin motif (i.e. the scientific accident bequeathing super-powers) and the blueprint for DC Silver Age super-hero stories and what was good and goofy about them.

2) Brave & the Bold #28-the debut of the JLA is also the blueprint for the Gardner Fox story-the threat, the teams, the classic heroes, plus Starro as representative of those way out alien threats. This is the Golden age brought back to life as the Silver Age, with Fox, an architect of both handling the transition. This issue is the quintessential example of Fox's story structure blue print.

3) Creepy #1 A perfect example of Silver Age horror-Frazetta, Williamson, Krenkel, Crandall, Orlando, Morrow and an Jack Davis cover...a virtual who's who of what's cool about Silver Age horror art and stories.

4)Strange Tales #135-Eternity Beckons by Lee/Ditko-this sets up one of the most dynamic Doctor Strange stories of all time and a great sample of one of my favorite Silver Age runs, plus the intro of Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD and Hydra, showing comics as a reflection of other pop culture trends of its time-the perfect blend of Cold War paranoia and spy fiction in a super-hero oriented universe.

5)Our Army at War #220-the standout Soldier or Savage cover by Joe Kubert, a quintessential Rock story by Kubert plus a Glanzman USS Stevens back up-this is what Silver Age war comics were all about and what made them so cool.

6) X-Men #1 Heroes in a world that hates and fears them, the Magento conflict, the Cold War nuclear paranoia with Magneto attacking a missile base, this one has it all. Everything you need to know about the Silver Age X-Men and the greater X-Men mythos encapsulated in a single issue.

7)Captain America #113-Steranko, Hydra, apparent comic book death of a hero, great action sequences, intrigue-this one has it all and packs it all in one big wallop that slams the reader with a visual tour de force of storytelling.

8)Silver Surfer #1-the pathos of the origin, some of the best Buscema art he did, the grander of the Galactus story and the tragedy of the Surfer, plus the Watcher back ups. This is quintessential late Silver Age Marvel packed into a single issue.

9) Brave & the Bold #85-Haney Batman is quintessential Silver Age, Neal Adams debuting the new look Green Arrow, a story with a relevant theme precursor to some later DC trends, and a great great cover.

10)Bat Lash #2 One of the best covers of all time, one of the best western characters of all time encapsulating what was so great about Silver Age western comics.

11) witzend #2 Wally Wood's self-published magazine, displaying the work of several great creators free on the big 2 constrains and the Code-Orion (by Gray Morrow), Hey Look (by Harvey Kurtzman), Feeble Fable by Warren Sattler, Edgar Rice Burroughs portfolio by Reed Crandall, illustration by Frank Frazetta, cartoon by Will Elder, 3-page comic story by Art Spiegelman, 1-page comic by Steve Ditko, 2-page comic by Don Martin, illustration by Al Williamson, 2 illustrations by Roy Krenkel, and Animan by Wood. Front cover by Wood. Back cover by Ralph Reese. How cool is this Silver Age rarity?

12)Avengers #58-Even an Android can Cry-another great Silver Age Origin, tragedy and pathos mixed with hope-the classic late Marvel Silver Age formula, and a glimpse at the burgeoning continuity of the Marvel world, not a fan, but it is part of what's cool about the Silver Age.

13) Fantastic Four #5-Lee, Kirby, Doom!, wacky time travel resulting in the Thing as Blackbeard, really the blueprint for the success of the Lee-Kirby FF and Silver Age Marvel here

14) Amazing Fantasy #15-despite being only half the book, the origin of Spider-Man is perhaps the quintessential story of the Silver Age and a must read for anyone who wants to get what makes the Silver Age so cool.

15) His Name is Savage-Gil Kane unleashed in a magazine sized Cold War spy thriller. This is the 60s zeitgeist of encapsulated in a single tale.

16)DC Special #2-the all romance issue giving you a sample of everything cool about Silver Age romance and teen comics. There was a lot more to the Silver Age than super-heroes and this one captures a nice slice of one corner of that world.

17) Strange Adventures #207-quirky heroes and Neal Adams art were two of the many things that made the Silver Age cool and this one has both in spades. The back up also gives a taste of Silver Age DC sci-fi shorts, another cool thing about the Silver Age.

18)Tales of Suspense #58-the classic Marvel hero battle based on a misunderstanding and the first Cap vs. Shellhead, plus a Tales of the Watcher back up...

19) Blue Beetle #2 Ditko; The Question, the new Blue Beetle's origin, the fate of the old Blue Beetle; quirky heroes, classic creator, super-hero legacies, all cool things that mad ethe Silver Age what it is.

20) Strange Tales #115-the origin of Dr. Strange, probably the second best Marvel Silver Age origin story, plus the Torch battles Sandman, a Spidey villain showcasing the classic Marvle Silver Age villain switcheroo that elped build the idea of a shared universe and defined part of what made Silver Age Marvel...

so that's my 20 and glimpses of my reasoning. There is so much that is cool about the Silver Age (and some things that are not), I tried to showcase as many of those facets as I could with my 20 issue picks-focusing on the breadth of what the Silver Age had to offer as a whole, not just the big 2 super-hero books. I probably mised some favorites of mine and others, but c'est la vie.

-M