Sometimes to commemorate an event, make a reprint visually distinct from a first-run book, target two different audiences, encourage ratailers to order more, or simply drum up publicity, a comic book publisher will release a book with multiple covers. This did not became popular until the late 1980s, and to the best of my knowledge, the first Flash comic to receive this treatment was Flash v.2 #80 (1993).
Most of the variant covers were released from 2006 onward, starting with the Infinite Crisis–spawned launch of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. Summer 2007 featured no less than 4 issues with alternate covers, 3 of them in a row, all on issues involved in the death of Bart Allen and the relaunch of Flash v.2. One year later, the miniseries Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge (following up on the same events) would feature another trio of variants. By 2009 and Flash: Rebirth, DC was putting at least one alternate cover on every single issue of The Flash.
Note: This collection stops before Flashpoint. For New 52–era covers, please visit Variant Covers at Speed Force.
If you know of a pre-Flashpoint variant Flash cover that I have not listed here, please let me know at kelson@pobox.com. Please include scans or descriptions of both variations. Chances are I only have one of the two, but it could be either.
I have broken up the original page into four smaller pages for easier viewing.
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