Tag: Flash

Posted on
by

Flash #231Well, now we know why DC has been infuriatingly vague about what happens in Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #14-15. The answer: Nothing.

That’s right, nothing happens in issues #14-15 — because they don’t exist! In an interview with Newsarama, Mark Waid revealed that DC is canceling the current series after #13, and relaunching it this fall with #231, picking up the numbering from the previous series. To bridge the gap, they’re also releasing a special All Flash #1 in September July.

And the plans have been in the works for almost a year. Given how closely everything is tied to Countdown, the JLA/JSA crossover, etc., DC knew going in that they weren’t going to pick up with #14, which means that the solicitations, the covers that they commissioned, and the retailer incentives were all a smokescreen to keep the relaunch under wraps.

Of course, why relaunch the book if you’re going to keep the same Flash?

On one hand, I think the new book was just hitting its stride, and Bart deserves his shot. On the other hand, Mark Waid on the Flash? And a 1-in-3 chance that it could be Wally? Where do I sign up?

Posted on
by

Comic Coverage recently posted a humorous look at the role smoking had in the Golden-Age Flash’s origin. Jay Garrick was working late, took a cigarette break, and knocked over a beaker of “hard water.” Interestingly, later retellings of his origin downplayed and finally deleted the cigarette.

First, here are the original 1940 panels from Flash Comics #1 (copied from Comic Coverage), showing grad student Jay Garrick taking time out for a smoke:

Jay Garrick pauses for a smoke

Four decades later, in 1986, Secret Origins #9 would retell his origin. Mindful of the details, but also concerned about modern sensibilities about health, writer Roy Thomas kept the cigarette break, but added Jay thinking, “I know I should give up these things…”

Jay really wants to quit

A decade later, the cigarette had disappeared completely. Flash Secret Files #1 (1997) featured a condensed retelling of all three (at the time) Flashes’ origins, and this time, Jay simply succumbed to the hour and nodded off, dropping the beaker.

Jay falls asleep on the job

(Via Crimson Lightning)

Posted on
by

All-Flash 15Two months ago I picked up a copy of the comic book All-Flash #15 (Summer 1944), published during the thick of World War II. In the bottom margin of each page is a slogan, in rhymed couplet form, on how children could help with the war effort:

  • Bottom Lines on Following Pages Tell What to Do While Battle Rages
  • Tin Cans in the Garbage Pile Are Just a Way of Saying “Heil!”
  • Waste Fats in Good Condition Help to Make Fine Ammunition
  • Boys and Girls, Every Day, Can Give War Aid in Many a Way—
  • Every Time You Buy a Stamp, You Feed the Flame in Freedom’s Lamp
  • If You Have an Extra Quarter, Buy a Stamp to Make War Shorter
  • However far soldiers roam, the want to have some mail from home
  • Collect Old Paper, Turn It In—Help Your Uncle Sam to Win
  • You Can Walk to School and Store! Saving Gas Helps Win the War!
  • Boys Are Smart, Girls Are Wise, Black Markets Not to Patronize
  • IF YOU STILL HAVE METAL SCRAP, TURN IT IN TO BEAT THE JAP
  • Turn Out Lights Not in Use —War Production Needs the “Juice”

Case and punctuation are preserved as closely as possible. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

Flash v.1 #193: Captain Cold holds up a photo labeled 'Censored' and says, They wouldn't let me show you what I did to the Flash. Do you dare read this issue and find out for yourself!?I didn’t think I had anything to add to the discussion on the infamous Heroes For Hire #13 cover. (Some of those links possibly NSFW.) Something stuck in my mind, though. Typolad suggested that “you would never, ever see Marvel or DC make a cover like this with a male protagonist. Yes, a male hero may be shown in peril, but his face will be defiant. He won’t be shown as submissive.” Lea Hernandez’ remix of the cover alters the expressions to do just that.

Now, I agree—that cover was way past the line, and I can’t imagine DC or Marvel doing the same thing with male characters, especially when you take into account the sleaze factor. But phrases like “never, ever” tend to read like a challenge. Looking just at the defiant/passive stance, I knew I’d seen at least one cover with the Flash beaten to within an inch of his life, unable to put up a fight or even a glare, so I took a trip through the Grand Comics Database’s cover gallery. Continue reading →

Posted on
by

Showcase Presents: The Flash.The first volume of Showcase Presents: The Flash came out today, reprinting ~500 pages of Silver-Age Flash stories in black-and-white for cheap. If you’re familiar with Marvel’s Essential line, it’s the same concept.

I took a look at it to see what stories were included. (DC’s solicits didn’t say.) As expected, it features the first several years of Barry Allen’s run as the Flash, from the original Showcase appearances starting in 1956 through the beginning of his series in 1959–1961. That includes the first appearances of the Elongated Man (who got his own Showcase Presents book last year) and Wally West as Kid Flash.

There was one surprise: “The Rival Flash,” from Flash Comics #104 (1949). That was the final issue of the Golden-Age series, and the last solo Jay Garrick adventure printed for years. I’d heard that the Showcase Presents books were making use of restoration done for DC’s Archives series, and this tracks: That same story also appeared in The Flash Archives Volume #1.

It also appears as a backup in The Flash #211 (1971), and is listed in the contents for the upcoming Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, tying the origin story in Flash Comics #1 for the most-reprinted Golden-Age Flash story yet.

Full contents:

  • Flash Comics #104 (1949)
  • Showcase #4, 8, 13, 14 (1956–1958)
  • The Flash #105–119 (1959–1961)

Posted on
by

The suggestion box on my Flash site has picked up a couple of requests for the Flash’s “weakness.” The concept doesn’t really apply to the Flash’s powers, though. Thinking about it, if your hero has to have an off-switch, that’s kind of a sign that they’ve been over-powered, isn’t it?

It reminds me of a line that bothered me in Unbreakable. (Minor spoiler.) Samuel Jackson’s character explains to Bruce Willis that water is his Kryptonite. That’s hardly the case, though: a glass of water isn’t going to take him out of commission. He’ll still be invulnerable and super-strong while swimming. All it means is that he still has to breathe (and, presumably, eat and drink). A plastic bag over his head would be as effective as drowning.

Compare that to, say, Superman and Kryptonite, or Wonder Woman and being tied up, or past Green Lantern books and yellow objects or wood. It’s not in the same league (pun not intended).

Which brings us back to the Flash. What “weakness” does he have? Well, he’s a specialist, so he doesn’t have the advantage of super-strength or invulnerability. He can get tired. Like David Dunn, he has to breathe. He can get distracted. He can make mistakes. He can act without thinking. Are any of these really “weaknesses” in the Kryptonite sense, though?

Posted on
by

Hmm, I wonder how many newsstands displayed these books next to each other:

Flash Comics 6 Smash Comics 16 Crash Comics 5

An explanation: I recently stumbled across a mention of Smash Comics, a series from Quality Comics that ran more or less concurrently with the more familiar Flash Comics. Just for kicks, I searched the Grand Comics Database (which is where I got the cover images) for Crash Comics, and found Crash Comics Adventures, which ran for 5 issues in 1940 before spinning off a series on the original Cat-Man. So the three books would have been on sale at the same time!

I couldn’t find any other books with the same pattern in the title. The GCD does substring matches, and “ash comics” only brought up variations on these three series. Though it did remind me that DC resurrected the Smash Comics title for one chapter of the 1999 The Justice Society Returns! event.