By John Broome, Gardner Fox, Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8823-5 (TPB)
The second iteration of the Flash triggered the Silver Age of American comicbooks and – for the first ten years or so – in terms of creative quality and sheer originality, was always the book and hero to watch.
Following his meteoric launch in Showcase #4 (October 1956), police scientist Barry Allen – transformed by a lightning strike and accidental chemical bath into a human thunderbolt of unparalleled velocity and ingenuity – was uncharacteristically slow in winning his own title, but finally (after three more cautiously released trial issues) finally stood on his own wing-tipped feet in The Flash #105 (February-March 1959).
He never looked back, and by the time of this second commemorative compilation was very much the innovation mainstay of DC/National Comics’ burgeoning superhero universe. This fourth trade paperback (and digital) collection re-presents Flash #148-163 – spanning November 1964 through August 1966 – robustly confirming the Vizier of Velocity as the pivotal figure in the all-consuming renaissance of comicbook super-heroics.
Shepherding the Scarlet Speedster’s meteoric rise to prominence, the majority of stories are written by the brilliant John Broome and Gardner Fox with pencils from the infinitely impressive and constantly innovating Carmine Infantino. Their slickly polished, coolly sophisticated rapid-fire short stories set in a welcomingly suburbanite milieu – constantly threatened by super-thieves, sinister spies and marauding aliens – displayed our affable hero always triumphant whilst expanding and establishing the broad parameters of an increasingly cohesive narrative universe. The comicbook had gelled into a comfortable pattern of two short tales per issue leavened with semi-regular book-length thrillers, although in this period that format would slowly switch to longer complete tales.
By this time, it was clear that the biggest draw to the Flash was his mind-boggling array of costumed foes, but there was still time and space for straight adventure, complex quandaries and old-fashioned experimentation, as evidenced by the odd yarn that follows Broome’s Captain Boomerang tale in Flash #248.
‘The Day Flash Went into Orbit!’ (illustrated by Infantino & Murphy Anderson) sees the Monarch of Motion caught in the crossfire after the Ozzie felon becomes a helpless patsy for a nefarious hypnotist…
With the back-up tale in this issue Broome proved creative heart and soul still counted for much. Inked by Joe Giella, ‘The Doorway to the Unknown!’ is the moving story of an embezzler who returns from the grave to prevent his brother paying for his crimes: a ghost story penned at a time when such tales were all but banned and a pithy human drama of redemption and hope that deservedly won the Academy of Comic Book Arts Alley Award for Best Short Story of the year. It still brings a worthy tear to my eyes…
Broome also scripted #149’s ‘The Flash’s Sensational Risk!’: an alien invasion yarn co-starring the Vizier of Velocity’s speedy sidekick Kid Flash, whilst Fox penned the Anderson inked ‘Robberies by Magic!’ featuring another return engagement for future-born stage conjuror Abra Kadabra, before going on to produce #150’s lead tale of a bizarre robbery-spree ‘Captain Cold’s Polar Perils!’ Giella returned for Fox’s second yarn, another science mystery as ‘The Touch-and-Steal Bandits!’ somehow transform from simple thugs to telekinetic terrors…
Flash #151 was another sterling team-up epic co-starring the original Scarlet Speedster. Fox once more teamed his 1940’s (or retroactively, Earth-2) creation Jay Garrick with his contemporary counterpart, this time in a spectacular full-length battle against the black-hearted Shade in ‘Invader From the Dark Dimension’, whilst #152’s Infantino & Anderson double-header consisted of our hero stopping ‘The Trickster’s Toy Thefts’ after which Broome’s light-hearted thriller ‘The Case of the Explosive Vegetables!’ offered another engaging comedy of errors starring Barry Allen’s father-in-law to be: absent-minded Professor Ira West.
Giella settled in for a marathon inker stint as Flash #153 has Broome reprise the much-lauded ‘Our Enemy, the Flash!’ in new yarn ‘The Mightiest Punch of All Time!’
Here villainous Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash again attempts to corrupt reformed and cured Al Desmond – a multiple personality sufferer who was also Flash-Foes Mr. Element and Doctor Alchemy. The next issue then saw Fox’s medical mystery ‘The Day Flash Ran Away with Himself!’ and Broome’s old-fashioned crime caper ‘Gangster Masquerade!’ which brought back thespian Dexter Myles and made him custodian of an increasingly important Central City landmark: the Flash Museum.
It had to happen – and it finally did – in Flash #155: Broome teamed six of the Rogue’s Gallery into ‘The Gauntlet of Super-Villains!’, a bombastic Fights ‘n’ Tights extravaganza, but one with a hidden twist and a mystery foe concealed in the wings, whilst the following issue revealed Broome’s ‘The Super-Hero Who Betrayed the World!’: an engrossing and exciting invasion saga with the Flash a hunted man accused of treason against humanity…
Fox provided both stories in #157: ‘Who Stole the Flash’s Super-Speed?’ – a return visit for Doralla, the Girl from the Super-Fast Dimension – plus another titanic tussle with the nefarious Top in ‘The Day Flash Aged 100 Years!’ The scripter repeated the feat in #158, beginning with a rather ridiculous and somewhat gross alien encounter in ‘Battle Against the Breakaway Bandit!’ and far more appetising thriller ‘The One-Man Justice League!’, wherein Flash defeats the power-purloining plans of JLA nemesis Professor Ivo without even noticing…
The cover of Flash #159 features his empty uniform and a note saying the hero is quitting, in a tale entitled ‘The Flash’s Final Fling!’ It was written by Fox, and guest-starred Kid Flash and Earth-2 hero Dr. Mid-Nite in a time-busting battle against criminals from the future…
At that time, editors and creative staff usually designed covers that would grab potential readers’ attention and then produced stories to fit. For this issue Julie Schwartz tried something truly novel and commissioned Robert Kanigher (first scripter of the new Scarlet Speedster in Showcase #4) to write a different tale to fit the same eye-catching visual…
Scripted by Broome, ‘Big Blast in Rocket City!’ filled out #159 with another humorous Professor West espionage escapade after which Flash #160 is represented by its cover – highlighting an 80-Page Giant reprint edition.
The first story in issue #161 is where that novel experiment culminated with Kanigher’s gritty, terse and uniquely emotional interpretation in ‘The Case of the Curious Costume’ before the high-octane costumed madness continues with Fox, Infantino & Giella’s portentous Mirror Master mystery ‘The Mirror with 20-20 Vision!’
The tone of the times was gradually changing and scarier tales were sneaking into the bright and shiny Sci Fi world of super-heroics. Flash #162 featured a Fox-penned moody drama entitled ‘Who Haunts the Corridor of Chills?’ in which an apparently haunted fairground attraction opens the doors into an invasion-mystery millions of years old. The resultant clash stretches the Scarlet Speedster’s powers and imagination to the limit…
The next issue – the final entry of this collection – carries two tales by globe-trotting author Broome, beginning with ‘The Flash Stakes his Life – On – You!’ which takes a hallowed philosophical concept to its illogical but highly entertaining extreme after criminal scientist Ben Haddon makes the residents of Central City forget their champion ever existed. That has the incredible effect of making the Flash fade away… if not for the utter devotion of one hero-worshipping little girl who still believes…
By contrast ‘The Day Magic Exposed Flash’s Secret Identity!’ is a sharp non-nonsense duel with a dastardly villain after approbation-addicted illusionist Abra Kadabra again escapes prison and trades bodies with the 64th century cop sent to bring back to face future justice, leaving the Speedster with an impossible choice to make…
These tales were crucial to the development of modern comics and, more importantly, remain brilliant, awe-inspiring, beautifully realised thrillers to amuse, amaze and enthral both new readers and old lags. As always, the emphasis is on brains and learning, not gimmicks or abilities, which is why the stories still work more than half-a-century later.
This is a captivating snap-shot of when science was our friend and the universe(s) a place of infinite possibility. This wonderful compilation is another must-read item for anybody in love with the world of words-in-pictures.
© 1964, 1965, 1966, 2019 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.