World Famous Comics: The Flash Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
The Flash Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
By: DC Comics Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: May 04, 1998 Release Date: May 04, 1998
Product Description: In the late 1950s, DC introduced a new version of the Flash, paving the way for a major super-hero revival. These are the fast-paced adventures that introduced police scientist Barry Allen to a generation of readers.
A must-have for FLASH fans! The very first adventures of the Silver Age FLASH (Barry Allen) are beautifully reproduced in this handsome volume, which is a must-have for fans of the Scarlet Speedster. A nice Foreword recounts his origins and, while it's a nostalgic read for longtime enthusiasts, it's also a great introduction for new fans.
Iris West was awfully nasty to Barry back in those days!
The Seminal Character That Saved Super-heroes When police scientist (what we'd call forensics or CSI now) Barry Allen is hit by lightning and bathed in chemicals, he discovers he has developed super-speed, much like his fictional comic book hero, the Flash. Taking his cue from the comics, Allen creates a costumed identity as the Flash, and begins a long and successful super-hero career.
I started reading comics after Barry died during "The Crisis on Infinite Earths." So to me, Wally West is THE Flash. That doesn't mean I don't like Barry, especially much of his Silver Age stories, written mainly by Robert Kanigher (Sgt. Rock) and drawn by Carmine Infantino. Indeed, Infantino's name has become synonymous with Barry Allen. His dynamic, crisp and clean artwork made the most of the numerous high-concepts and sci-fi gimmickry that the Flash was built upon. Most importantly, the Flash's immediate popularity birthed a new interest in super-heroes, re-establishing them as a viable genre in the comic book medium.
"The Flash Archives" vol. 1 contains "Flash" #104, the last issue of the Golden Age Flash's series, featuring some of Infantino's early artwork. It then jumps to "Showcase" #4 (the first appearance of Barry Allen), #8, #'s 13-14, and "Flash" #'s 105-108 (the publishers having decided to use the old numbering as a sign of a "strong" book). The creators developed a solid Rogues Gallery quickly, as the Flash battles the Turtle, Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Mr. Element, and Gorilla Grodd. Grodd became Barry's most persistent foe right off the bat, as he schemed to take control of the hidden Gorilla City, home of intelligent apes, with his heightened mental powers. Naturally, he aspired to global conquest, as well.
It's hard to zero in on one story as great. The volume represents such astounding consistency. Everything has a nice, innocent quality, and makes for entertaining reading. .
Granted, given these stories were written in the late 1950s and were aimed at children, the stories are also pretty simplistic: heavy on plot, light on character. Barry's girlfriend, Iris West, is a reporter with the local paper. She constantly laments Barry's slowness, and frequently wonders why Barry can't be more like the Flash. Barry takes it all with a wink and a nod, never letting his duel life get him down.
Barry Allen is one of the few comic book characters to die and (so far) stay dead. While I think bringing him back would be a travesty, it's great to look back at what made him such a fun and enduring character to begin with. It's hard not to read this volume without a big smile on your face.
Memories are made of this..... In the latter 1950's I saved a dime and bought my first comic ever -- The Flash, and I was hooked on comics. Now, nearly 50 years later, I began buying the Golden Age Archives (11 so far) because they were the stories I never got to read as a kid, since they were from before I was born. Then it dawned on me, "Wouldn't it be nice to check out the (Silver Age) Flash Archive to re-read those first comic books of my childhood?" So even though it's been out a while, I finally bought Volume 1 of the Flash, and I was delighted to discover that DC had wonderfully linked the last issue of the Golden Age (104) with the first issue of the Silver Age (105), and I also discovered that all the stories in this Archive were missed by me in my youth, coming before I bought that first book! The good memories came back --the really fine artwork by Carmine Infantino -- with characters looking like real people and not like the modern day "steroid pumped" characters. Another aspect of those issues was the desire by DC to put some educational information in the stories --much more so than the Golden Age stories. All in all, The Flash Vol 1, was a great buy, and a wonderful trip down memory lane, leaving me wondering why it took me so long to get this book. I now look forward to buying Vol 2 and to maybe "catching up" to that first issue I bought way back when, when for a kid, summer was fun, parents were always right, and for ten cents an issue, life was good.
Worlds Fastest Man: The Flash. Get this book on the stories about this great DC Character; because it is worth it. Everyone pretty much is really fascinated by the issue that one really deep down inside wished he or she had super sonic running speed; just like this character; The flash. If the Flash were just a dude with no speed but wearing the costume he would not go far in sales, but this is the core of the flash-that the character is the worlds fastest man on the planet(comic book wise) and that is intrugueing to all kids, even adults[men and women].
To any one who sprints fast in real life knows what i am talking about. Recommended comic, unique, get it or else great things such as this are not sold every year nor weekened, and who is to say that once its gone that it will be back[at the stores to sell once more].
That does not happen to much; a fact.I also recommend the action figure to parents, the big version of the flash, a pretty good [handsome]looking guy. Get it for your kids so they can play with it[the toy figure, the big version of him; i have it and he is pretty good(great plastic toy)].
DC's Silver Age Gets Up and Running The Flash launched the Silver Age. I read these stories across reprints in those great 100 Pagers and other DC reprint books of the 1970s but to have them all in one volume is a dream come true. Infantino's art is fantastic and the images from the first story will remain in my head forever!!!!
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