World Famous Comics: The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)
By: Gardner Fox Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: September 01, 1999 Release Date: September 01, 1999
Product Description: Another in DCs high-quality Archives series, this hardcover reprints the original stories of the Flash! Jay Garrick was just a normal Joe until an accident turned him into the Flash! This reprint of 1940s-era classics follows the success of the All Star Comics Archives series, and is the first to feature the solo adventures of this iconic character.
THE ORIGINAL FLASH As the first volume of The Golden Age Flash Archives opens, Jay Garrick is a student at Midwestern University trying to develop not only his mind, but his body as well. He is brilliant in the school's research laboratory, but he seems to be almost a complete failure on the football team, being relegated to the bench every game. I guess the coaches see some potential in him, or he wouldn't have a place on the team at all, even if it is just a scrub. What makes it even worse is that the girl he likes, Joan Williams, refuses to go out with him until he gets better at football. Joan isn't a shallow ice queen. She just feels that Jay has a lot of wasted potential and she doesn't want to get involved with a dude that appears to be simply dabbling in football to win points with her. Things probably would never have improved except for the fact that Jay has a lab accident in which he is exposed to the fumes of "hard water" for almost 24 hours until he is found unconscious by one of his colleagues. He is quickly taken to the hospital, where he gradually recovers. Due to the effects of the hard water, Jay has super fast reflexes and his doctor claims that he could quite possibly be the fastest thing on Earth. Suffice it to say, Jay has no problem becoming the star of the football team or winning Joan's heart. When he carries the ball, he moves so fast that the opposing team cannot even see him, much less tackle him! After he graduates, he accepts an assistant professorship at Colgate University, while Joan goes to work with her dad, working on something called an "atomic bombarder". Jay puts on a costume and assumes the moniker of "The Flash" when Joan's father is kidnapped by a group of criminals named "The Faultless Four" who want to sell his research to foreign governments. They also make an attempt on Joan's life. Of course, the Flash isn't about to let his girl get hurt, so he's off to his first battle with the forces of evil!
The first thing I'd like to say about this book is that it's too expensive. Actually I think all the Archive Editions cost too much. I second that with the Marvel Masterworks series as well. It would be much more cost effective to make these old comics available to read online for a cheaper price. Why? Because the stories in this first volume aren't very good. All the stories were written by Gardner Fox, and let's just say he wasn't a very good writer, and by that, I mean, compared to modern comic writers. Kudos to the fact that he invented the Flash, but most of the stories involve him getting down and dirty with common criminals. There are no super villians to be found in this book. What was the problem with the writers back then? Were they just not smart enough to invent an arch-nemesis that could really threaten the hero? Most of the stories have a goofy charm that DC comics retained throughout the 1940s to mid-60s until comics started to grow up. It was kinda cool to see Jay playing tricks on people, including some bloodthirsty criminals. Even when the Flash catches up to the crooks, he usually enters a room invisibly, and messes with their heads before he beats the snot out of them (he's able to move so rapidly back and forth that he's invisible to the naked eye). Another joke that gets played over and over is that a rapidly moving Flash causes a terrible wind when he runs, so a lot of people are left going "What was that?" or "Did a hurricane just pass through?". The art,mostly by E.E. Hibbard, is primitive and lacks any professional polish. Hibbard only has about 3 male faces in his repetoire, making everyone look middle aged. Actually, he might only have two, The Flash and everybody else. He only very rarely is able to convey the Flash's superspeed with any conviction. Because of his lack of drawing skill, the Flash appears like an awkward mannequin with speed lines to infer motion. I did like Joan a lot. She's not the typical Lois Lane who gets into trouble only to have to look for Superman to be her savior. Instead, Joan is doing important scientific research, and isn't afraid to pull out a pistol to help her man in his many cases. It was really refreshing to see a female character from this era with such strength. I would've liked to have seen her in a comic series of her own. In the end, this volume was interesting and worth reading for its historical value, but it was a bit dull and not written very well, which gave it a bit of odd charm.
Gorgeous Artwork/Archaic Stories If this comic came out today in the same form it would be ridiculed by the comic critics. However, this seriest started over 60 years ago and at the time was revolutionary. When you read this book you should not be looking for an intellectual thrillride, you should go slowly and enjoy the fantastic artwork and coloring, and revel in hos simplistic good vs. bad used to be. I recommend reading this over a period of days, no more than two stories/day. If you read the stories one after the other they will blur together into one. Like the Flash!!!
Good, entertaining Archive The "Golden Age Flash Archives" is another great volume in DC's Archive series featuring one of the first "specialty" super-heroes with only one power. After inhaling fumes of "hard water," college student and slowpoke Jay Garrick discovers he has super-speed. He becomes the Flash, the fastest man alive.
As the character appeared early in the super-hero genre, its easy to see the experimental qualities of the Flash. Writer Gardner Fox wasn't as worried about convention as he would be later. The most obvious example is that Garrick didn't worry too much about who knew that he was really the Flash. He demonstrates his powers openly, going from bench-warmer to college football star. People approach him specifically for the purpose of his speedster help. Criminals fear him as both Garrick and Flash. His girlfriend Joan is actually quite strong-willed, as opposed to later super-hero paramours. As the series progressed, however, Garrick started to keep his other identity on the QT.
Unfortunately, this early volume is a little disappointing because there isn't a single story that really stands out. As with most of the golden age mystery men, Jay didn't have much of a rogues gallery at first, instead beating up on gangsters and corrupt officials. However, Fox was very good at devising clever uses for Flash's power, e.g. humiliating enemies, spying on people at super-speed, and the like. So, while this is an entertaining volume, it leaves general impressions of fun rather than memorable story-telling.
E.E. Hibbard's art is a little more detailed than your average golden age fare, which comes in handy for the various displays of speedster prowess Fox wrote. Hibbard, while still employing the cartoony style common to the era, had a talent for some solid line work that does stand-out from the work of most of his peers. He's no Jack Burnley or Will Eisner, but his style is distinct and pleasing to the eye.
DC is finally coming out with the second volume of this Archive series, so this isn't a "fast-tracked" series (pardon the pun), but so long as we get more Jay Garrick adventures, I'm happy.
Very Good Read for Flash Fans This is a wonderful book to read if you're a Flash fan. In it, we get the reprinted adventures of the original Flash Jay Garrick. It lacks detailed characterization, and the stories are simple. But, they leave you entertained. A must-have for Flash fans!!
Fantastic! A short introduction in the beginning, and five tiny biographies of Flash artists at the end, mark the total text found in this book. Almost the entirety of the book is filled with Flash comics from Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940) through #17 (May, 1941)! The covers (even if they include someone other than the Flash) and comics are reproduced in their original size, and in a simply fantastic clarity. I am simply astounded at how good these look!
Here you see the origin of the Jay Garrick (Earth Two) Flash, and watch him kick the butts of more than a few baddies (actually, he preferred to turn them into human tops!). This book is a mite pricey, but it is a fantastic addition to the library of any Flash fan.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
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