Anyone who’s read my regular reviews, and columns should by now realize that the Warlord and Preacher are two of my favorite series of all-time. Yet as much as I talk about them, my true number one love in comics is without a doubt the Flash. I’ve collected his adventures for so long, I often forget to mention him myself. This is going to be a weird column, as it will largely center on my first experience with Flash, and why I love the character so much. Then we’ll segue into some info on the years following the cancellation of the original “pre-crisis” Flash series, prior to the current one.
The Talent
From even a cursory examination it’s apparent that series bearing the name Flash, in his many incarnations, have seen lengthy runs by writers and artists, in the process depicting many classic stories. It’s safe to say that the character has been very lucky through the years with regards to steady writing, and usually very clear vision.
Legendary scribe Gardner Fox was so prolific that he worked on both the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) and the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen). Speaking of prolific, who can forget Carmine Infantino’s brilliant art, which spanned several decades of Flash.
Then you can factor in more recent masters. Writer Mark Waid’s run on the current Flash series, which follows the adventures of a now grown, former Silver Age Kid Flash, Wally West , was a very lengthy eight years. Let’s not forget current Flash scribe Geoff Johns, while he’s only been on the book for a little over three years, he’s cutting out a similar piece of history for himself.
The largest unbroken string for writing the character clearly goes to classic writer Cary Bates, who produced Barry’s stories for fourteen years. Consequently, Cary is the man that I must give the biggest thanks of the group as well, for he wrote the story that made me a Flash fan… for life. Nearly twenty years ago I read my first Flash story, and oddly enough it was the final issue of the series, Flash #350.
Hooked
I was eleven years old, and on my weekly Friday visit to the Route 1 Flea Market. For fans of Kevin Smith’s films, the exterior was briefly glimpsed in Mallrats, as these things go, it’s now a movie theater. My Dad took me to the “market” each week to get my weekly dose of comics, baseball cards, and some hard to find toys…everything a young man needs. Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and Indiana Jones were my favorites at the time, but I also read plenty of super hero books. When I saw that “Last Issue!” blurb at the top of Flash # 350, my young mind was more than curious. I knew the character from his appearances in the various incarnations of the Super Friends cartoons, I had even recently bought his Super Powers action figure. So while I was aware of the character, I didn’t know all that much about him. However, I did know that any comic ending with issue #350 was big news.
As I was reading quite a large number of books at the time, my Dad really didn’t want me to start collecting something else. Yet it was the last issue, so what real danger could there be in picking it up…right? Well, twenty years later, I’ve collected the entirety of the current Flash series, any toys I can get my hands on, and now have most of Barry’s Silver Age adventures too.
I decided it would be a good idea to reread that “historic” issue for this piece. I was more than a little tentative about reading this book for the first time in more than a decade. What would I think; would it be clear why so long ago I became a fan. Simply, would the book live up to my expectations?
First time in a long time
I’m happy to say, I enjoyed the book a great deal! It’s quite apparent from reading it again, just why I was instantaneously hooked on Flash. This was a blockbuster Flash story that wrapped all of the successful elements of the Scarlet Speedster in one thrill packed issue.
No less than eight of Barry’s signature Rogues Gallery made an appearance. It must have been mind-blowing to see Captain Cold (who I was already familiar with from the aforementioned cartoon), Abra Kadabra, Reverse Flash (it was actually Kadabra in disgusise), Trickster, Rainbow Raider, Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, and Weather Wizard. Not only for the first time, but also all in one single comic. These guys were a clear menace but also a lot of fun. Only Spider-Man and Batman could even come close to such a cool collection of evil.
To further pique my interest, the issue also contained allusions to many great stories of the past. Barry’s history with the Reverse Flash including how he murdered Barry’s wife, Iris, and the later trial for Barry’s “murder” of Reverse Flash. The obvious past conflicts with the other Rogues were quite apparent. Not to mention the book was chock full of time travel, which included the infamous cosmic treadmill.
It may sound weird, but with its extended page count and action-oriented story, this may have been the perfect comic for new readers to come on board the Flash-bandwagon. Every single element was here, the only problem… this was the final issue. It wasn’t just the villains, but the entire world of the Flash, and it was all here and made me want to read more. I clearly remember a few weeks later that I picked up the issues from 300 on up, for next to nothing, at a local discount bookshop in Elizabeth, NJ.
Moving forward, fast as lightning!
Soon after Barry’s death saving the DC Universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wally West, formerly Kid Flash, assumed his mentor’s Flash mantle. By 1987 it was time for DC to relaunch the speedster in his own title once again. While the writers who arguably have had the greatest runs with the character would be coming on board soon, there were dark times in the offing.
The Dark Times
The first writer on the newly launched series would be Mike Baron. While he did some interesting things, including introducing the “speed” drug Velocity 9, bringing in Vandal Savage as a recurring villain, and introducing the Kilg%re, his run was only a very short fourteen issues, plus one annual.
William Messner-Loebs then came on board for what was largely a very solid run on the title. He took Baron’s work and didn’t cast it all aside, instead he expounded on and kept things moving forward.
I must be fair and say that, for the most part, I did enjoy the first 61 issues of Wally’s series. There were some really good stories, and great villains. Yet the biggest problem was the title character. It was very hard to like Wally West, who by the way didn’t maintain a secret identity at this time. All his appearances during this time period, including those in Justice League Europe, saw Wally as a ladies man that often didn’t make the right decisions, and when he did they were for the wrong reasons. Reactions from other characters were always in the vein of, “you’re no Barry Allen”. Sadly, Wally was portrayed as a jerk, even in his own book.
The Mark of Waid
While the relaunch of Flash went well, the title began to slip over the next five years, and could easily have been cancelled once again if not for one man. Mark Waid will always be remembered as one of the great writers on Flash, he finally made Wally West into a fully realized character and heightened the connection with Wally to all of the other speedsters.
The key was Waid’s ability to bring Wally out from Barry’s shadow. The wonderful “Return of Barry Allen” storyline, which ran during issues 74-79, brought Wally face to face with his deepest fears. Waid allowed Wally to come to terms with his place in the world, and in the process many Flash fans (myself included) finally saw Wally as the one and only Scarlet Speedster.
Waid’s time was rife with multi issue storylines that promised big changes. The thing was they almost always delivered! Since a Flash had died once before (you have been paying attention?), you never really felt Wally was safe from the same fate as his mentor. As Wally fought Barry Allen (who actually turned out to be the Reverse Flash), Savitar and Cobalt Blue the stakes seemed much higher. This still holds true today; I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking Wally might not survive past the recent 200th anniversary issue.
The other element Waid capitalized on was a love interest. While Linda Park was introduced during Messner-Loebs run, Waid made her Wally’s “Lois Lane”. No more was Wally a sexist jerk, who had as many women as possible. Linda was Wally’s centering point, the reason he was always able to come back from impossible odds.
Strong supporting players are always present in a great series. Waid turned the Speedsters of the DCU into a family, a true support group. There was a wonderful nod as Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick played a big part in Wally’s development. We also saw the introduction of a great group of fellow speedsters like: Impulse, Jesse Quick, and Max Mercury. This, much like Batman and his crew, helped to carve out a special place in the DCU for Flash and his compatriots.
I would be remiss not to mention Brian Augustyn during this section, as he clearly had a part in the success of Waid’s run. After stepping down from editing duties on the title, Augustyn joined Waid as co-writer with issue 118. They worked in tandem on the book from issues 118-129, and again from 142-162. The only break being fourteen issues that were written by first the team of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, then later just Millar.
Waid’s time on Flash ended with another momentous occasion, as the long awaited marriage of Wally and Linda finally happened. So as yet another era ended, this time on a happy note, the search for a new writer began.
Jonesing for Johns
Who would think that following Mark Waid’s wonderful run on Flash, another “great” would be next on board the book. Geoff Johns was initially only set to pen a 6-issue fill-in story, while a new writer was found. Johns did such a great job with his “Wonderland” arc that DC asked him to become the permanent writer.
The Legacy-of-the-Flash, as with his work on Hawkman and JSA, has been a one of the themes of Johns work. He’s also taken great pains to fully realize Wally’s home of Keystone City, making it into a living place. Characterization of Wally and his supporting cast has always been high priority as well. To my delight it hasn’t just been the good guys who’ve taken center stage though.
For the 160 or so issues prior to Johns run the majority of Barry Allen’s classic Rouge’s Gallery either went straight, or died. Johns has taken great pains to make the Rogues a force to be feared again. He’s even introduced some brillant new villains, like cult leader Cicada and the terrifying serial killer, Murmur.
Johns recently concluded “Blitz” storyline saw the return, in name, of Flash’s eternal enemy, Reverse Flash – now just known as ZOOM. With issue 200 he was able to settle up a great many stories, and lead us to the dawn of a new age for the series. Not only did a new direction sprout, but also Geoff fit the real Barry Allen into the book for a fitting cameo that helped lead to this direction.
Clearly Geoff Johns work on Flash has been nothing short of brilliant. Thankfully he appears happy to stay on the book for an extended run. After Waid and Johns the chances of catching the perfect writer again, seem slim. If you haven’t been reading Flash, pick up some of Johns work in TPB, and by all means try issue 201, it’s truly a perfect jumping on point for new readers.
Final thoughts
While he’s not considered on the level of Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman, Flash clearly resides on DC’s next plateau. This has actually been a splendid blessing! Flash unlike Superman and Batman has never had multiple titles, with drastically competing visions, published per month. The character also has been allowed to grow and change a lot more then any of the three above-mentioned characters.
Barry’s death during the Crisis actually stuck, unlike the endings or loss of mantles of the big three characters. In death, Barry means so much more than he did in life, and that’s coming from one of the biggest Barry fans out there. This is the central event that Wally’s Flash and all of the wonderful stories we’ve seen have spun out from over the past twenty years.
While he still isn’t a top seller, Flash is one of the best titles month in and month out. Geoff Johns, like his predecessors, has had a great deal of freedom in telling his stories, freedom not usually offered to those who work on such storied characters. I challenge you to go back over the past fifteen or twenty years and tell me just what character has been better written, and grown as much in that time as Wally West.
The Reading Rack
Here are just a few of the wonderful Flash trade paperbacks available and highly recommended by yours truly.
By Mark Waid:
Born to Run – Wally’s “Year One” story.
The Return of Barry Allen – Seems pretty self-explanatory, but it isn’t.
Dead Heat – Wally’s battle with Savitar.
Race Against Time – Follows the events in “Dead Heat”.
By Geoff Johns:
Blood Will Run – Flash’s battle with Cicada.
Rogues – I wonder which characters take center stage in this one?
The Classics:
Silver Age Flash Archives: Volumes 1 – 3 are now available.
Flash # 350:
Sadly this hasn’t appeared in a collection, but I’m sure you can find it very reasonably priced if you look around.
