August 18, 2011
Welcome to the first installment in our annotations of the collected edition of The Trial of the Flash! We’ve been breaking down related stories leading up to last week’s release of the massive tome that is Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. In addition, we’ve interviewed author Cary Bates about the buildup and the Trial itself, plus shown you what won’t be included in the collection.
Leading up to Flash #323, the issue leading off this collection, Barry Allen’s life had taken a dark turn with the death of his wife, Iris, at the hands of his archenemy, Professor Zoom. After leaving Zoom to perish in the time stream, Barry began his life anew and attempted to move on from the events surrounding his wife’s murder.
But the past never dies when you’re The Flash! Zoom returned and swore revenge, leading to the events in this collection. Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. Previous annotations can be found here. This time around, since the reprint is widely available, the format will be a little different. For legal analysis of the story, something I will not attempt, go here.
UP TO SPEED: Barry Allen and Fiona Webb are to be married today. However, a freak accident has freed the Reverse-Flash from his temporal prison, and he is making his way to Central City!
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August 11, 2011
Welcome back to the Zoom Room, where we break down classic stories featuring Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash!
After last week’s look at Flash #237, we’re jumping back in time to Flash #233 and “The Deadly Secret of the Flash!”, by Cary Bates, Irv Novick and Tex Blaisdell. This is a crucial Flash tale featuring some of the seeds of the Death of Iris Allen story and a vision of Professor Zoom that is still vital in Flash comics today. Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For previous annotations, click here!
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August 4, 2011
Welcome back to the Zoom Room, where we break down classic stories featuring Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash!
After last week’s look at Flash #186, we’re jumping forward to Flash #237 and “The Thousand-Year Separation!”, a Tale of the Multiverse by Cary Bates, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin. It is the conclusion of a three-part story featuring Jay Garrick, Doctor Fate, and a desperate search for Iris Allen. Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For previous annotations, click here!
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July 29, 2011
Welcome to our newest series of Flash annotations! Following our breakdown of the “Death of Iris Allen” story from 1979 and 1980, we’ll be looking at some classic, perhaps lesser-known stories featuring Professor Zoom! This week features a great issue by a writer not normally linked with the Silver Age Flash title, with a complex plot and ties to the Golden Age. Links to research and artwork are included throughout this post. For a list of issues we’ve hit so far, click here!
EVERY ROSE HAS ITS THAWNE: Prior to Flash #186, Zoom’s previous appearance was in Flash #175. In that story, he masqueraded as one of the alien gamblers in the second Superman/Flash race.
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July 14, 2011
Welcome to the final installment in our 15-part series of annotations on “The Death Of Iris Allen”! Halved by our two-part interview with author Cary Bates, previous issues can be found here! Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post.
UP TO SPEED: Trapped aboard a runaway time-machine with the murderous Professor Zoom, Flash has chosen to take on the flow of time himself in a desperate attempt to avoid certain doom…
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July 7, 2011
We’re back with our look at the “Death of Iris Allen” story from the 1979-1980 issues of Flash! This issue marks the penultimate chapter of a year’s worth of Flash stories by writer Cary Bates that changed the core of the title and the future of DC Comics’ super-speedster. Links to research and artwork are included throughout this post. For previous weeks, click here!
UP TO SPEED: Flash has been lured into the future with the false hope of discovering his wife’s killer. Masquerading as Flash in the present, Professor Zoom incarcerates Chief Paulson for his role in the confiscated heroin smuggling operation that has made Barry Allen a moving target. Zoom also clashes with, and easily defeats, Green Lantern. On his return trip, Flash materializes onto an exploding Cosmic Treadmill…
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June 30, 2011
We’re back with our series of notes and commentary on Cary Bates‘ “Death of Iris Allen” story from 1979-1980! We’re leading up to the release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash, due in stores August 9th. Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For previous issues, click here!
UP TO SPEED: Iris Allen’s killer remains at large. Professor Zoom has returned. As he dispatches Flash, Zoom reveals that he knows the killer’s identity…
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June 23, 2011
Welcome back to our series of Flash annotations, focusing on Cary Bates’ “Death of Iris Allen” story. This issue begins the third act of this arc, a key stretch of issues that would further redefine Flash and his relationship with his archenemy, Professor Zoom. Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For previous issues, click here!
UP TO SPEED: The psychic monstrosity known as Clive Yorkin is no more, buried alive during last issue’s climactic confrontation with Flash. However, any peace of mind Barry Allen drew from Yorkin’s demise was shattered by a phone call from Detective Frank Curtis: Allen’s friend, fellow cop, and fellow target of heroin smugglers…
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June 16, 2011
We’re back with the latest in our analysis of Cary Bates’ Flash comics, leading up to Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. This week, we look at one of the biggest plot twists in the Death of Iris Allen arc. Links to research and artwork art included throughout this post. For a look as past weeks/issues, click here!
UP TO SPEED: Last week, Flash was almost killed by the psychic freak known as Clive Yorkin. Yorkin is the man Flash holds responsible for the death of his wife Iris (issue #275). Meanwhile, Barry Allen and Det. Frank Curtis continued to descend into the underworld in search of answers to the mysteries of Barry’s drugging (also #275) and the heroin smuggling plot discovered at police HQ (issues 270-275). After surviving a bomb blast that destroyed his attacker, Barry took off to reign in Yorkin once and for all. Unknown to the Scarlet Speedster, the psychic teen known as Melanie is also on the trail…
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June 9, 2011
Welcome to the latest installment in our annotations of classic Flash tales by Cary Bates! We’re leading up to the August 9th release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. Links to research and artwork are included throughout this post.
UP TO SPEED: After coming to terms with the death of his wife, Iris, Flash embarked on a personal manhunt for her accused killer, Clive Yorkin. Mutated into a murderous beast by the experimental rehabilitation procedures of Dr. Nephron (issues 270 – 274), Yorkin discovered he could supplant his dependency on Nephron’s machines by feeding on the emotional energy of human beings. Drawn to a battle between Flash and Heat Wave, Yorkin devastated the Rogue before ambushing Flash…
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