April 28, 2011
As Flash comics go, issue #275 is right up there on the impact meter. One of the definitive issues of the 1959-1985 volume, it molts characters and standards, experimenting with tone and depth not before seen in the Flash title. It cast a long shadow over Barry Allen, extending to his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is also the first recognizable installment in the drama that arguably ended with the return of Allen to the DC Universe proper, and eventually the current Flash series.
This is the latest installment in our breakdowns of writer Cary Bates’ Flash saga, leading up to Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. Links to additional artwork and research are included throughout this post.
UP TO SPEED: Last week, we witnessed the demise of Dr. Nephron and the escape of his deranged guinea pig, convict Clive Yorkin. Barry teamed up with Detective Frank Curtis, a fellow cop who was investigating the heroin smuggling operation based in Barry’s police lab. Iris’ concern over Barry’s attentions continued to grow, while an ESP-powered teenaged fan named Melanie once again established her mental hold on our hero. Meanwhile, Yorkin trailed Barry home and found Iris, alone…
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April 21, 2011
We’re back with the latest entry in our series of Flash breakdowns. This week’s focus is issue #274, the last chapter on the way to the momentous issue #275! Links to additional artwork and research are included throughout this post.
UP TO SPEED: Last week, Flash attempted to unravel the mysterious appearance of a psychic female fan, while dealing with an internal drug smuggling operation at the Central City Police Department in his civilian guise. Iris continued to reach for Barry’s attention, but lost out to a massive prison riot spurred by the controversial Nephron Project!
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April 14, 2011
Welcome to the latest entry in our breakdowns of classic Flash comics, leading up to Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash! This week, we’ll check out issue #273, a pivotal chapter on the road to the historic #275.
UP TO SPEED: Last week, we saw Flash take down The Clown. As Barry Allen, our hero also uncovered a heroin smuggling operation that was using his lab as a drop point. Meanwhile, he and Iris struggled to make time for each other as Barry’s obligations to his police work and his Flash duties took complete hold of his attention.
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April 11, 2011
DC has started announcing the full writer/artist teams for the Retro-Active event announced at WonderCon. First up for The Flash: The 1970s.
DC RETROACTIVE: THE FLASH – THE ’70s
Artist Benito Gallego teams up with writer Cary Bates to tell the tale of an evil attack from one of The Flash’s greatest nemeses, Gorilla Grodd. With a plan so twisted and evil launched against him, Barry must not only work to preserve his legacy, but his relationship with his wife, Iris.
ONE-SHOT • On sale JULY 20 • 56 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
As explained in the Superman announcement, each book will feature a 20-page new story and a 26-page classic story by the same writer.
Update: I just noticed that this is scheduled for the same week as the Showcase Presents collection of Cary Bates’ bronze-age Flash epic, The Trial of the Flash. Now there’s timing!
Update 2: The wording of DC’s solicitation text is slightly different:
In a new tale from classic 1970s writer Cary Bates, Gorilla Grodd unleashes his most ruthless attack yet against his nemesis, The Flash – a plan for revenge so warped and diabolical, it dooms The Scarlet
Speedster to a slow and agonizing fate that will end his heroic career and cause an unspeakable rift between Barry and his wife, Iris!
Plus: Following the 26-page lead story is a classic tale originally published in the ’70s, also written by Cary Bates!
April 7, 2011
Welcome to the third entry in our breakdowns of Flash stories by Cary Bates! We’re counting down to the July 20th release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash.
UP TO SPEED: Last week, we saw the Flash and three Central City “V.I.P.’s” at the mercy of the Clown! Meanwhile, Barry Allen was dealing with the onset of Dr. Nephron’s controversial criminal-rehabilitation procedures, and the growing frustrations of his wife!
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April 1, 2011
At the WonderCon DC Nation panel, DC announced a series of one-shots coming this summer called “Retro-Active.” Each set features three one-shots set in 1970s, 1980s and 1990s continuity re-uniting the characters with the creators most associated with of classic runs from that era.
The Flash issues will be written by:
- Cary Bates for the 1970s
- William Messner-Loebs for the 1980s
- Brian Augustyn for the 1990s.
Each issue will feature 26 pages of new story and 20 pages of reprinted material and will run $4.99. No word yet on artists or release dates. Other characters announced include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Justice League of America.
It’s odd that they’ve broken up the Waid/Augustyn team. Given that Waid has expressed willingness to work for DC again, I figure this means one of two things:
- DC doesn’t want to hire Mark Waid for now.
- Mark Waid doesn’t want to return to The Flash after the disaster of “The Wild Wests.”
Source: CBR coverage and Newsarama coverage.
Update (Monday): DC has released the logos and writers for the event.
Most Flash readers, if they know about Cobalt Blue at all, know him as a new character introduced in the second half of the Mark Waid/Brian Augustyn run on The Flash in 1999. They might know that his link to Barry Allen was hinted at in The Life Story of the Flash and the first Flash Secret Files (both 1997), or that two Cobalt Blues appeared in the 1997 Speed Force special.
But Cobalt Blue’s origins can be traced all the way back to 1980!
Let’s return to the Bronze Age of comics. Read the rest of this entry »
March 31, 2011
Welcome to the second entry in our breakdown of Flash stories from the late 1970s and early 1980s, leading up to the July 20th release of “The Trial of the Flash”!
UP TO SPEED: Last week we looked at Flash #270 and the introduction of the mysterious Clown, who seemed to have gotten the best of Barry Allen. We also witnessed the birth of Dr. Nephron’s prisoner rehabilitation program, a female fan out to “ensnare” our hero, a jilted Iris Allen, and a heroin smuggling operation based in Barry’s crime lab!
This week, we’ll review the events of issue 271.
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March 24, 2011
Welcome to the first installment in our analysis of the soon-to-be-reprinted “Trial of the Flash”, and related Flash storylines!
Arguably the most praised and vilified pre-Crisis Flash tale, the Trial story was written by Cary Bates, began in 1983 and ran through the title’s cancellation in 1985. With seeds in stories from as far back as 1979, the Trial was essentially the collision of years of Flash plot threads. These stories are some of the earliest examples of long-form, soap-opera style writing in DC Comics.
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February 25, 2011
Today’s guest post is by Lia and was originally posted at The Rogues Kick Ass.
There are a number of reasons why I dislike Geoff Johns’ treatment of the Golden Glider (Lisa Snart), and it’s primarily because he makes her weak. Originally, she was an angry, vengeful character — a woman so angry about her boyfriend’s untimely death that she sought revenge on the Flash for purportedly killing him. It was her sole reason for becoming a villain, as she’d had no criminal record prior to the Top’s death and originally wasn’t interested in theft. For example, in Flash v1 #250 she vowed “No more skating for me…not until Roscoe’s death is avenged! And that means — get the Flash where it hurts the most!”
All her early appearances depicted her as viciously obsessed with making the Flash suffer just as she had, to the point of being defiantly willing to kill herself to fulfill this revenge. When the Flash bluffed about killing her to save his family from her scheme in Flash v1 #257, she declared “Then I’ll die — gladly! Without my beloved Roscoe, I have only one thing to live for anyway — vengeance! And with that accomplished, I’ll perish in peace — knowing you will be mourning as I have mourned — three times over!” There were in fact quite a few instances of her declaring hate for the Flash and her intent to get revenge. She was a strong and forceful person, if not a particularly pleasant one.
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As Flash comics go, issue #275 is right up there on the impact meter. One of the definitive issues of the 1959-1985 volume, it molts characters and standards, experimenting with tone and depth not before seen in the Flash title. It cast a long shadow over Barry Allen, extending to his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is also the first recognizable installment in the drama that arguably ended with the return of Allen to the DC Universe proper, and eventually the current Flash series.
