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 26, 2011
It has been over 25 years since Cary Bates’ last Flash story was published in Flash #350, but his DC Retroactive: 1970s issue shows he hasn’t forgotten how to have fun with the Scarlet Speedster.
Opening with a page that would have been right at home in any Julius Schwartz-edited Flash magazine, Bates crafts a story that recalls his many years as writer on the book, while also addressing a lingering question regarding Barry Allen’s relationship with his wife Iris. The pitch-perfect plot and dialog give this book a place in the story of the Allens’ marriage. It could easily be slotted at any point during the early-to-mid 70s and would not feel out of place in terms of narrative.
The artwork by Benito Gallego and the legendary Sal Buscema is great, and more than appropriate for this story. Based on the cover pencils, Buscema’s inks are a comfortable compliment to Gallego’s style. It took me a few minutes, but Gallego’s Flash and Barry Allen portrayals are occasionally reminiscent of Joe Kubert’s late-60s Flash covers. It is also easy to picture this story illustrated by the late, great Irv Novick, especially considering the pacing and structure of Bates’ plot.
For further analysis, including spoilers, see you after the jump…
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July 19, 2011
DC has released a preview for this week’s flashback comic starring the Scarlet Speedster of the Seventies.
DC Retroactive: The Flash (1970s)
The Flash may be able to save cities from tsunamis and stop criminals in their tracks at the blink of an eye, but he’s just found out that his super-powers come at an incredible cost. And when arch nemesis Gorilla Grodd strikes at the heart of Barry Allen, he’ll use every weapon he can think of against him…including Barry’s wife.
RETROACTIVE: THE FLASH – THE ’70s features a classic tale from the 1970s as well as a new one written as an homage to the decade. From the cumulative creative teams of Cary Bates, Benito Gallego, Sal Buscema, Martin Pasko, J.L. Garcia Lopez and Dan Adkins, don’t miss this one-shot when it hits stores tomorrow.
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 11, 2011
Newsarama interviews Cary Bates about his work on The Flash and Justice League of America back in the 1970s, and his upcoming DC Retroactive specials revisiting those books.
With the books closer to release (DC Retroactive: The Flash: The 70s comes out next week), he’s able to say a little more than he did in our interview back in May, plus of course we weren’t asking him about the JLA! There’s some strange spoilery information about “Son of Grodd,” but what really caught my eye was what Bates said about the timeframe of the DC Retrocative books:
The deadlines for the retro books were very tight, so once I signed on I had to come up with the plots for both books within 24 hours.
24 hours! Wow! I’d gotten the impression that the Retroactive specials were a last-minute addition to the schedule, and this seems to confirm it. My suspicion: After DC decided to push full-steam-ahead on the reboot/relaunch/whatever it actually is, they decided to give the previous versions of the major characters a “last hurrah” before moving on.
When you’re done reading the Newsarama interview, jump back and check out our two-part interview in which Cary Bates talks more about his 1970s Flash run, the Death of Iris Allen, and where The Flash would have gone if it hadn’t been canceled during Crisis on Infinite Earths.
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 21, 2011
DC has released the covers for DC Retroactive: The 70s, the series of July one-shots featuring the return of classic writers to the interpretations of the characters that they wrote back in the day.
The cover for DC Retroactive: The Flash – The ’70s is by Benito Gallego, Sal Buscema, and Carrie Strachan. The book is being written by Cary Bates, who talked about it a bit in an interview with Speed Force last month.
It’s titled “Son of Grodd” and it explores the concept of fatherhood on two parallel tracks, one dealing with Grodd and the other with Barry….With this story, heretofore unspoken aspects of the Allen marriage will finally be explored in depth. At the same time, you’ll be seeing a new side of Grodd as we find out what kind of father he might have made back in the ’70’s.
There’s more in there, of course, so be sure to read the whole interview if you missed it the first time around.
UPDATE! Artist Benito Gallego dropped by to point out his original pencils for the cover!
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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