Among this week’s ComiXology releases are The Flash vol.2 #13-14, in which Wally West, still early in his solo career, battles Vandal Savage and a host of Savage’s pawns given super-speed by the drug Velocity 9.
This completes the Mike Baron run on the character, except for the 1987 Flash Annual #1 (a stand-alone story mixing the Flash with movie-style martial arts as Wally accidentally develops the “death touch”). Since ComiXology already had the first four issues of the William Messner-Loebs run (including the recommended “Adventures of Speed McGee” three-parter), this also completes the first 18 issues of the series, and the Vandal Savage/Velocity 9 story that spans the transition between writers.
» The Flash (1987-2009) at ComiXology
Glad to see these issues are readily available and hope they make the Annual available soon. It’s a great initial run of stories…. More happens in Flash #2 of Wally West’s run than in most comics from DC’s New 52, IMO.
True, pacing has changed drastically in the last 25 years. At the time, the typical superhero story was still one or two issues long, occasionally three, and a four- or five-parter was a Big Deal(tm). These days the standard story length seems to be 6 issues, because the standard unit is no longer the single issue. It’s the collected edition.
One of the things I like about this run on The Flash is that they’re varying the length of each story according to what it needs to be.
I’m waiting for the Porcupine Man run. Yes, it was a weird story arc (which ones aren’t?), and hey it featured bickering friends trapped in a jalopy while traveling across the continental USA. Reminded me of many a family vacation. What was not to love? 😀
I’m glad to see more issues of Flash released digitally. Hopefully they’ll put out stories at a steady pace until the whole series is available… and then maybe start on Impulse and the original Barry series, as well!
Anyone know if the 80s Flash stories (from the last of Barry Allen’s run to Wally’s first 2-3 years) are in trades or are going to be soon, and IN COLOR? Would love to get my hands on those. I like The Flash Chronicles series, would love to see more of those but I know we will be waiting a while for the 80s.
Not to my knowledge. DC’s Barry Allen reprints are very heavily focused on the early Silver Age. Anything past the mid-1960s just doesn’t get reprinted, while anything before that point gets reprinted over and over every time they come up with a new format. The Trial of the Flash Showcase collection is about it.
As for Wally West, DC hasn’t really gone back since they started the complete Geoff Johns run, except for the two volumes of Morrison & Millar from 1998. Even the highlights of Mark Waid’s run are only highlights, and out of print besides.
Yeah, the Showcases are nice but black and white…which allows me to get a better look at the original inks in some ways but I’d love them in color, most people probably feel the same way. I wish they’d do a “Flash in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, etc” series like they did Superman and Batman, and just collect some highlights from those decades if they won’t do the whole series back to back.
And I have been trying to collect the Baron/Messner-Loebs stuff, I really wish they’d reprint those, the silver age stories are great and all but there are whole eras of Flash missing from my collection lol.