Category Archives: General

Flash Transition Timeline

To keep the lengths of time in perspective, I’ve put together this timeline from the end of Geoff Johns’ well-regarded run on The Flash through several relaunches and two Crises to next year’s Flash: Rebirth. I’ve taken the cover dates from the GCD and shifted them back two months, since that seems to track with the release dates that I remember.

Dates Span Issues Description
August 2005 Flash #225 Geoff Johns’ last issue.
September 2005–January 2006 5 months Flash #226–230 Wrap up Wally (Cavalieri w/Lightle)
February–May 2006 4 months No Flash Comics
June 2006–January 2007 8 months Flash: TFMA #1–8 Bart as the main Flash (Bilson & De Meo)
February–June 2007 5 months Flash: TFMA Wrap up Bart (Guggenheim)
July 2007 1 month All-Flash Wrap up loose ends from “Full Throttle”
August 2007–August 2008 13 months Flash #231–243 Wally & the Flash Family (Waid, Peyer w/Champagne)
September–December 2008 4 months Flash #244–247 Wrap up Wally Again (Burnett)
January–March 2009 3 months No Flash Comics
April–September(?) 2009 6 months Flash: Rebirth

So from the point DC essentially gave up on Wally’s series (September 2005) to the point that DC will stake everything on a relaunch with Barry (April 2009, assuming it doesn’t get delayed) we’re looking at 3½ years. The longest run of a series during that time would be All-Flash with Flash #231–347 — just 1½ years, of which barely one year focused heavily on Iris and Jai West. (Alan Burnett or his editor shoved the kids off to the side pretty quickly when he came on board to do the wrap-up.)

Ambush Bug on Planet Flash

For those who missed it, the latest issue of Ambush Bug: Year None #2 parodies the “Planet Flash” storyline from Mark Waid’s The Wild Wests. The citizens of Savoth call for help, but instead of a Flash, they get Ambush Bug.

In the 6-page sequence, he tries to protect Savoth from Mr. Nebula (a parody of Galactus who, rather than eating planets, redesigns them — and has horribly tacky taste) and his harbinger.

It’s…very bizarre. Absurd in both the everyday and technical meanings of the word.

(Thanks to Comic Bloc poster BESTBUY for pointing this one out.)

Flash Comics Make $553,583 in Auction

ComicsPriceGuide reports on a recent auction of comic books and original art at Heritage Auctions, which realized nearly $4 million.

“Also offered in this auction were the Mile High copies of Flash Comics #2-24 and #60,” Jaster said, “some of the most hotly desired books from the Gold Age of Comics. We offered the remainder of the run in a previous auction, and were proud to bring these beauties to the collecting public. Residing at the very top of the CGC Census, these exceptional books inspired spirited bidding. All told, the impressive run offered in this auction brought a whopping $553,583.”

A brief explanation: The Mile High Collection was a huge lot of comics going back to the 1940s, collected over decades by Edgar Church. His heirs sold the whole lot in 1977 to Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics. Because there were so many, and because Church had kept them in virtually pristine condition, the find had a huge impact on the Golden-Age collectors’ market.

As for the books in this auction, Flash Comics #2–24 cover the earliest years of the series, from 1940–1941. The Flash and Hawkman stories are included in The Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1–2 and The Golden Age Hawkman Archives (just one volume). I don’t know of anything special about the contents of Flash Comics #60, so its appeal is probably just the fact that there are so few high-grade copies in existence.