Tag Archives: Bronze Age

70s Flashback: Super-Speed Twinkies

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If you read DC or Marvel comics during the late 1970s or early 1980s, or if you’ve read back issues from that era, chances are that you’ve seen the super-hero ads for Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, etc. These were done as 1-page stories in which a low-rent villain would appear as a menace. Then a super-hero would arrive, and somehow use snack cakes to defeat the villain.

Yep.

There were at least four ads featuring the Flash:

These are all scanned and hosted by Seanbaby, who has a full set of these Hostess ads. (Watch out for NSFW language in the commentary.)

You know, now that I think about it, the subtext of the Flash helping The Destroyer fight off his depression by eating junk food is disturbingly reminiscent of the Golden Age Flash providing “happiness pills” to the Worry Wart.

Sadly, the Destroyer didn’t share the Flash’s hyper-accelerated metabolism.

(Inspired by a recent post at Mike’s Progressive Ruin.)

Naming Flash Eras

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I’ve been trying to work out how I can best break down appearance lists with the repeated Flash relaunches. Assuming that Flash: Rebirth sticks, I can categorize them this way:

  • Golden Age: Jay’s series, 1940–1951
  • Silver/Bronze Age: Barry’s series, 1956–1986
  • Legacy: Wally’s series, 1987–2006
  • One Year Later: Bart’s series, Wally’s relaunch, and Flash: Rebirth, 2006-2009
  • Post-Rebirth: Whatever we end up with starting next year.

I originally used the term “Modern Apperances” for 1987+, but with Infinite Crisis marking a major relaunch, I clearly needed to rename it. I picked “Crisis Era” on the idea that it was bounded by Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. But with DC overusing the term “Crisis” lately, it doesn’t seem to fit that era anymore. I think “Legacy” has a better sound to it, and since DC did a lot of legacy characters in the 1990s (some with greater success than others), it fits.

As for the period from Infinite Crisis through Flash: Rebirth, I’m thinking “Musical Chairs Era” might be the most accurate, but I’m going to stick with “One Year Later” for now.

Flash Companion Preview: Cary Bates Interview

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The following is a 1-page excerpt from the upcoming book, The Flash Companion. The full interview appears in the second section of the book. It is printed here with permission of the book’s main author, Keith Dallas.

The Flash Companion is scheduled for a July 23 release.

Cary Bates: A Scarlet Speedster for the Seventies (excerpt)

By Jack Scott

SCOTT: Was [the serialized storytelling] your decision or a DC editorial decision to change how the Flash stories were being written? I’m wondering if there was a DC mandate to become more like its competitor Marvel Comics.

BATES: I don’t think going the serial route was an official mandate or anything. It just seemed like a natural way to proceed at the time, dictated by the story-lines more than anything else. It first began the last couple of years Julie [Schwartz] was editing the book, in the form of 2-4 issue arcs (like the Golden Glider stories). And with Ross [Andru] and Ernie [Colon], who were more Marvel-oriented guys, the full-on serialized mode pretty much became the status quo. Although I do recall a temporary return to more self-contained stories for awhile, when Mike Barr was editing and Carmine [Infantino] first returned to the book.

SCOTT: Speaking of the co-creator of Barry Allen/Flash, Carmine Infantino returned to pencil the book with issue #296 in 1981. How did it feel to get to work with one of the original creators of the book?

BATES: As I’ve mentioned, when I was growing up, Carmine’s distinctive artwork made a huge impact on me as a fan (and an aspiring amateur artist), so it was a great thrill to finally be working with him on Flash. Carmine and I always got along well, but when I first met him, he had given up his drawing board to serve as DC’s editorial director, although he still laid out most of the covers for other artists. In 1976, after Warners hired Jennette Kahn to take over that job, Carmine went back to penciling, and for a year or two he was working almost exclusively for Jim Warren on books like Creepy and Eerie. Ironically, it was here where our first collaborations took place, as I was writing occasional Warren stories for Louise Jones, who was the editor at the time. I think Carmine and I must have done 3 or 4 one shot horror stories that have long since been forgotten.

SCOTT: How far did you plot out stories? Continue reading →