Tag Archives: Golden Age

Flash: Crisis on Earth-Blog (Alex Ross and George Perez)

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Crisis on Earth-Blog

The landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths, by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, came out in 1985-1986, but it took until 1998 for DC to collect the whole series in one volume. The slipcased hardcover featured a wraparound painted cover by Perez and superstar Alex Ross. (That edition is no longer available, but the paperback edition is based around the same cover.)

Crisis on Infinite Earths Poster

The Flashes figured prominently in the story. Jay Garrick and Barry Allen shared the story that introduced the concept of the DC Multiverse, “Flash of Two Worlds” (Flash v.1 #123, 1963). And of course, Crisis on Infinite Earths featured Barry Allen’s death, and Wally West taking up the mantle. So naturally, the Flashes had a prominent spot on the cover, arguably the second most-visible after the pair of Supermen holding the bodies of Wonder Woman and Supergirl. A streak of crimson, yellow and white runs along the lower half of the cover, colliding dead center in a burst of lightning, and finally images of the Flash disintegrate and collapse at the end.

The Run-Down

Read on for an in-depth examination of the scarlet speedsters on this cover. Continue reading →

Flash and the Mechanical Brain

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A recent post at Crimson Lightning with a boxy golden-age robot reminded me of this design from Flash Comics , “The Machine that Thinks Like a Man.”

The Mechanical Brain

The “mechanical brain” was basically a computer, but of course back in the 1940s, computers were mostly stuck in the realm of science-fiction (except for the occasional warehouse-sized monstrosity with less computing power than a modern calculator). It was built by scientific genius Evart Keenan, a recurring character who left Earth for the alien planet Karma so that his inventions wouldn’t call into the wrong hands. Oddly enough, his first appearance leads directly into the first appearance of the Thinker!

Beyond the Speed of Sound

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For those who have been wondering whether the original Flash, Jay Garrick, could exceed the speed of sound back in the Golden Age of comics…

The Golden Age Flash circles the Earth

Yes he could.

The speed of sound is roughly 340 meters per second (varying with humidity, altitude, etc.)

Earth revolves around the sun at roughly 30 kilometers per second.

So in that panel he was running at least 88 times as fast as the Flash: Rebirth promo claims was his top speed before he met Barry Allen.

Source: Flash Comics Miniature Edition (promo book taped to boxes of Wheaties in 1946), in which the Flash goes up against the one-off “Criminal From Tomorrow!” Dmane. And yes, that looks like the same stunt Superman pulled in the 1978 movie with Christopher Reeve.

I seem to remember that Jay reached the same levels of insanely impractical speeds that Barry did on a regular basis — this was just the first place I thought to look, since I remembered the time travel element.

The Fifth Most Expensive Comic

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Friday Night Lists is running a list of the 15 Most Expensive Comic Books, and a copy of Flash Comics — specifically the Mile High pedigree copy rated CGC NM+ 9.6 — ranks at , valued at an estimated $274,000.

As recently as 2006, it was estimated at “only” 250,000. That’s still a bit out of my price range, though. I think I’ll stick with my $35 copy of The Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1 for now.

The post also says that the “milestone issue is currently ranked as the eighth most valuable comic book of all.” I’m not entirely sure how that fits with the ranking at in the list.

Flash Comics Make $553,583 in Auction

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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.

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.