Tag Archives: Joe Kubert

This Week: Kubert Covers the Flash (Digital Backlist)

New to DC’s digital backlist this week:

Flash #190: “Flash saves a trailer park from being wiped out by a tornado, but breaks his leg in the process.” Backup story: “Ten Years to Live—One Second to Die!”

Flash #191: “Hal visits and has dinner with Barry and Iris; Hal hits it off with Olivia, from a rival toy company; Flash and Green Lantern battle aliens called the Mogrians.”

Both 1969 comics feature covers by the legendary Joe Kubert, with stories written by John Broome and drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Kubert only drew a handful of Flash covers, but the ones he did are striking.

Flash #190 cover by Joe Kubert Flash #191 cover by Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert Flash Covers

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(Originally posted on Google+)

Farewell, Joe Kubert

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Flash #190 cover by Joe Kubert

Legendary artist Joe Kubert passed away this morning at the age of 85. His long association with DC Comics goes back to the early 1940s, where he had an extended run as the artist on the Golden-Age Hawkman, including the Hawkman-themed Flash Comics covers. (Flash and Hawkman shared the spotlight for the series, and alternated covers.) During this time, he also drew several Flash stories and Flash-themed covers, notably featuring the Thorn.

Flash #190 cover by Joe Kubert

In 1969, he returned briefly to The Flash to draw a series of covers, shocking both in their themes and in their rugged contrast from the sleeker lines usually associated with the character.

Flash 50th Anniversary Special

In 1990, Kubert drew the cover to the Flash 50th Anniversary Special, and in 2006, he inked his son Andy Kubert’s cover for Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1. I believe this makes him the only artist to professionally draw all four Flashes during the time they were active as the main Flash.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 Variant Cover by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert

While most associated with Sgt. Rock and war comics, Kubert’s career spanned many characters and genres. He was active to the end, through the Kubert School and his own art. His most recent work was just published last week in Before Watchmen: Nite Owl, and DC recently announced a Joe Kubert Presents anthology miniseries.

Mark Evanier remembers Joe Kubert on his blog, News From Me. First Comics News has a retrospective on his career and is collecting remembrances from others in the industry. CSBG has a gallery of great Joe Kubert covers. Update: The Washington Post has a retrospective with remembrances from other comics professionals, and The Beat looks back on his “unparalleled life”. Update: More reactions at Progressive Ruin, Being Carter Hall, Fire and Water Podcast.

(Covers via comics.org.)

What is…Flashpoint?

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This week’s DC comics include a teaser for something called Flashpoint, coming in 2011 from Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert. It’s not clear whether it’s a storyline in The Flash or a separate event, but considering how Blackest Night grew from a Green Lantern/Green Lantern Corps storyline to the year’s big event, it may be too early to reach any conclusions.

Long-time Flash readers may remember that Flashpoint was also the title of an Elseworlds miniseries from 1999-2000 — the only Elseworlds tale outside his own book to focus on the Flash, in fact.

In this story, a paralyzed Barry Allen has turned his super-fast mind to scientific research and development. A mission to Mars discovers a key designed to open a gateway to (essentially) the speed force, which they call the Flashpoint, and which appears to be linked to other realities. Only one problem: the last time it was used, it destroyed all life on Mars. (Interesting side note: The current Flash logo is actually based on the Flashpoint logo, rather than the other way around!)

Back to the teaser, here’s a quick photo of the ad that I took with my phone scan of the ad from Flash #1:

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