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Flash Comics

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Not to be confused with Flash (DC Comics character).
Flash Comics
Cover to Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940), art by Sheldon Moldoff.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleMonthly:
#1–64, #70–104
Bimonthly:
#65–69
FormatOngoing series
Publication dateJanuary 1940 –
February 1949
No. of issues104
Creative team
Written byGardner Fox, Robert Kanigher
Artist(s)Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Harry Lampert, Dennis Neville

Flash Comics is a comics anthology published by All-American Publications and later by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics). The title had 104 issues published from January 1940 to February 1949. Despite the title, the anthology featured the adventures of multiple superheroes in addition to Jay Garrick, the original Flash. Characters introduced in the series include the Flash, Hawkman (Carter Hall), Hawkgirl and Black Canary.

Publication history

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The series debuted with a January 1940 cover date, while initially published on November 20, 1939. [1] The first issue featured the first appearances of the Golden Age versions of the Flash,[2] Hawkman,[3] and Johnny Thunder.[4] The Flash was later given a solo comic book series, All-Flash which ran for 32 issues between Summer 1941 to January 1948.[5]

Artist Joe Kubert's long association with the Hawkman character began with the story "The Painter and the $100,000" in Flash Comics #62 (Feb. 1945).[6] The Monocle was introduced in #64 as a new foe for Hawkman.[7]

Carmine Infantino's first published work for DC was "The Black Canary", a six-page Johnny Thunder story in Flash Comics #86 (August 1947) that introduced the superheroine the Black Canary.[8] Writer Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert created the Thorn in issue #89 (November 1947).[9]

Flash Comics was cancelled in 1949 with issue #104.[1] The series' numbering would be continued by the first volume of The Flash series, which debuted during the Silver Age in 1959 and featured Barry Allen as the new Flash.[10]

  • Hawkman - issues #1 (January 1940) – #104 (February 1949)
  • Johnny Thunder - issues #1 (January 1940) – #91 (January 1948)
  • The Whip - issues #1 (January 1940) – #55 (July 1944)[11]
  • Cliff Cornwall - issues #1 (January 1940) – #19 (July 1941)
  • Ghost Patrol - issues #29 (May 1942) – #104 (February 1949)[12]
  • Black Canary - issues #92 (February 1948) – #104 (February 1949)[13]

Collected editions

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  • Golden Age Flash Archives:
    • Vol. 1 collects the "Flash" stories from Flash Comics #1–17, 224 pages, September 1999, ISBN 978-1563895067
    • Vol. 2 collects the "Flash" stories from Flash Comics #18–24, 224 pages, February 2006, ISBN 978-1401207847
  • The Flash Archives Vol. 1 includes the "Flash" story from Flash Comics #104, 224 pages, May 1998, ISBN 978-1563891397
  • Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1 collects the "Hawkman" stories from Flash Comics #1–22, 224 pages, February 2006, ISBN 978-1401204181
  • JSA All-Stars Archives Volume 1 includes the "Johnny Thunder" stories from Flash Comics #1–4, 256 pages, October 2007, ISBN 978-1401214722
  • Black Canary Archives collects the "Johnny Thunder" stories from Flash Comics #86–91 and the "Black Canary" stories from Flash Comics #92–104, 224 pages, December 2000, ISBN 978-1563897344

References

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  1. ^ a b Flash Comics at the Grand Comics Database,
  2. ^ Wallace, Daniel; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1940s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. DC shattered the sound barrier with the debut of the Flash, a blindingly fast mystery man written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Harry Lampert. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 30: "In the same issue [#1] Gardner Fox wrote the first story featuring Hawkman...in a story drawn by Dennis Neville".
  4. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 30: "Flash Comics scored a third hit with Johnny Thunder, star of a humorous feature about a boy raised in the distant land of Badhnisia and blessed with the ability to raise an all-powerful, genie-like Thunderbolt".
  5. ^ All-Flash at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 49: "Artist Joe Kubert began his most memorable work on the gravity-defying superhero Hawkman in this issue..."The Painter and the $100,000" written by Gardner Fox marked the start of a long and fruitful run between illustrator and character".
  7. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 49: "This issue saw writer Gardner Fox and illustrator Joe Kubert present the Monocle...He became representative of the 'gimmick villain', a staple of the super hero genre".
  8. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, pp. 55–56: "Debuting as a supporting character in a six-page Johnny Thunder feature written by Robert Kanigher and penciled by Carmine Infantino, Dinah Drake [the Black Canary] was originally presented as a villain...The Black Canary's introduction in August [1947]'s Flash Comics #86 represented [Infantino's] first published work for DC".
  9. ^ Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 57: "Writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert presented a female twist on Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the Thorn".
  10. ^ Irvine, Alex "1950s" in Dolan, p. 93: "In March 1959, The Flash was back, care of writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino. The series continued the numbering from Flash Comics and gave Barry Allen his own title. Issue #105 also debuted the Mirror Master".
  11. ^ Markstein, Don (2011). "The Whip". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. [The Whip] took to the road in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), the same issue that introduced The Flash and Hawkman to the comics-reading public...His series ended in Flash Comics #55 (July 1944).
  12. ^ Markstein, Don (2010). "The Ghost Patrol". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Fred, Pedro and Slim achieved their ghosthood in All-American Publications' Flash Comics #29 (May, 1942). The story was written by Ted Udall (an assistant editor to Sheldon Mayer) and Emmanuel Demby (who has few if any other credits in comics). It was drawn by Frank Harry ('Little Boy Blue'), who continued to draw the feature through most of its run.
  13. ^ Markstein, Don (2006). "The Black Canary". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024.
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