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Showcase Presents: The Flash #4
Showcase Presents: The Flash, Vol. 4
Over 500 pages of classic super hero adventure are collected in this value-priced volume! The Fastest Man Alive is back in this new collection of tales from the 1960s. In this fourth volume, The Flash faces foes from his Roges Gallery including Heatwave, Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold and more, and teams up with Green Lantern, Superman, Kid Flash and Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash!
- GenresComics
528 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2012
3 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
John Broome
432 books14 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bro...
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bro...
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 6, 2018
Though these issues were published in the late 1960s, the foundation of the Flash television show on the CW begins here.
The face changing abilities of the Reverse Flash began during this time period. The Rogues massively team-up for the first time ever! The marriage of Barry and Iris and her statement that she too is the Flash because of the bonds of matrimony happens here! The Flying Samuroids, Barry's creation of ultra cool tech, and so many more things that occurs in the live action series got it's roots in the books collected in this volume.
There's also some really great stories that the producers of the Flash have yet to integrate from the late 60s. The futuristic magician Abra Kadabra needs to go back in time to 2018. And how fun would it be that Barry Allen breaks the multiverse winding up on Earth Prime where's he only a comic book character! And he needs Geoff Johns and Greg Berlanti to help him find a way home.
There's several masterminds behind these amazing idea, but the best are John Broome and Gardner Fox! They brought such a creativity to DC Comics that has been missing for quite some time. Plus it helps that the amazing Carmine Infantino, aided by Joe Giella, is on hand to draw these stories in such a way that for the time these books were originally hitting stands, were rivaling Jack Kirby!
Infantino’s run came to an end during this period. His predecessors of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito did a bang up job but it wasn't quite the same.
I devoured this volume with both glee and a touch of sadness. This is the last Showcase Presents volume by DC except for a very hard to find out of print book titled The Trail of the Flash. So if I am going to fill in my gap of Flash books from about 1968-1985, it will probably be thanks to back issues. I've got a feeling it's not going to be cheap.
November 25, 2012
This volume actually features a milestone or two. For one, Barry finally marries longtime fiancee Iris. For another, he tells her he's the Flash...about a year later. Sort of. There's also a race with Superman that ends in a draw, or at least in such a way that the readers can conclude on their own who won, and a story where Barry visits the real world and meets DC editor Julie Schwartz.
So, that out of the way, here are a few downsides:
1. Mopee. One of the most hated Flash stories of its era, apparently, has a bumbling cosmic angel/wizard guy altering Flash's origin (sort of) but in a way that obviously would be ignored from then on.
2. A two-part Flash-in-Japan story, which could have been nice had not every Japanese character been both written and drawn in the worst stereotypical way possible. Buck teeth, glasses, and bad English all the way around. And that's the only multi-part story in the volume.
3. Attempts by writers to make Barry hip by having him use slang from the era (late 60s). Sorry, Barry looks like a square. A bow tie and hat combo doesn't lend itself to youthful slang.
4. Carmine Infantino left the book at some point to be replaced by Ross Andru. Andru is a fine artist in his own right, but he doesn't have the same sort of dynamic style that Infantino's art gave the character, and it doesn't look as nice.
Beyond that, if you like Silver Age Flash, you'll like this.
So, that out of the way, here are a few downsides:
1. Mopee. One of the most hated Flash stories of its era, apparently, has a bumbling cosmic angel/wizard guy altering Flash's origin (sort of) but in a way that obviously would be ignored from then on.
2. A two-part Flash-in-Japan story, which could have been nice had not every Japanese character been both written and drawn in the worst stereotypical way possible. Buck teeth, glasses, and bad English all the way around. And that's the only multi-part story in the volume.
3. Attempts by writers to make Barry hip by having him use slang from the era (late 60s). Sorry, Barry looks like a square. A bow tie and hat combo doesn't lend itself to youthful slang.
4. Carmine Infantino left the book at some point to be replaced by Ross Andru. Andru is a fine artist in his own right, but he doesn't have the same sort of dynamic style that Infantino's art gave the character, and it doesn't look as nice.
Beyond that, if you like Silver Age Flash, you'll like this.
March 12, 2014
Carmine Infantino's art got a lot better, with big visuals. And then Ross Andru took over the job, and his art is amazing. It makes anything he draws seem bigger and more exciting.
The writing shows gradual improvement. The story has some mild improvements. Barry Allen finally marries Iris West, and oddly takes some time to decide to tell her he's The Flash, both of which give a little satisfaction to the audience as if there was something worth sticking around for.
John Broome and Gardner Fox have marginal improvement as writers, using more humor and a little faster pace.
But more importantly, they got replaced! One issue by E. Nelson Bidwell about racing Superman was awesome, and then Frank Robbins did a great job as the writer for the final bunch of issues.
Robbins has a strong sense of humor and self-referential-ness, as well as original plots that aren't see through or riddled with bad dialogue.
A solid book.
The writing shows gradual improvement. The story has some mild improvements. Barry Allen finally marries Iris West, and oddly takes some time to decide to tell her he's The Flash, both of which give a little satisfaction to the audience as if there was something worth sticking around for.
John Broome and Gardner Fox have marginal improvement as writers, using more humor and a little faster pace.
But more importantly, they got replaced! One issue by E. Nelson Bidwell about racing Superman was awesome, and then Frank Robbins did a great job as the writer for the final bunch of issues.
Robbins has a strong sense of humor and self-referential-ness, as well as original plots that aren't see through or riddled with bad dialogue.
A solid book.
July 10, 2016
Still fine stuff, but getting kind of repetitive. The big thing in this volume is that Barry Allen finally marries Iris West...but gets around to officially telling her about his Flash identity a full year later!
Also in this volume is the story that introduced Mopee, for many years the most hated Flash story of all. Read it if you dare.
Amd towards the end is a rare two-parter where Flash goes to Japan to fight Baron Katana and Daisho. A Japanese woman is named Tushi, and the well-meaning stereotyping is thick on the ground.
For other comic book reviews, see http://www.skjam.com/category/comic-b...
Also in this volume is the story that introduced Mopee, for many years the most hated Flash story of all. Read it if you dare.
Amd towards the end is a rare two-parter where Flash goes to Japan to fight Baron Katana and Daisho. A Japanese woman is named Tushi, and the well-meaning stereotyping is thick on the ground.
For other comic book reviews, see http://www.skjam.com/category/comic-b...
February 8, 2015
Including the last of the Gardner Fox\Carmine Infantino classics
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews