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The Golden Age Archives
The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1
Another in DCs high-quality Archives series, this hardcover reprints the original stories of the Flash! Jay Garrick was just a normal Joe until an accident turned him into the Flash! This reprint of 1940s-era classics follows the success of the All Star Comics Archives series, and is the first to feature the solo adventures of this iconic character.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
10 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Gardner Francis Fox
1,192 books90 followersGardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 9, 2021
Well, that didn't age well.
Apart from the fact that this is interesting to see what was up with the Flash in the 40's there's really nothing much to it.
I could rate it just an OK read, but I didn't like it, so I won't lie, this is bad. I could see someone being a kid back then and reading it, re-reading now liking it because of nostalgia, but I'm not a 40s kid and this is straight up silly to read.
I mean Flash spinning in circles to make himself invisible, fighting contractors who want to own every business in the city, or businessmen who want to own entertainment. And the best of all, Flash taking as fast as possible the clothes off bad people so they won't go anywhere with their underwear because of embarrassment for being with undies. I mean, c'mon. You see what's happening here.
Anyway, it was interesting just to see what the comics were like back then, other than that, it wasn't fun to read.
No real script here, and the artwork I guess it is what it is for back then. It's ok.
Apart from the fact that this is interesting to see what was up with the Flash in the 40's there's really nothing much to it.
I could rate it just an OK read, but I didn't like it, so I won't lie, this is bad. I could see someone being a kid back then and reading it, re-reading now liking it because of nostalgia, but I'm not a 40s kid and this is straight up silly to read.
I mean Flash spinning in circles to make himself invisible, fighting contractors who want to own every business in the city, or businessmen who want to own entertainment. And the best of all, Flash taking as fast as possible the clothes off bad people so they won't go anywhere with their underwear because of embarrassment for being with undies. I mean, c'mon. You see what's happening here.
Anyway, it was interesting just to see what the comics were like back then, other than that, it wasn't fun to read.
No real script here, and the artwork I guess it is what it is for back then. It's ok.
September 3, 2013
The original Flash was Jay Garrick, created by Gardener Fox for Flash Comics #1. This contains all the Flash stories that appeared in Flash Comics #1-#17 as well as covers which often feature other characters. This also includes a fine foreword by Mark Waid, who wrote post-Crisis Flash stories.
Like the more famous Silver Age version, this Flash obtained his powers in a laboratory accident and sets off to fight evil. There are several interesting things about this golden age hero. First of all was that Garrick's girlfriend is in on the secret. Indeed, there's not much of a secret for the first few stories with Joan even introducing Jay as the Flash at one point, though by the end of the book, his identity is a secret to everyone but Joan. Not keeping your girl in the dark is definitely a positive step in relationship dynamics.
The book is a little inconsistent about the Flash's speed as usual. At one time, a story says he can move at the speed of light. In another, we're told it takes the Flash 3 hours to travel to Canada. The speed of light ain't what it used to be.
This was a tough book to rate. The Flash's concept was fun and much like in the Silver Age Flash and Atom stories I've, Fox has fun fleshing out the pseudo-science behind the character's powers. I particularly like how the Golden Age Flash used his speed to make himself almost invisible.
But in the end, these Garrick Flash stories are simply a cut below the Golden Age's best. It's not on par with the Adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, or the Human Torch, but certainly better than characters like Marvel's speedster, the Whizzer. In the end, I'd probably rate this a 3.45. Good, but not great.
Like the more famous Silver Age version, this Flash obtained his powers in a laboratory accident and sets off to fight evil. There are several interesting things about this golden age hero. First of all was that Garrick's girlfriend is in on the secret. Indeed, there's not much of a secret for the first few stories with Joan even introducing Jay as the Flash at one point, though by the end of the book, his identity is a secret to everyone but Joan. Not keeping your girl in the dark is definitely a positive step in relationship dynamics.
The book is a little inconsistent about the Flash's speed as usual. At one time, a story says he can move at the speed of light. In another, we're told it takes the Flash 3 hours to travel to Canada. The speed of light ain't what it used to be.
This was a tough book to rate. The Flash's concept was fun and much like in the Silver Age Flash and Atom stories I've, Fox has fun fleshing out the pseudo-science behind the character's powers. I particularly like how the Golden Age Flash used his speed to make himself almost invisible.
But in the end, these Garrick Flash stories are simply a cut below the Golden Age's best. It's not on par with the Adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, or the Human Torch, but certainly better than characters like Marvel's speedster, the Whizzer. In the end, I'd probably rate this a 3.45. Good, but not great.
December 31, 2018
This collection includes stories about the Flash from the first 17 issues of "Flash Comics", introduced in January of 1940. Flash was more or less the 4th superhero introduced by DC Comics, after Superman, Batman and Sandman, introduced in 1938 and 1939. This collection doesn't include other stories from these issues of Flash Comics, but is limited to the stories about the Flash. Each issue of the comic had other stories in it as well.
The early Flash is, as you might expect, a bit silly. He spends much of his time vibrating at a speed that makes him invisible to others, or rushing past people and creating a mysterious wind. Aside from plucking bullets out of the air, his most often used attack is to zip around and take people's clothing off.
The general silliness is to be expected of golden age comics. The Flash did survive this period and eventually became a more or less central character for DC. But these early issues demonstrate why he doesn't quite have the status of Superman (lacks the archetypal heroic power and abilities) of Batman (perhaps more of a melodramatic character as creature of the night fighting crime).
The early Flash is, as you might expect, a bit silly. He spends much of his time vibrating at a speed that makes him invisible to others, or rushing past people and creating a mysterious wind. Aside from plucking bullets out of the air, his most often used attack is to zip around and take people's clothing off.
The general silliness is to be expected of golden age comics. The Flash did survive this period and eventually became a more or less central character for DC. But these early issues demonstrate why he doesn't quite have the status of Superman (lacks the archetypal heroic power and abilities) of Batman (perhaps more of a melodramatic character as creature of the night fighting crime).
June 25, 2025
I couldn’t decide on how to rate it so I put it at a 3 and that’s a stretch. It’s not bad nor is it good. It’s pretty forgettable except that Jay and Joan are good characters. The stories usually revolve around some crook taking advantage of someone and Jay uses his speed to stop them. Surprisingly, some of the ways and cleverness in doing so is better done than comics in current comics. A lot of endings in comics over the past few decades hasn’t been written well or clearly which definitely isn’t a problem in these old Flash books.
October 23, 2023
The Golden Age Flash tales are excellent entertainment. Before reading the Silver Age, make sure you read all these too, to understand how the later material was inspired.
October 29, 2025
incredibly fun
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January 16, 2015In the book the The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1 it starts out about a collage student who is in a lab working with some chemicals with his professor working with radioactive elements but Jay was effected buy one of the gases which made him faint on the table exposing him to all of the other elements. Later he woke up in a hospital being able to run faster then the speed of light and he uses this powers to stop the gangs on the street and find out who kidnapped his girlfriends father.
I think that the story is in 3rd person because even though it is a graphic novel there would still be the narrator telling you want happened.
I do not recommend this book to any one because I think that the show The Flash is better then the graphic novel because it gives you more of a back story to his life but if someone did want to read this book then I would recommended it for middle schoolers because younger kids would not really understand it and high schoolers I think wont find it interesting.
I think that the story is in 3rd person because even though it is a graphic novel there would still be the narrator telling you want happened.
I do not recommend this book to any one because I think that the show The Flash is better then the graphic novel because it gives you more of a back story to his life but if someone did want to read this book then I would recommended it for middle schoolers because younger kids would not really understand it and high schoolers I think wont find it interesting.
July 25, 2011
This was interesting for history's sake. Golden Age Flash is less of a super hero and more of a nosy guy who needs to right any wrong no matter how small. There weren't any super villians or even any large scale emergencies. It was a lot of Flash spinning to be invisible and running by startled strangers in order to help the city take down corrupt contractors, etc. It was pretty low-wattage, but interesting to see an early stage in the evolution of the concept of super heroes.
July 5, 2017
Surprisingly one of Fox's better efforts of the period both in terms of writing and story structure, especially when I have Finger's Green Lantern so fresh in my memory. Flash stripping guys to their underwear comes as gay today, but people found that extremely funny back then. Wheeler and Woolsey's Half a Shot at Sunrise was a huge hit in its day for Woolsey for running around in his underwear for 20 minutes, which people today tend not to find funny for that long.
December 12, 2014
how do i read books
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March 20, 2015Amazing
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews