Issue Description

The Invasion Of The Cloud Creatures!

Police Forensics Scientist, Barry Allen, takes his date, reporter Iris West, to a lecture. The lecturer is Doctor Wiley Summers, one of Allen's college colleagues. Summers' lecture concerns a fantastic experience he had, while examining Mount Lassen, the only active volcano in the continental United States. Summers became aware of strange cloud formations directly over his head, that exuded an air of menace. Summers quickly photographed the clouds. Upon developing the film, though, the clouds seemed quite ordinary. Summers theorized that these cloud "creatures" dwelled within the volcano, and were intent on wiping out humanity.

With no real evidence to support his wild claims, the scientific community, rightly, considered the idea to be ludicrous. Summers, thus, raises the alarm, to the public, through his lecture tour. After the lecture, Allen introduces West to Summers. West, though, also considers Summer's notion preposterous. Having failed to wipe out humanity through volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, the hostile clouds mount an attack on an army base, revealing themselves to the world. After destroying the military installation with a barrage of lightning, the clouds turn towards civilian targets. The deafening sound of their thunder is such that it can reduce buildings to rubble.

Every countermeasure brought to bear against the clouds harmlessly passes right through them. Leaving West behind with Summers, Allen heads out to meet the threat, as the Flash. Dodging the cloud's lightning barrage, the Flash runs in a tight circle, generating a tornado. The clouds easily avoid the Flash's attack, simply by increasing their elevation. The clouds generate a powerful vacuum, lifting a building from it's foundations. Once released, the building crashes to the Earth, destroying it. The Flash races up a high hill, then leaps into the clouds. Moving at incredible velocity, the Flash is able to, literally, skip across the cloud formations in the sky.

Noticing a dark spot on each of the hostile clouds, the Flash surmises that it must be their nerve center, and aims for it. The Flash manages to destroy all but one of the deadly clouds, before he is caught in the last cloud's vacuum beam. Moving even faster, the Flash manages to break loose and destroy the final cloud. Still moving at phenomenal velocity, the Flash is able to virtually walk on the air itself, lowering himself safely to the ground. A sudden downpour signals the end of the bizarre cloud creatures, as, in death, they have become rain. Allen invites West out on another date, only to learn that she has already agreed to go out with Summers. It seems Allen has a rival for West's affections.

The Challenge Of The Crimson Crows!

Wally West wakes up from an incredible dream. In the dream, West met his idol, the Flash. A laboratory accident gave West the same powers as the Flash. West was given a ring with his costume in it, then given the code name "Kid Flash". Having overslept, West misses the school bus, and is forced to run all the way to school. To his amazement West arrives before the late bell has finished ringing. The dream was really a memory. As further proof of his amazing super-speed abilities, West easily outperforms his fellow basketball players, in an after school game.

On the way home, West encounters a few of his friends, who have joined a gang, called the Crimson Crows. Though offered a place in their ranks, West has declined. Fearing the Crimson Crows may get up to trouble, West, as Kid Flash, sneaks into their clubhouse. Moving faster than the eye can see, Kid Flash eavesdrops on the Crimson Crows' plan to attack a rival gang, the Golden Eagles. Kid Flash surreptitiously follows the Crimson Crows, and watches as they throw stones at the Golden Eagles' clubhouse. In their haste to race out and face their rivals, a candle is tipped over in their clubhouse, setting it afire.

The flames quickly spread, igniting the nearby woods. Moving at super-speed, Kid Flash sets up a firebreak. Then, the fastest boy alive begins to run around the burning trees, creating a vacuum that smothers the fire. Feeling guilty for their role in the fire, the Crimson Crows turn their gang into an athletic group. West, fulfilling his promise to keep the Flash informed of his adventures, races a letter to Allen's house, detailing his latest case. Reading the letter, the Flash becomes certain that West is the right boy to be his protege.

The Flash (1959)

Publisher

DC Comics

Volume Description

The Flash Volume 1, (continued from Flash Comics).

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Starring Barry Allen as the Flash and Wally West as Kid Flash. After 4 try-out issues of "Show case" - the first being #4, which is widely accepted as being the comic that launched the Silver Age - the Flash returned to star in his own title with #105 in 1959. The numbering of the title continued from the Golden Age "Flash Comics," which had come to an end as Super Heroes went out of fashion in the early 1950's. When Police scientist Barry Allen was doused with a variety of chemicals along with a bolt of lightning, the accident endowed him with Super Speed, and he donned the famous red Flash uniform we are all familiar with. Barry was seeing reporter Iris Allen, and to ensure he kept his identity as the Flash a secret from his girlfriend, he always turned up late for their dates. During his Showcase appearances, the Flash had battled the first of what was to become his rogues gallery when he clashed with Captain Cold, and his range of costumed opponents was about expand almost as rapidly as his uniform expanded from his ring when it came into contact with air. In his opening issue, the Flash battled the Mirror Master, and in the following issue, readers were introduced to Gorilla Grodd, Solovar, and the inhabitants of Gorilla City in a trilogy of tales that ran through issues #106 - 108. Also starring in #106 was another costumed villain, the Pied Piper. The Mirror Master obviously proved a hit with fans as he was back in #109 for a re-match and in #110 the Flash encountered the Weather Wizard for the first time. The Trickster brought his tricks to Central City in Flash #113, while Captain Cold returned in #114 and another Captain - this time Captain Boomerang debuted in #117.

However, it wasn't just super villains the Flash was encountering in the early issues of his own series. In #110, Kid Flash made his debut, when Wally West was caught in a freak duplicate of the accident that had given Barry his super speed. Wally's original costume was a duplicate of Barry's (only smaller of course) but sidekicks were "in" at the time and Wally would often feature in back up stories in the Flash as well as sometimes teaming up with his mentor - such as in #120. Later (#135) Wally would receive his more familiar yellow and red costume, which would serve him for the best part of two decades. Shortly after the introduction of Kid Flash, the Flash encountered Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man in #112. At first, Barry thought the Elongated Man was a criminal, but by the end of the lead story in this issue, Ralph was exonerated, and the two men became firm friends. Editor Julius Schwartz was developing a number of friendships across the books he edited and chief among them was a friendship between Green Lantern and the Flash. The two first teamed up in Green Lantern #13 and the friendship was cemented during several shared adventures including the ones in Flash #131 and #143.

The most far reaching team -up of Barry's career was to come about in the classic Flash #123, "Flash of Two Worlds" in which the Scarlet Speedster met his "hero" Jay Garrick, the original Flash from the Golden Age of comics, and the concept of Earth Two was launched. Subsequent team ups between the two Flashes included the reintroduction of the Justice Society of America in #137's "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain," as the heroes pitted their wits against Vandal Savage. In the meantime, the villains just kept coming, as Abra Kadabra - a magician from the future made his debut in #128, Heat Wave made things hot for the Flash in #140, and the Top put him in a spin in # 141. However, it was the introduction of Eobard Thawne - the Reverse Flash (or Professor Zoom) in #140 that would have the most far reaching and long lasting effect upon Barry Allen's future.

When Barry and Iris finally got around to tying the knot, (#165), the Reverse Flash tried to take his place at the altar. Although Barry foiled his arch -foe on this occasion, history would repeat itself later in the series. After the death of Iris (accidentally shot at a costume ball), Barry was about to get re-married. Thawne was about to kill his fiance, but in order to prevent that happening, Barry snapped the neck of his enemy - an event which led to the two-year plus "Trial of the Flash," which concluded the series and led to the seeming demise of Barry Allen in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

With science-based stories by the likes of Gardner Fox, John Broome, and Robert Kanigher, and the sleek angular artistic lines provided by Carmine Infantino, the Flash became one of the most popular and attractive books in the DC line throughout the Silver Age and indeed its impressive 246 issue run. The series ended with issue 350 and was continued a little more over a year into The Flash Volume 2.

Collected EditionsFlash Archives Vol. 1 (#105-108)Flash Omnibus (#105-132)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 1 (#105-111)Flash Archives Vol. 2 (#109-116)Flash Archives Vol. 3 (#117-124)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 2 (#120-140)Flash Archives Vol. 4 (#125-132)Flash Archives Vol. 5 (#133-141)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 3 (#141-161)Flash Archives Vol. 6 (#142-150)Showcase Presents: The Flash vol. 4 (#162-184)Absolute Green Lantern/Green Arrow (#217-219 & 226)Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash (#323-7, 329-336, 340-350)

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