Issue Description

Young Barney Sands has lost his copy of Flash Comics #26. The Flash scours Central City for a runaway bear. The bear gets the drop on the Flash, delivering a powerful blow to the back of his head, before grappling with him. The Flash escapes with a super-speed created updraft. The Flash excavates out a large pit, to hold the bear until the proper authorities can take possession of it. Returning home, the Flash, as police forensic scientist, Barry Allen, has just enough time to get out of costume, before Sands enters his house. Sands returns Allen's portable microscope, then assists Allen with sorting through Allen's large, Golden Age comic book collection.

Sands finds his missing comic, in Allen's collection. Allen is puzzled at the discovery, as he has never had that particular issue. Allen asks Sands to leave the comic book with him, for further investigation. Allen returns to his den, where, right before his eyes, the comic book vanishes. Allen, as the Flash, attunes his vibratory rate to the energy signature which teleported the comic book, and follows it to a comic book convention. The comic appears among the collection of one of the dealers. While the Flash, as Allen, is negotiating over the selling price of the comic, two thugs dressed as the Golden Age Green Lantern, and Wildcat, steal it, at gunpoint.

The costumed criminals take Allen as a hostage, so as not to attract any undo attention. At super-speed, Allen escapes the gunsels, by ducking into a closing elevator. Allen dons his Flash costume, and tears off after the crooks. Catching up with the two thugs' cab, the Flash drags them out onto the street. When they refuse to give up any information, the Flash beats them into unconsciousness. The cab driver is overjoyed at his good luck, in finding the valuable comic book on the backseat of his cab. Before the cab driver can read the comic, a gun is placed at his temple, and he is ordered to hand the magazine over. A group of organized crime figures meet to discuss the comic book.

A deceased scientist, Professor Philip Denton, made huge advances in the field of telepathic teleportation, with the invention of Formula XCV-4. Denton doused the comic with the formula, then traveled greater and greater distances with it. Each time, Denton would ask his son to concentrate on the comic, which would cause the comic to appear before his son. Using the comic, the crooks intend to learn Denton's formula, so that they can remove the risk from theft. Before they can bid on who will take possession of the formula drenched comic book, it disappears, reappearing in the Flash's hand.

The crooks open fire on the Flash, only to find themselves being pinned to the walls by centrifugal force. The Flash ramps up the intensity until the very walls of the house collapse. The criminals, along with the comic book, are turned over to the proper authorites. The Flash, as Allen, presents Sands with a copy of the comic book. In their attempts to find the comic, the crooks had tracked down and purchased multiple copies of it. Sands and Allen both end up with mint condition copies of the comic book, to add to their respective collections.

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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