Customer Reviews

The Flash Archives, Vol. 2 (DC Archive Editions)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a short introduction, this book launches right into the meat, seventeen Flash comics! Starting with one Jay Garrick story (Flash Comics #104, February 1949), the book then switches to the Barry Allen Flash. Included are stories from Showcase #4 (10/1956), Showcase #8 (6/57), Showcase #13 (4/58), Showcase #14 (6/58), The Flash #105 (2/59), The Flash #106 (5/59), The Flash #107 (7/59), and the Flash #108 (9/59). The conclusion of the book is a one-pager with the biographies of seven Flash staffers.

These comics are beautifully reproduced, in their original sizes, and with better coloring and clarity than I remember from my youth. They are nothing short of works of art! Unlike the other Flash book (The Golden Age Flash), this one includes Flash battling super-villains, such as the Turtle Man (his first villain), Dr. Alchemy, and (most importantly) Grodd. A bit on the pricey side, this book is a wonderful collector's item, a must-have for all good fans of the Flash!

The Flash Archive editions are a real treat for any comic reader. Despite the price, these editions are somewhat "priceless" collections of many of the Masters of comic storytelling. With the work of John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, younger comic readers get a glimpse of what made this industry great. Before Stan Lee brought a "soap opera" mentality to comics, these DC editions offer precise, on-the-mark storytelling. Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end! The artwork compliments the story - not distracts from it. These Flash editions, along with the Green Lantern and some to be released Atom Archives are a welcome treat for all ages.

This is the good stuff. The Flash is what comic books was all about. The silver age did what modern comics fail to do, they expanded on concepts that were already interesting. The Flash is among the best of DC's silver age and the second volume is truly important as you are introduced to not one but two silver age legends from the pages of the Flash; Kid Flash and the Elongated Man. They are worth the price of admission alone. Treat yourself. Read the good stuff.

Bradley Mason Hamlin

I don't actually have this book, and was (still am) considering buying it based on the reviews below and what they say about the contents. I'm just warning other prospective buyers to be very careful with the review immediately below this one: it seems to in fact be listing the contents of Flash Archives, Volume 1, not Volume 2.

This one (Volume 2) presumably starts from Flash #109 -- definitely worth buying (and I will eventually!), but don't expect to get #104-108 and the Showcase issues.

If you're a fan of The Scarlet Speedster, THE FLASH (especially the Silver Age version, Barry Allen), this volume of DC's ARCHIVE EDITIONS is a must-have. The second in the series brings not only Flash's adventures but those of his pals ELONGATED MAN and KID FLASH (Wally West).

Barry & Iris seem to have evolved a bit from their first adventures and impatient Iris is at least a little kinder to her incessantly late police scientist boyfriend (who, in turn, seems to have developed a bit of bakcbone since Volume I).

Good clean fun with the ever-expanding rogues gallery and the fastest man alive, THE FLASH!

It is very nice to read the old FLASH-comics again, altough they are a little bit old-fashioned compared to the new FLASH Series. FLASH (Barry Allen) then seems to me more human than the recent relaunches. I love comics of the 60s!