How Do You Not Get The Flash? by Dave Goode

HOW DO YOU NOT GET THE FLASH?!

by Dave Goode

 

Some time back some fan-boy friends of mine and I were talking about the Silver Age of Comics and the consensus that it began with DC Comics' Showcase No.4 (Oct.1956) and the introduction of the 2nd Flash in a story written by Robert Kanigher, illustrated by Carmine Infantino (pencils) and Joe Kubert (inks) and edited by Julius Schwartz. An actor friend of mine was with us and couldn't understand why the Silver Age would begin with the Flash. We gave him the short version. And he seemed to grudgingly accept it. Grudgingly. Another time my friends and I were making  how lame is Aquaman? jokes. And my actor friend interjected "you know the Flash is pretty lame too". My fellow fan-boys turned and looked at my friend like he had two heads. He had this insane idea that all the Flash could do was run fast. As if all he knew the character from was the Super Friends cartoons (more likely THE SUPERMAN/AQUAMAN HOUR OF ADVENTURE (1967) which featured Flash cartoons-editor)

About a week later I lent him a copy of Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane No.74 (May 1967). If you're a Silver Age DC Comics fan you know why. And my friend got a better understanding of what the Flash could do. I still can't understand why he never got the Flash to begin with. He epitomized a childhood fantasy. When you were a kid you imagined being the strongest kid on the block or the fastest.

And speaking of being the fastest kid on the block. Do you remember the Silver Age Quicksilver from Marvel Comics and how he compared to the Flash? That's right. He didn't. He still doesn't. Marvel maniacs like to say how Quicksilver can run at Mach 10. Guess what? That makes him about 165 times slower than the Flash. In the Silver Age Quicksilver was often described as moving as fast as an "express train". The Silver Age Flash once ran around the Earth 8 times in the space of a second. As Muhammad Ali would say "no contest". Look at how the young Muhammad Ali defeated his  opponents with hand and foot speed. Now imagine if he was 165 times faster than that.

Back in the Silver Age fan-boys quite often cast teen heartthrob Tab Hunter as the "Fastest Man Alive" in an imaginary Flash or Justice League movie. As for his girl friend Iris West I thought either Natalie Wood or Jill St.John. With possibly Tim Considine as Wally "Kid Flash" West.

ITEM: JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!! IT'S MONSTER MAGAZINE ISSUE NUMBER 2! OUR CREATURE CREATURE FEATURE WITH BUTCH PATRICK, DR. PAUL BEARER, AND RICOU BROWNING! Remember the Creature this Halloween along with Spider Island Slim Carody, Joseph I. Cosby, Dave Goode, David Walker, Johann Schmidt, Will Keppel, and Vance Capley. With a "fang"tastic Creature cover by artist Ricky Blalock! You can read more here:

MONSTER MAGAZINE NO.2 Creature Creature Feature

Benedict Arnold's Face On The Dollar Bill by Dave Goode

The day after the " Bizzaro Jerry " episode of SEINFELD aired on October 4, 1996, I got a call from my sister Katherine who wanted to know if the show had given an accurate take on the Bizzaro world. I told her "pretty much". But the episode reminded me more of Earth-3 from the Silver Age of Comics. The world that was introduced in Justice League of America No. 29 (August 1964) in a story titled Crisis On Earth Three. Written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky the story introduced the Crime Syndicate of America with it's evil counterparts of Superman (Ultraman) , Batman (Owlman) , Wonder Woman (Superwoman) , the Flash (Johnny Quick) and Green Lantern (Power Ring). This was one of the best remembered stories of the Silver Age.




We were shown a bit Earth Three's history. For instance Columbus discovered
Europe. President John Wilkes Boothe was assassinated by Abraham Lincoln. And British colonists won their independence from America. But we weren't really given any details about life on Earth-3. Or any real background on the members of the Crime Syndicate. That would change in 2000 in the graphic novel JLA:EARTH 2 written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quitely. In this story we find that Clark Kent (Ultraman) is the cuckold husband of Lois Lane (Superwoman) who is having an affair with Bruce Wayne (Owlman). It's a world where evil and corruption are the norm. Where the slogan on money reads " In Mammon We Trust " and Benedict Arnold's face is on the dollar bill.

Another variation on an evil counterpart to the Justice League appeared during the Silver Age at Marvel Comics. The Squadron Sinister made their first appearance in the final panel of Avengers No.69 (October 1969). They were Hyperion (Superman) , Nighthawk (Batman), the Whizzer (the Flash) and Dr.Spectrum (Green Lantern). No Wonder Woman counterpart this time around. In the next issue Avengers No.70 (November 1969) the Squadron are defeated by Thor ,Captain America ,Goliath and Iron Man. The story written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Sal Buscema gave fan-boys a battle they had long wanted to see...the Avengers vs. the Justice League.






The evil twin is a superhero comic book cliche that has existed as long as there
have been superhero comics.It goes back further to ancient mythology. Any number of heroes has at one time or another had to fight an " evil twin ".  One of my favorite examples is Professor Zoom a.k.a the Reverse-Flash. Eobard Thawne made his first appearance in comics in The Flash No.139 (September 1963) and was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino. A man from the distant future he possesses the same super-speed powers as the "Fastest Man Alive". Wearing the same costume as the Flash , only with the colors reversed ,Thawne has been a thorn in the side of the Flash throughout the Silver Age and beyond.

Go and grab some comics!! Right HERE!!

Now let us run at super speedster speeds and travel waaay back to March 12th 2010 and see the very first Judo Comics TV
hosted by the man of half a dozen masks, Mr. Incognito:

THE DUCTILE DETECTIVE by Dave Goode

One of the things I loved about the Silver Age of Comics was the double-feature comic book. One of my favorites was Detective Comics when it featured Batman and the Elongated Man.Ralph Dibny made his comic book debut in Flash No.112 (May 1960) where we learn the Elongated Man's origin.

When he was 9 , Dibny visited the circus with his family and became fascinated with the Indian rubber man. Because the sideshow performer will not reveal the secret of his elasticity , Dibny spends years visiting every rubber man he can trying to learn their secret. He does notice that they all drink Gingold , a brand of soda water derived from a tropical rubber plant. Dibny distills and drinks the essence of the plant. Because of an X factor in his type O blood the Gingold gives him the ability to stretch his body to any length he desires.Creating a costume of a specially treated material he first becomes a performer and then a super-hero of sorts as the Elongated Man.

Dibny would appear in several issues of the Flash , partnering with the "fastest man alive" for several far-out adventures. In Flash No.119 (March 1961) he would marry socialite Sue Dearbon ,becoming one of comic books first married superheroes. He would also reveal his secret identity to the world.

The story goes editor Julius Schwartz didn't know that DC had acquired the rights

to Plastic Man and had John Broome (writer) and Carmine Infantino (artist) create the "ductile detective". Aside from his ability to stretch I never saw much of Plas in the Elongated Man. And his stories in the Flash were vanilla. But that would change when he was given his own feature beginning in Detective Comics No.327(May 1964). Dibny became more of a wisecracking hero. And he was shown to be a bit of a exhibitionist as well. Then again he had worked in show business.

 

It was after watching the classic movie mystery THE THIN MAN(1934) as a teen that I caught the "Nick and Nora" vibe that the Elongated Man writers were working for. And the character became one of my favorite second-banana heroes. Ideal to serve as Batman's back-up in Detective Comics.

This may be a stretch, but did you know that some of the best costumed crime didn't need superpowers? No, 
they used judo. Just like the heroes in JUDO COMICS by
Dave Goode and illustrated by Vance Capley. Do you have a copy yet? Click this link:

Link...get it?

Don't forget to listen to this weeks special episode of Sundown Cinema. We discuss scary films with Dave Goode, Vance Capley, Ricky Blalock, and David Walker: