chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Laurie Sefton, C/O chuqui) (07/02/85)
Well, what do you say about a comic that died?
I've finished Flash #350, and perhaps a short eulogy is in order.
I've been reading the Flash since #200 or so, and I've watched a good
comic, and a fun comic, drift steadily toward oblivion. The Flash, while
being a comic with more of its share of villians (the Rogues Gallery being
one of the great bits of brilliance from Gardner Fox/ Carmine Infantino)
was one always comforting, because you knew that things were never going to
go *that* wrong.
Also, the Flash was the first Silver Age hero, with a completely different
background. He made the clean break between the Golden Age heroes, and
help usher in the new heroes. He was the first to discover Earth-II, and
while some have blamed him for the mess that the current DC universe is in,
you'd also have to thank him for introducing the Golden Age heroes to the
newer readers. His use of both worlds brought about the best of both
worlds, with the fresh new characters of Earth-I, and the deeper characters
of Earth-II. The current Earth-II comics, Infinity Inc. and All-Star
Squadron, owe a debt to the Flash, for allowing their world to come into
the hearts and minds of fans.
The Flash also allowed us insight into Earth-Prime, where the stories are
written. The stories worked both ways, with Cary Bates visiting the Flash
while on his way to an Earth-Prime class reunion; and the Flash visiting
the offices of DC comics. This was also used later, when Earth-Prime
denizens (Ultraa, and Cary Bates, once again) visited both the JSA and the
JLA.
When did the Flash start on its downward spiral toward oblivion? Many
would say with the death of Iris. Some would say with the events that lead
up to the death of Iris, that the writers had written themselves into a
corner that they couldn't get out of. Nevertheless, when Iris was "killed"
it hurt. And the Flash was one of those characters who you didn't want to
see hurt. Then the Flash slowly turned into a whipping boy for the
writers. Whatever could happen that would hurt a character, would happen
to the Flash. He then found himself charged with the murder of one of his
greatest foes, the Reverse-Flash, who he killed inadvertantly, while trying
to protect the life of his fiancee. Times continued to get worse for the
Flash, as the JLA attempted (and failed) to have him removed from the JLA.
His lawyer, and friend was grieviously injured. Wally West, the Kid Flash,
found that he was dying from the same effects that gave him his speed.
His face was destroyed, and he had it completely reconstructed, as to keep
his fiancee (now totally insane from her abandonment at the altar) from
further hurt. The second lawyer assigned to his case turned out to have a
deep-seated hatred of the Flash, due to her belief that the Flash had
inadvertantly caused her father's death. Even as we knew that the Flash
*was* going to be convicted, we also knew that his comic was going to be
done away with.
Which brings us to the present. The Flash, as a comic, is gone, and
supposedly the character is soon to follow. But one can't dwell on the
sorrow, and remember the Flash as he was meant to be remembered--a good
character, who made us feel good, also.
Laurie Sefton
--
:From the misfiring synapses of: Chuq Von Rospach
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA
The offices were very nice, and the clients were only raping the land, and
then, of course, there was the money...boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (07/18/85)
> From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Laurie Sefton, C/O chuqui) > Well, what do you say about a comic that died? > > I've finished Flash #350, and perhaps a short eulogy is in order. A nice tribute to a deceased comic. To be honest, I wasn't a real Flash fan. When I was a kid, I loved the Fox/Broome/Infantino/Anderson-or- whoever sf-oriented stories. And the "Flash of Two Worlds" story left a lasting impression on me. When I got back into comics after a relatively short hiatus, I found that FLASH wasn't quite the same. A different writer (Cary Bates, I think), a different artist (Irv Novick), and a different feel (this was circa #200). I continued half-heartedly with it through the issues with the Green Lantern back-up feature, but somewhere along the line, it got purged from my buy-list. I only picked up occasional issues since then. It's too bad that it had to go, but I can't say I'll mourn. BTW, a nit-pick: though most people consider the start of the Silver Age as being the first appearance of Flash in SHOWCASE #4 in 1956, he wasn't really the first Silver Age hero. The Martian Manhunter appeared about a year before, in DETECTIVE COMICS #225. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA