A birthday tribute!
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More than any other characters, the late, great Carmine Infantino — born May 24, 1925 — defined the look of Batman and the Flash in the Silver Age.
Last year on his birthday, we took 13 Infantino Batman covers and ranked them. (Click here.) It was a predictably foolhardy yet fun exercise and at the time I raised the idea of doing the same for The Flash this year.
And here we are!
So let’s get right to it. Here are CARMINE INFANTINO’s 13 GREATEST FLASH COVERS — RANKED.
The vast majority are from the Silver Age but I’ve also included a couple from his Bronze Age return…
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13. The Flash #126. The Flash was tortured in more colorful ways than any other hero. This is a prime example of Infantino’s Silver Age wackiness.
Murphy Anderson inks
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12. The Flash #110. How to convey superspeed in different ways? Infantino shows you how with his imaginative, dizzying line work.
Joe Giella inks
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11. The Flash #305. Things darkened for the Flash in the Bronze Age and this image plays with Barry Allen’s kinship with Jay Garrick in a cosmically horrible way.
Mike DeCarlo inks
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10. The Flash #323. Infantino’s best Bronze Age Flash cover. Hands down. Superb.
Rodin Rodriguez inks
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9. The Flash #169. Did you say floating heads? Did you? FLOATING HEADS!
Giella inks
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8. The Flash #115. A classic example of epic Silver Age insanity.
Giella inks
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7. The Flash #135. Kid Flash’s second costume was one of the greatest designs in comics history and should never have been changed. Pretty stupid way he got it though.
Anderson inks
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6. The Flash #153. Virtually every hero has an opposite-number villain – and the Flash’s is the best. This Reverse-Flash cover tops all others.
Anderson inks
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5. The Flash #163. Marvel may have been cooler, but DC had the best meta covers of the Silver Age. You absolutely cannot help but want to know what’s going on inside this issue – the hallmark of a great cover.
Giella inks
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4. The Flash #133. The apex of Silver Age silliness. Not even Jimmy Olsen could compete with this.
Anderson inks
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3. Showcase #4. Barry Allen’s debut marked the start of the Silver Age — and this is probably the second-most homaged Flash cover ever. FLASH FACT: It was actually designed by writer Robert Kanigher.
Joe Kubert inks
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2. The Flash #174. Infantino borrowed from Will Eisner for one of his last Silver Age covers. It’s an exceptionally powerful image, especially when you consider there’s almost no movement – which is counterintuitive to the Flash.
Anderson inks
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1. The Flash #123. Aw, hell, you knew it would be this one, right? This cover has been imitated a million times over – even by Infantino himself on a couple of occasions. It’s not only of great historical significance – the launch of DC’s multiverse – it’s a glorious tribute to comics itself, packed with colorful excitement, mystery and the promise of senses-shattering adventure. The copy screams “A Spectacular Story That is Sure to Become a Classic!” Which was proven to be true. The same goes for the cover.
Anderson inks
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MORE
— CARMINE INFANTINO’s Greatest BATMAN Covers — RANKED. Click here.
— 13 COVERS: All hail… FLOATING HEADS! Click here.
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Most cover images and credits from the kinetic Grand Comics Database.
May 24, 2019
A true master and one of my five favourite artists. I was lucky enough to pick up an autographed copy of his autobiography, “The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino” for 10 bucks at a LCS a few weeks ago.
May 24, 2019
While I liked his output in the sixties, by the time of his second stint on The Flash, Daring New Adventures of Supergirl, and various fill-ins (and Marvel’s Star Wars and Spiderwoman, etc…) I found his work flat and two-dimensional. And unlike my initial dislike of Jack Kirby and Gene Colan—-whom I later learned to appreciate and admire—Infantino’s output during my young comicbook days in the 70’s ’til the present day hasn’t changed.
May 24, 2019
Happy birthday to the late Carmine Infantino.
May 26, 2019
I got his autograph and he got my pen.