A cornerstone of the artform…
Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940). Art by Sheldon Moldoff.
By PETER BOSCH
This has been a great year for anniversaries and here’s another: Flash Comics #1, released 85 years ago, on Nov. 10, 1939, introduced two major characters, the Flash and Hawkman. Others who got their start in that initial issue included Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt, and the Whip, a Zorro-like character:
Script: Gardner Fox. Art: Harry Lampert.
Script: Fox. Art: Dennis Neville.
Script: John Wentworth. Art: Stan Asch.
Script: Wentworth. Art: George Storm.
Testing each character on the covers from #1 through #5 must have shown that it was the Flash and Hawkman who were two equal favorites because they took over the cover spots alternatively for almost every issue from #6 to the end of the series. (In the Forties, the Flash also appeared in All-Flash Quarterly #1 to #32 and in the anthology series Comic Cavalcade #1 to #29.)
Issue #2 (Hawkman) art by Neville; #3 (Cliff Cornwall) art by Moldoff; #4 (The Whip) artist unconfirmed; and #5 (The King, who was introduced in #3) art by Jon Blummer
Issue #26 (Feb. 1942), art by E.E. Hibbard (pencils) and Hal Sharp (inks)
Issue #41 (May 1943), art by Moldoff
Issue #86 (Aug. 1947), art by Lee Elias (pencils) and Joe Kubert (inks)
Issue #98 (Aug. 1948), art by Kubert
The only time the Flash and Hawkman appeared together on the cover (not just in cameo circles) was Issue #92 (Feb. 1948) when they welcomed the Black Canary to her own feature within the comic (she first appeared in a Johnny Thunder story in #86).
Issue #92 (Feb. 1948), art by Carmine Infantino
But it all came to an end with Flash Comics #104 (Feb. 1949).
Issue #104 (Feb. 1949), art by Kubert
A decade later, the series would resume its numbering with #105 (Feb.-Mar 1959) and a title change to The Flash, featuring the Silver Age Scarlet Speedster, Barry Allen, after his tryouts in Showcase. And, of course, the Golden Age Flash would reappear in Issue #123 (Sept. 1961).
The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961), art by Infantino (pencils) and Murphy Anderson (inks)
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MORE
— DC Sets Date for FLASH COMICS #1 Facsimile Edition in December. Click here.
— THE BIG ALL-AMERICAN COMIC BOOK: An 80th Anniversary Salute to a Golden Age Treasure. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was published by TwoMorrows. A sequel, about movie comics, is coming in 2025. Peter has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. He lives in Hollywood.
November 11, 2024
Holeeee! I didn’t realize this was the anniversary! I’ve always loved the Golden Age Flash and grew up on the interdimensional team-ups in the 70s and 80s (and the reprints and back issues!) I read through a hardback reprinting a bunch of Flash stories this past summer and Jay’s adventures still hold up! The reprint of the first issue (back in the 70s) remains one of my treasures. Hawkman too! The stories showed such imagination and a sense of fun! (Say, you guys wanna guess which was my favorite?)