Flash #34 Story Page 3 Writer William Messner-Loebs Pencils Greg LaRocque Inks Larry Mahlstedt

Flash #34 Story Page 3
Writer William Messner-Loebs
Pencils Greg LaRocque
Inks Larry Mahlstedt
“My name is Wally West. I'm the Flash, the fastest man alive."


One day I hope to own a page from "The Return of Barry Allen," but for the time being I believed they are all safely in other collections.
Earlier in 2020 I reached out to comic artist who drew "The Return of Barry Allen" Greg LaRocque. I explained to him I collected original art and commissions and that I would love to get a commission from him. I LOVE Greg's version of the Flash and how he drew Wally's adventures as the scarlet speedster. I asked for a piece that featured Barry and Wally Unmasked that hinted at the presence of Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash. Greg was incredibly gracious as I gushed over him and totally fanboyed out.

His version of the costume is just the coolest, the dark crimson suit with the lenses almost looked like it shines. It was very similar in appearance to the costume the Flash wore in the CBS Series which is where I became a Flash fan I still remember sitting on my couch in 1992 when I saw the pilot to the CBS series. The series captivated me. I was in the second grade and the show felt like a movie. John Wesley Shipp's performance as Barry Allen was wonderful and unapologetically heroic. The shows Flash costume is still one of my favorite live action superhero costumes ever to appear on any screen. The show was just so much fun. Knowing what I know now you could see that creators of the show made their version of Barry an amalgam of Barry and Wally so when I started reading the adventures of Wally West it was an easy period of adjustment reading the comics.

In 1993 while on vacation in Gettysburg I found my way to a comic shop and I bought The Flash, issue seventy eight and I was hooked. First and foremost by Greg's amazing artwork. His work on the Flash is my definitive version of the character.

There are certain stories that define a character. for me and the Flash, that story is "The Return of Barry Allen." This was the story that introduced me to the Flash in comics after meeting him on the CBS series. It was a crash course in Flash history. This was the story where I met Wally West, Barry Allen's nephew, and sidekick Kid Flash, who took up the mantle of the Flash after Barry dies saving the universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. I didn't know about Professor Zoom or the Reverse Flash so to see Wally and the Speedster's fighting Barry blew my mind. Wally West is perhaps the best example of a partner taking over the hero’s mantle. This is a great page from earlier in Greg’s run and it features an unmasked Wally and Barry!! I love it.