*Old English accent begins* In the year of our lord 2013, the astounding artist Francis Manapul pulled together two of the greatest superheroes of all time, the Flash and Green Lantern, into one exciting cover. His brilliant work of art features a battle-damaged Hal Jordan being carried by his good friend Barry Allen, who wields Hal's own Green Lantern ring! The ring is known for requiring an enormous amount of willpower and, miraculously, Barry manages to create a wrist-laser-gun construct to defend himself. What a feat!
It will now hang in my office, where I get the privilege of admiring this beautiful work of art whenever I look up from my desk. *Old English accent ends*
In all seriousness, this cover blew me away when it first arrived on shelves in 2013. The Flash and Green Lantern had been my favorite superheroes since I started collecting in 2003 and Manapul became one of my favorite artists during his run on the Flash back in 2010. Everything he's done since then has only further cemented his place in my heart. But this cover on the Flash Annual #2 combines all of my favorite comic book things; the Flash, Green Lantern, and Francis Manapul.
I've been using a high-quality image of the bare cover for my phone background and random profile photos for years. I seriously love this cover. I've purchased 4 or 5 copies of this single issue over the years because I find it in dollar bins from time to time. To own the original piece of art is something I never imagined would happen.
Anyways, I appreciate this community for helping make me aware of when this piece went up for sale. This is the first original work I've purchased, and it couldn't have been a more perfect pairing. This is definitely a forever piece for me.
The image here is right before I handed it over to be preserved in a UV-resistant and acid-free frame. The back side had some nice ink marks, leftover from the painting process. I wish I'd taken a photo of that, but maybe in a few years if I have the frame redone.
