LIGHTLE STEVE-FLASH 226 COMPLETE ISSUE

This is my first true full book and from an artist whose work I absolutely love. A true personal favourite. From my own contact with Steve, he was always resistant to personally sell his art outside of the USA, so owning a full book by him seemed impossible (not that I was in that market at the time mind you) and is a true dream come true. On top of that, there are not many complete books by Steve Lightle lying around in collections. You may find some produced later in his career in the collections of the usual Legion of Super Heroes enthusiasts and there may even exists some full vintage LSH issue in the hands of some collector but my educated guess is that it remains a very rare occurrence. I’ll be the first to recognize that this book is not 80s prime Lightle art. The book was published during the mid-2000s when Steve was continuing experimenting with his art with strong high contrast use of light and black and white values. An evolution that he had begun during the mid-90s with his high contrast work in Marvel Comics Presents and which climaxed with his work for Cross Plains Comics. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if this Flash story published in 2005 was in fact pencilled as an inventory one years before publication because it is so stylistically consistent with this approach to work of the second half of the 90s/early 2000s. With the caveat that his work here appears a bit more cartoony that his usual, which may have to do with the success that the character had experienced years before with Mike Wieringo, Humberto Ramos or even Scott Kolins drawing him (i.e. a request from the editors commissioning the issue) AND/OR the success of the animated line at the time at DC. But this is pure speculation. Despite my nit-picking reserves, which I voice only for the sake of intellectual honesty, the artistic quality of this book remains superbly high, as always with any Steve Lighte art job. The fact that this one escaped the usual flippers and/or dealers was a bonus. The fact that the book came from one of the collector in the hobby I like to consider as a friend, a true like mind, is extremely pleasant. The fact that I bought this book for far much less money than the insane premiums asked by nowadays reps and dealers for current modern artists around which Steve Lightle could draw circles both in terms of pure draughtsmanship and as a storyteller is very satisfying. I’ll cherish this forever. Many thanks to the previous owner, my friend Ruben DA Ruben, who provided better scans for me to post here.