Flash

Green Lantern # 5 was the second comic I ever bought. I have wonderful memories of that Friday night, paying my dime and spending my evening enthralled by that three part novel as a youngster.

For a number of years after graduating from Mort’s Superman books, Green Lantern and the Flash were required reading. Throughout the years my interest has ebbed and flowed as Hal has been portrayed in a variety of ways by numerous writers and artists. But at this point in my life Hal remains one of my favorites because of those incredible Gil Kane stories in those magic pre-teen years. I like to tell the story of how Green Lantern #5 was the second comic I ever bought, but it wasn’t supposed to be. Back in the day my folks would let me buy one comic a month, that’s right one a month!

Well Flash #119 came out and I hadn’t hit the first of the month. So I asked the druggist to hold it for me. How well do you remember the details of those days? I can tell you that it was Sher Drugs in my hometown, that’s the impression these four color books made on me as a kid.

Anyhow the first of the month came and I was all set to buy my Flash book until I saw the cover to GL #5 and so had to have it. A week later I walked in and the druggist pulled out my copy of the Flash #119. I had to awkwardly tell him that I had already bought my sole comic of the month in his store the previous Friday. I still remember the look of disgust he gave me as he put it away. I bought my first Flash a bit later, Flash # 122 featuring the Top and I read, because friends provided or traded, Flash and Green Lantern every month. One 1963 Sunday morning after Mass while on summer vacation my dad gave me a quarter while we were in a general store, yup, a real general store and I was able to buy the first Flash Annual, talk about joy, for the rest of the vacation I read and reread those incredible reprints and was introduced to Jay Garrick also.

To this day the incredible Infantino speed lines provided by Joe and Murphy define my version of the Flash. Although I did come to appreciate the yeoman work done by Irv Novick in the Bronze Age. Now I have my Infantino recreation and look forward to obtaining a published page of Barry illustrated by Carmine.