The Flash of Two Worlds by Gardner F. Fox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Silver Age of comics in DC began with replacements for some Golden Age characters such as the Flash and Green Lantern. The question of how to deal with this in continuity was a difficult one but it was answered in in Flash #123 and so was born the DC multiverse.

The plot of the first Flash of Two Worlds story (collected here along with five others) as published in 1961 is that the adventures Jay Garrick, the original Flash were captured by flash writer Gardener Fox because when he dreamed, his mind tuned into the vibrations of the Alternate and read by Barry Allen who became inspired to take on the identity when he acquired superpowers. Both Flashes are so fast that they can travel between alternate earths by vibrating at the correct speed. It's all wonderful science fiction stuff that would define the core of the DC universe for two decades.

The first story is fun had Barry Allen fighting Garrick's villains. The second story from ninth months later felt a lot more contrived as a flimsy premise brought Jay Garrick to Allen's world.

The other stories were a lot more fun. There's a 1963 story featuring Vandal Savage, and a 1965 story featuring a rematch with Shade who has discovered how he too can cross between dimensions. Finally are two stories from 1967 with Barry married and still trying to hide his secret identity. In, The "See-Nothing spells of Abra-Kadabra," Barry has to get help from other heroes including the alternate Earth Flash when a 64th century villain makes it so he can see no crime or danger. Then both Flashes and Kid Flash are kidnapped by an alien and transported to his world in, "Doomward Flight of the Flashes."

Overall, this is an enjoyable collection showcasing the start of one of the great concepts of the DC Universe before it got done to death that's well worth a read.



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