The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1 by Gardner F. Fox

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The original Flash was Jay Garrick, created by Gardener Fox for Flash Comics #1. This contains all the Flash stories that appeared in Flash Comics #1-#17 as well as covers which often feature other characters. This also includes a fine foreword by Mark Waid, who wrote post-Crisis Flash stories.

Like the more famous Silver Age version, this Flash obtained his powers in a laboratory accident and sets off to fight evil. There are several interesting things about this golden age hero. First of all was that Garrick's girlfriend is in on the secret. Indeed, there's not much of a secret for the first few stories with Joan even introducing Jay as the Flash at one point, though by the end of the book, his identity is a secret to everyone but Joan. Not keeping your girl in the dark is definitely a positive step in relationship dynamics.

The book is a little inconsistent about the Flash's speed as usual. At one time, a story says he can move at the speed of light. In another, we're told it takes the Flash 3 hours to travel to Canada. The speed of light ain't what it used to be.

This was a tough book to rate. The Flash's concept was fun and much like in the Silver Age Flash and Atom stories I've, Fox has fun fleshing out the pseudo-science behind the character's powers. I particularly like how the Golden Age Flash used his speed to make himself almost invisible.

But in the end, these Garrick Flash stories are simply a cut below the Golden Age's best. It's not on par with the Adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Sub-Mariner, or the Human Torch, but certainly better than characters like Marvel's speedster, the Whizzer. In the end, I'd probably rate this a 3.45. Good, but not great.



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