Tag: john broome (writer)

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The Flash Silver Age Volume Three

This is a review of The Flash Silver Age Volume Three, written by John Broome and drawn by Carmine Infantino. Read my reviews of Volumes One and Two here and here. The Flash is of course the Fastest Man on Earth. Mild-mannered police scientist Barry Allen is struck by lightning, which grants him super speed. He can outrun bullets, time travel, and control every atom in his body! He has a fiancée, hen reporter (not a typo, Google it!)  Iris Allen; a young protégé, Kid Flash; a weird friend, The Elongated Man; PLUS a bow-tie, and he’s ready to go!

Know that this volume contains many erudite rogues, the type of blue-collar supervillain who will haul beer crates during the day and invent a perpetual motion machine during lunch break. Instead of selling their inventions and living the rest of their lives in luxury, they use their inventions to rob jewelry stores. They’re all the same character in that they are doing it for the kicks and not the money. We have an episode with the Mirror Master – I think it was the Mirror Master – breaking out of jail because his rogue rating went down in the prison newspaper, which I’m guessing is put out by his fellow cons. His rogue rating goes up and then tanks when the Flash flattens him.

There are also a few science fiction stories. I respect the fact that Mr. Broome always invents an explanation for his ridiculous Silver Age stories. In one story, the Flash time travels to the future to videotape the end of the earth for his girlfriend. He touches something, which is stupid, and ends up with Hands of Death ™. Everything he touches withers and dies. How to cure this? Just eat grain and oats, which I guess is immune to aging but will absorb the toxins in his hands and thus create an antidote when consumed. Simple!

The Flash’s supporting cast continues to expand. We meet Iris Allen’s brilliant professor father, who I’m sure wanders around asking people what day of the week it is, but almost deduces Flash’s secret identity using Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. When Barry uses super speed, time slows down around him, and his watch slows down. That’s why he’s always late. He’s not a lazy bum after all! And we have The Reverse Flash, who hails from the 25th century and is destined to become the Flash’s greatest foe.

These comics were written in the 1960s for children and young teens, and now they are being made into TV shows and movies that make millions of dollars. How influential are these comics? Well, if the creative team wasn’t doing work-for-hire, they would’ve been millionaires before they died. The lesson: own your own intellectual property! If you are a fan of the Flash and Silver Age comics you will enjoy this.

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The Flash Silver Age Volume Two

This is a review of The Flash Silver Age Vol. 2. I’m not going to mention that I have a special place in my heart for the Flash, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned that in every Flash review I’ve ever written. Instead, I’ll talk about how DC’s Silver Age comics aren’t to my tastes – most of the ones I’ve read are written in a style I have trouble connecting with. True, comics of that day were written for kids, but many of them are just glorified science fiction tales with eye-rolling pseudoscience.

Luckily, this volume isn’t like that. True, the stories are formulaic and the ‘science’ is dopey, but that’s fine. The author usually manages to give them an interesting twist: witness Charm School Gorilla Grodd. Grodd is an evil super-intelligent, super-powered gorilla who wants to conquer the world. In this volume, the Great Ape uses his mental powers to make himself irresistible to everyone, including the Flash. We have the Elongated Man, whose stretching powers derive from drinking soda pop. And then there’s Kid Flash, the bowtie wearing teen who emulates his idol, the head square himself, Barry Allen (who is the Flash).

In this volume we meet Digger Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. Digger covers for his crimes by getting a couple of geriatric criminals to pose as his dear old mother and father. Later, he creates a boomerang that can time travel – not bad for a guy who probably dropped out of school in the fifth grade – and unwittingly causes an alien invasion, as one does. Instead of shooting The Flash in the head, Captain Boomerang enjoys tying the Scarlet Speedster to enormous boomerangs which he blasts into outer space.

This volume also has Bill “Beefy” Lawson. Beefy is all his nickname implies. We meet him at a class reunion; unfortunately it’s only a single issue. DC really missed out by not giving good ole’ Beefy his own series – he could use the moves he learned on the football gridiron to take down evildoers. I’m firmly convinced the creators of Married With Children read this particular issue, because Beefy is a perfect stand-in for Al Bundy.

There are a number of team-ups in this volume. Flash teams with Kid Flash, the Elongated Man, Green Lantern, and Jay Garrick, the Flash of Earth 2. I am unsure if the writer came up with the alternate earth gimmick, but it’s sure turned out to be a cash cow for the comics industry.

Recommended!