Celebrating Artist Ty Templeton

Celebrating the birthday of artist Ty Templeton (May 9, 1962) with a couple of his covers for Secret Origins....#30 (September, 1988) featuring Elongated Man, Plastic Man and Woozy Winks, and #37 (February, 1989) featuring Doctor Light and the Legion of Substitute Heroes!

Detective Comics Stars Besides Batman JLA

Elongated Man and Green Arrow were two of the longer running JLA members who were featured in Detective Comics who made the cover....

...but, there was one man who lasted even longer, but, because Batman always had the cover, had never had a cover of Detective Comics while he was a back up feature in it.

Martian Manhunter

J'onn J'onnz premiered in Detective Comics #225 (November, 1955) by Joe Samachson and Joe Certa, when Dr. Erdel accidentally beamed the Manhunter from Mars to Earth using his robot brain.  The shock of J'onn's appearance was enough to send the doctor into cardiac arrest, killing the doctor and stranding J'onn on Earth.  Being a manhunter on his world, he felt qualified to become a detective on Earth, and after taking the form of Earthman John Jones, he did.

The Martian Manhunter mostly hid his powers and alien nature for his earliest cases, he eventually did reveal his Martian form as a super-heroic identity in Detective Comics #273 (November, 1959), joining the Justice League of America soon after.

J'onn did have a few foes while running in Detective Comics, like Monty Moran, the Human Flame and Professor Arnold Hugo (who, unlike the Martian Manhunter, made a cover of Detective Comics, #306, as he first faced Batman), as well as a few alien menaces, and even a new friend, Zook.  J'onn's Detective Comics run came to an end with Detective Comics #326 (April, 1964), moving over to House of Mystery, where he finally got some covers.

The Martian Manhunter finally did make a Detective Comics cover, #715 (November, 1997), the second part of when he teamed up with Batman to face Firefly.

Aquaman

Aquaman was already a founding member of the JLA, and finishing a try out four issue run in Showcase as he was losing his home as a back-up in Adventure Comics that he had held for decades.

The Sea King and his young ally, Aqualad, got a temporary home with Batman and the Martian Manhunter, running from Detective Comics #293 (July, 1961) to Detective Comics #300 (February, 1962), after which, he started his own comic for the first time!

Sadly, Aquaman never made the cover of Detective Comics, but the stories were drawn by Nick Cardy, who also did the earlier issues of Aquaman's first series, and so, a representative cover of the era was chosen.

Elongated Man

When Martian Manhunter left the title, the book got a new back-up detective with the Stretchable Sleuth, Ralph Dibny and his wife Sue, starting with Detective Comics #327 (May, 1964) by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino.


The Elongated Man moved over from working with the Flash, and stayed in Detective Comics, getting a couple of costume changes, working with Green Lantern, the Atom, Zatanna, Zatara, Commissioner Gordon...

...as well as a couple of full issues team ups with Batman and Robin, as well as facing foes like Mirror Master, Chronos and the Riddler, until his continuous run ended with Detective Comics #383 (January, 1969).

Elongated Man then made occasional appearances as a back-up feature in Detective Comics (and was soon made a member of the Justice League of America as well at this time, which was a more regular home for him, as well as renewing his friendship with the Flash and his wife, Iris), usually with his wife, Sue helping him along.


The pair were traveling the country as Ralph used his Gingold powers to sniff out mysteries, including issues #426, #430, #436, #444, #449, #453, #456, #457, #462, #465, #488 and #500, as well as appearing with others in two issues that will come up!

Hawkman

Katar Hol, the Thanagarian policeman who was also a member of the Justice League of America, became an occasional back up feature in Detective Comics starting with Detective Comics #428 (October, 1972), after losing his own title, and even a title he shared with his friend, the Atom.


Hawkman (and eventually his wife, Hawkgirl), would appear in as back-ups once in a while, including in issues #434, #446, #452, #454, #455, #467, #479, #480 and #500 (as well as in one issue with Elongated Man and more...which more will be said on soon).

To be fair, Hawkgirl even made it into a Roy Raymond feature in Detective Comics #487 (December-January, 1979/1980, one of very few appearances of Hawkgirl without Hawkman) before the pair settled in World's Finest Comics, which eventually led to the Shadow War of the Hawkman, and then a regular comic series for Hawkman right around the time of the Crisis On Infinite Earths.


Hawkman and Hawkgirl didn't make many covers, so instead, here's a few from Brave and the Bold with Batman, including a foe introduced to Hawkman in Detective Comics, the Fadeaway Man.

Atom

The Atom had also been a hero who lost his regular title, and was only appearing in the Justice League of America, but he started up again as a back-up in Action Comics for a while, but first he popped up with his fiancee, Jean Loring and friend, Alpheus Hyatt, for Detective Comics #432 (February, 1973).

The Atom then kicked off a run of back-ups, with the Calculator as the focus with Detective Comics #463 (September, 1976).  Atom defeated him, but then appeared in the Black Canary back up of the next issue, and, along with all the heroes he faced in back ups (including Elongated Man, Green Arrow and Hawkman) in issues leading up to Detective Comics #468 (March-April, 1977)...

...where Batman was finally able to beat the Calculator (Aquaman appeared briefly here as well, as did the head of Metropolis' WGBS, Morgan Edge), which can be seen on this Jim Aparo cover.


Atom also had one last back-up in Detective Comics, facing a foe from the JLA, the Dharlu, in Detective Comics #489 (April, 1980) before settling back in Action Comics (alternating with the second Air Wave and Aquaman, including another battle with the Calculator), then getting into the Sword of the Atom mini-series and specials around the time of the Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Black Canary

Black Canary did have a brief time in Detective Comics with Detective Comics #464 and #468 in the 1970s, but the majority of her appearances in the title were as a part of the Green Arrow back-up features, coming from the feature they shared in World's Finest Comics, though Black Canary didn't show up until Detective Comics #549 (April, 1985), eventually getting her new costume (as she dealt with changes in her life), and faced a foe based on a foe her mother faced, Bonfire.

Green Arrow and Black Canary also faced Steelclaw in Star City (and a team-up with Batman and Catwoman), as their time in Detective Comics wore down, ending Detective Comics #567 (October, 1986), after which, she became part of the Justice League and Justice League International.

Green Arrow

Green Arrow had been a back-up in Action Comics and World's Finest Comics (mostly with Black Canary, and one back-up in Detective Comics #466 with Elongated Man and with the group in #468 facing the Calculator), but when he moved over to Detective Comics with #521 (December, 1982) under a Jim Aparo cover.


Green Arrow spent most of his time concentrating on being a columnist for the Daily Star.

Green Arrow got some odd villains at this time based on simple gimmicks, like Hi-Tek, the Executrix, Ozone, the Detonator, the Printer's Devil, the Death-Dealer, Bad Penny, the Pinball Wizard, and Vengeance...

...before re-teaming with Black Canary, helping her with her history, and facing villains Champion, Steelclaw and Barricade, as well as working with Onyx, who came from the monastery Ollie had once taking refuge in (helping her out, and the mysterious Onyx stick around for a bit), as well as teaming with Batman and Catwoman for one full issue story...

 
....all before his back-ups ended with Detective Comics #567 (October, 1986), and Green Arrow would then get a new look and attitude with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters by Mike Grell.

Red Tornado

Last, but not least, for JLA member Detective Comics back-ups, it's worth mentioning that the android Red Tornado, while only really having a few back-ups in World's Finest Comics, did come around to appear in a back up in Detective Comics #493 (August, 1980) in a tale of Gotham City by J. M. DeMatteis, Jose Delbo and Joe Giella, with Reddy facing drug dealers, all under a Jim Aparo cover...

...which also features back-up characters Human Target, which has already been covered, and Batgirl and Robin....who will be!

Detective Comics Centennial 500

Looking at a very special issue of Detective Comics and the life and times of Batman, halfway to 1000, here is Detective Comics #500, which is something very special.  It is the second comic book ever to reach its 500th issue!  

The reason it has lasted so long can be summed up in one word: Batman!

Detective Comics 500

Thing is, Detective Comics was also more than Batman....there was Robin, his faithful companion, as well as many back up features over the years, so this issue split its focus, giving readers 7 special stories done by a wealth of talent, as evidenced by the cover of Detective Comics #500 (March, 1981), with Dick Giordano providing the large Batman and Robin, Walt Simonson doing the Batman in the magnifying glass, Joe Kubert drawing Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez drawing Elongated Man, Carmine Infantino providing the back cover's Robin as well as Deadman and Commissioner James Gordon (inked by Bob Smith), Tom Yeates providing a Bruce Wayne, Jim Aparo finishing the rest of the detectives, with Bob LeRose providing the classic covers.  

Now, most of these are detective stories, so, all the spoilers with the solutions to the mysteries will either be in links or at the end of the article....after a spoiler space for fans!  Now...onto the stories!

Batman

First up, "To Kill A Legend" by Alan Brennert and Dick Giordano, with a one page summary of Batman's origin (as a dream) which leads him out onto the streets to stop another crime.  With a bit of magical manipulation, Batman ends up in Crime Alley (the spot where his parents were killed), and he gets a little help from Robin. 

The Phantom Stranger appears (having been the manipulator) and explains that Batman has a chance to save his parents on another world (as he failed to do here, as did the Bruce Wayne on Earth-2, predating his story of becoming the Batman in Detective Comics #27).  So, Batman (with Robin following along) so to this Earth, to find a young spoiled Bruce Wayne, who likely won't be more than the playboy Batman pretends to be, encounters the younger versions of Jim Gordon (a Lieutenant in Gotham's police force) as well as his fiancee, librarian Barbara Kean (giving Batgirl's mom a full premarital name for the first time).   

Along the way, Robin discovers this Earth has no historical heroes, nor a planet Krypton, so that this world needs a Batman.  Events progress to the faithful day and time of the alleyway shooting after Bruce and his parents attend a movie...but, what will Batman do?

Slam Bradley

Next up, a convention of detectives, with Slam Bradley, one of the stars of Detective Comics #1 as the lead (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster),  with all these detectives (who all had features in Detective Comics), leading to "The 'Too Many Crooks...' Caper" by Len Wein and Jim Aparo.  


The detectives were honoring Archie Evergreen, a retiring detective....who, while talking to Slam, gets shot in the back at the party, prompting the roomful of sleuths to act to find Archie Evergreen's greatest enemy and murderer.  

Slam meets the other detectives at this time:  Captain Compass, naval detective; Jason Bard, Gotham private investigator; Mysto, magician detective; Roy Raymond, TV detective; Pow-Wow Smith, frontier lawman and Christopher Chance, the Human Target.  They all resolve to find the killer, with Slam starting with getting the lowdown on Archie's greatest enemy, smuggler Victor Dominion.  

Compass and Chance get proof of Dominion's other crimes on his yacht; Smith, Bard and Mysto confronting Dominion at his mansion, with Bradley confronting him and bringing Dominion down (literally) by shooting his escaping helicopter.  But, who was the murderer?  Raymond provides the facts, that, were "Impossible...But True".

Batman

Next up, back to Gotham, and an adventure of Batman by Len Wein and Walter Simonson which seems like a simple tale, as in a two page story, using every novel writer's bad cliches...a quite entertaining little Batman tale unfolds in "Once Upon A Time..."....a tale with no particular mystery!

Elongated Man

The ductile detective, Ralph Dibny, and his wife, Sue, stumble onto a talking raven, and a dying man mumbling "Reynolds" in "The Final Mystery Of Edgar Allan Poe" by Mike W. Barr and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.   The injured man in his office was Edwin Allman Pohe, a noted collector of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, with his head struck by a candlestick and holding an old piece of paper in his hand.  Pohe's assistant, Marcia Douglas, tells the Dibnys that Pohe was expecting someone, perhaps a rare book dealer to be stopping by, as well as giving the facts of Pohe's collection, which she supported (but didn't know that "Reynolds" was also Poe's mysterious last word).  

Ralph goes to very the date on the old paper, finding out it was only aged to look old, as Sue finds out Reynolds was a publisher Poe knew around the time he died.  Ralph figures out that Edgar Allan Poe had a magazine he was to print before he died, and tracks down the man Pohe was suppose to meet (to supposedly sell him a copy of that magazine, which was never printed).  Finding him, a Steve Billman, he also had access to old printing plates, and Ralph, Sue and Marcia went to find the killer!

Batman

"The Batman Encounters -- Gray Face" is a text story, by Walter B. Gibson (the creator of the Shadow), with spot illustrations by Tom Yeates.  

This story deals with Batman's detective and escape artist skills, as Batman has to track down the mysterious villain of Gotham's Chinatown area....Gray Face, after Herbert Garland was found, wandering the streets, speaking of dragons after an encounter with Gray Face. 


Batman's abilities are put to the test surviving the trials put on him by this foe!

Hawkman

"The Strange Death Of Doctor Erdel" was the case that Hawkman chose to solve (with some help from his wife, Hawkgirl) in the story by Paul Levitz and Joe Kubert.


Doctor Erdel was a scientist in an isolated laboratory who died of an apparent heart attack, where Erdel was found by his assistant, Fred Schneider, and Erdel's niece, Anna, inherited Erdel's patents and wealth.  

Erdel's heart attack was found to be brought on by electrical shock (likely from one of his inventions, that have sat untouched for years).  

Hawkman and Hawkgirl track down Anna (finding her innocent, as she had given away the money and devoted herself to charity work, with a tear stained scrapbook of her uncle's achievements), then to finding Fred, who had changed careers, becoming a successful ornithologist (thus eliminating his motive to want to steal Erdel's work).  

So, the Hawks head back to check to see who could have directed the computer to deliver the fatal shock to Dr. Erdel?  And which famous Justice Leaguer was Dr. Erdel responsible for?

Batman

Last, but not least, is "What Happens When A Batman Dies?" by Cary Bates, Carmine Infantino and Bob Smith, where....well, Batman dies!  

Disillusioned by the constant need for his services, Batman is feeling like his war on crime does no good, making him careless in taking down a few thieves at a simple mugging...

....not realizing that it was a trap by dog master Stryker, so that his hound, a trained attack dog, could bite the Batman with its poison coated teeth.  

The poison is killing Batman, and Robin and Gordon have to figure out how to save Batman (with Batman using his force of will to try to survive, ends up summoning Deadman, a wandering spirit able to possess bodies and control their actions, to help).


Deadman, possessing Robin, injects Batman with adrenaline, combined with Deadman possessing him, allows Batman to rise, and start to track down his killer as well as deal with his feelings of despair. 

Spoilers

After this brief depiction of Batman's villains by Jim Aparo (from a slightly earlier dollar sized issue of Detective Comics, and these and other previously invented villains were sadly lacking from this issue of Detective Comics)...

.....the answers to the mysteries!


Here they are!


Batman's dilemma to save his parents or not on the alternate Earth: he does, which does inspire that Earth's young Bruce Wayne to take up the study of criminology as well as athletics, leading him to a path as a possible Batman, out of awe instead of fear.

After dropping his TV show tagline, Roy Raymond reveals Archie's killer to be....Archie himself!  Using a small remote control, he fired the shot into his own back (Archie was dying, and wouldn't have been able to bring Dominion down in the time he had left, so, came up with this plan to have the world's greatest detectives do it for him).

Elongated Man and Sue did find the killer...Marcia!  She was trying to destroy clues along the way, as she and Billman were trying to sell Pohe a fake Poe magazine (but, the magazine did exist in rough form, so Ralph had it printed and a copy give to Pohe upon his recovery).

Hawkman found that, in an empty room, the culprit behind the computer shocking Erdel was....the computer!  This computer achieved sentience, and wanted Erdel out of the way so it could view the galaxy unhindered by human contact.  It was also the teleportation device which brought the Martian Manhunter to Earth in his first appearance in Detective Comics #225 (thus, this absolves J'onn of his guilt for the death of Dr. Erdel).

Last, Batman found inspiration from the spirits of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and all those he had saved as Batman (who had later passed on).  Batman and Deadman found Stryker's dog training facility, finding the dog, and getting a sample of the poison for a cure, as well as stopping Stryker (who met his fate at the jaws of another of his attack dogs).

With this, Detective Comics was halfway to 1000 (not unlike Action Comics a few years before!) building from 100, 200, 300 and 400....



 

 

Flash Facts: Evil Elongated Man?

Flash and Elongated Man are some of the best of friends in the DC Universe, but even friends fight here and there. 

After all, Flash and Elongated Man fought way back when the stretchable sleuth first appeared in the Flash's comic...but it was all just a misunderstanding.  Ralph Dibny wouldn't go truly evil...would he?

Flash 252

With a "Double Dose of Danger" in Flash #252 (August, 1977) by Cary Bates, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin (under a cover by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel), you might be inclined to rethink that thought.

Sue Dibny (Ralph's wife), came to Barry and Iris Allen for help, as her husband had disappeared after going undercover as a hood and disappeared quickly from their hotel room.  Barry explains to Iris he took Ralph away at super speed (while Ralph was drinking his Gingold, which gives him his stretchy powers) to capture the Chene Gang, which was pilfering Central City at that moment!  The two went to catch the gang, and caught one member, with the rest being holograms (or so they thought....as half of the money was still gone!).  Ralph investigated, and (in his criminal identity) found a twin, which had the rest of the money, and this pair planned another robbery at the airport.  Flash came to interfere, but ended up having to face the Molder....who was turning items into taffy (or at least as stretchy as taffy), but....why?

Flash 253

"Don't Mess With The Molder!" was the second part of this story, from Flash #253 (September, 1977) by Cary Bates, Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin, covered by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel.

After the Molder melted Flash down (on live TV no less, worrying both Iris and Sue), the Molder melted the member of the Chene Gang too, to escape with the loot, and take a rest in a junkyard.  Meanwhile, Iris broke into the hospital and exposed the Flash "protoplasm" to electricity, which was enough to help Barry reform his body, then the two went home, after Barry went to collect some fungus from South America.  Readers found out the origin of the Molder...that the super speed charged Gingold warped Ralph's mind, so Barry went to collect a fungus that attacked the plant the Gingold was based on, hoping that may cure Ralph by temporarily neutralizing his powers.  Flash had to fight off Russian spies who were threatening Sue to get the Molder to do their bidding...where he got help from the Elongated Man (as Flash had injected him with the fungus formula, which restored Ralph's normal memories, then a little later, took his powers away for a bit). 

The mystery of the Molder is solved!

But What About The Crisis?

Inexplicably, the Molder showed up during a panel of the Crisis On Infinite Earths #10 (January, 1986) facing Hawkwoman and Tin of the Metal Men...stretching things a bit, theories came about that this was another Molder from an issue of Brave and the Bold featuring Batman and Plastic Man (#76, from February-March, 1968) wearing Ralph's evil costume.....or could have been a time-tossed Dibny from when he was the Molder, but who knows? 

Something to think on....

Flash Facts: The Early Days of The Elongated Man

Flash has had quite the collection of villains over the years....

...but equally important is the number of friends he made as well.

One of the earliest of them was the stretchable sleuth known as Elongated Man, who, in his not so secret identity of Ralph Dibny, traveled the country, using his ability to stretch, in mind and body, to solve various little mysteries that he would sniff out as they came to him.

The Mystery Of The Elongated Man

Ralph Dibny was really just an overgrown child as he first met Flash in Flash #112 (April-May, 1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.   Not literally, but Ralph had loved Indian Rubber Men from the circus since he was a child, and learned they all favored the soft drink, Gingold, so he made a more powerful version of this drink to really allow him to stretch, and headed out in his purple stretchable costume to solve crimes.  Problem was, Ralph looked like the best suspect in these crimes to the Flash, so the Elongated Man had to contend with Barry Allen's alter ego first, before the two teamed up to bring in the real criminal gang.

This story has been reprinted many times, including in Flash Annual #1 of 1963 (and its replica edition of 2001), DC Special Series #19 of 1979, in the second Flash Archives and Flash Chronicles, and the first Flash Omnibus and Flash: The Silver Age collections.

The Elongated Man's Secret Weapon

Ralph showed his love of the circus in Flash #115 (September, 1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, as he was working with one as a performer, and has made quite a bit of money, so takes to traveling the world.  The Elongated Man ends up in the Yucatan, following the trail of the Gingo, the plant which helps give Ralph his powers, and finds an odd red light (and a mystery), so he calls on his pal, the Flash for help.  The two heroes end up being reduced in size by  aliens, preparing to invade Earth, but the heroes stop them, returning to normal size after wrecking their shrinking machine.

This story is reprinted in second Flash Archive, third Flash Chronicle and first Flash Omnibus and Flash: The Silver Age collection.

The Elongated Man's Undersea Trap

Ralph's life changes forever in Flash #119 (March, 1961) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, as before this appearance, it is revealed that he married Sue Dearbon, and the two of them encounter trouble on their honeymoon in the Caribbean.  Ralph had been kidnapped by the alien Bredans, who had been capturing divers to sell into slavery for a while.  They capture the Flash as well, who goes along to find Ralph, who has lost his memory.  Flash helps Ralph recover his memory, and the two defeat the slave masters, free the other divers and let Ralph get back to Sue and his honeymoon, with Ralph basking in the glory (as he also does not keep a secret identity, referring to himself as the world famous Elongated Man).

This story was reprinted in Flash #209 of 1971, the third Flash Archive, the fourth Flash Chronicle, the first Flash Omnibus and the second Flash: The Silver Age Collection. 

Space-Boomerang Trap

Time for the Elongated Man to meet a super-villain (and make another cover appearance), and that happened in Flash #124 (November, 1961) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.  Captain Boomerang had been out on parole, but still using a special boomerang to commit crimes.  Flash calls in Elongated Man in for help, but the time-traveling nature of the boomerang attracts aliens, who Captain Boomerang joins with the heroes to chase off the aliens, with Boomerang then trying to use the alien tech to rid himself of the Flash, but Elongated Man stops that, and then the two work together to put Captain Boomerang back in jail.

This tale is reprinted in Flash #160 of 1966, DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #2 of 1980, the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told, the third Flash Archive, the fourth Flash Chronicle, the first Flash Omnibus and the second Flash: The Silver Age Collection.

Kid Flash Meets Meets The Elongated Man

Kid Flash and the Elongated Man had been alternating back-ups in the Flash for a while, so in Flash #130 (August, 1962) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, it was time for the two heroes to team-up (as Barry was to be busy, working with Green Lantern Hal Jordan).  Elongated Man called Flash for help with a case, but as Barry was going on vacation, Barry went to Kid Flash to recruit him instead.  Oakley County had been snowed in, and isolated from the world, and Kid Flash and Elongated Man figured out that it was Weather Wizard, using his control over the weather to blackmail the town.  The two heroes work together to find and disable the machine the Weather Wizard was using to blanked the town in winter weather.

This story was reprinted in Four Star Spectacular #2 of 1976, DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #2 of 1980, the fourth Flash Archives, the first Flash Omnibus and in the second Flash: The Silver Age Collection. 

The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero

The next Flash/Elongated Man team-up happened in Flash #134 (February, 1963) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, and pitted the pair against one of the Flash's oldest villains, Captain Cold.  Flash and Elongated Man go to help scientist Dr. Hutson with a malfunctioning computer, but are unable to find any trouble.  Flash then goes to stop Captain Cold from a prison break, but Elongated Man stops Flash.  Flash then tracks Captain Cold down again, but again, Elongated Man works to stop the Flash, so Barry knocks out Ralph, captures Captain Cold, and has to find out what's wrong with his friend.  Turns out the computer had been infected with a radiation which made it work opposite as to how it was suppose to, and somehow that Elongated Man had been infected with that radiation as well.

This story was reprinted in 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-22 of 1973, and in the fifth Flash Archive.

The Pied Piper's Double Doom

Elongated Man's last appearance in the Flash of the 1960s happened in Flash #138 (August, 1963) by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, facing off against the Pied Piper.  This time, Pied Piper hypnotizes the Elongated Man into stealing for him, then forgetting what he has done.  While investigating Ralph's unintentional crime, Pied Piper uses his hypnosis on the speedster, then having him commit a crime as well, then forget it too.  Elongated Man figures out Flash was behind the second crime, and the two crimefighters figure out that they were both controlled, track down Pied Piper, and Flash, using Ralph's Gingold, surprise Pied Piper, defeating him.

This story was reprinted in DC Special Series #24 of 1981 and in the fifth Flash Archive.  Elongated Man must have felt dejected being used against the Flash, as he and Sue must have needed a change.

Nothing too terrible happened to the Elongated Man and Sue, they just moved over to Detective Comics, starting with issue #327 as a back-up feature to Batman and Robin, where Ralph's nose twitched whenever he smelled a mystery (much to Sue's chagrin).  Elongated Man even was cover featured in full length team-ups with Batman in Detective Comics #331 and #343 of the 1960s.

During his run in Detective Comics, Elongated Man faced Chronos and Riddler, changed costumes twice (once a yellow one, then a more familiar red and blue)...

...as well as teaming up with Zatanna so he could be there for the end of her quest to find her father in Justice League of America #51 in 1967.  Ralph and Sue's back-ups in Detective Comics ended with issue #383 in 1968, then took a few years for him to return in Flash #206, joining the Justice League soon after in Justice League of America #105 in 1973, where he remained almost to the end of this run of the Justice League of America (even changing to a more purple costume, all without a mask, as Ralph had decided early on not to hide his identity, loving the fame)...

....then returning to Justice League Europe after the Invasion!, even having one four issue limited series in the 1990s, as well as a Showcase Presents Elongated Man reprinting all the early Flash Elongated Man tales, as well as most of his Detective Comics tales in black and white, showcasing Ralph's deductive abilities and love of his wife, Sue.

Stretching things a bit, this is a pretty good run for anyone!

Flash Facts: Flash Annual of 1963

Flash was the envy of all the other DC heroes except for Superman, Batman and Lois Lane, as the fastest man alive got his first annual in the Summer of 1963.


This book featured reprints of the first appearances of important characters to the Flash mythos....


....and we'll take a look at these stories below!

Katmos

The first reprinted story is from Flash #105 (February-March, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, with Barry Allen facing off against the "Conqueror From 8 Million B.C."....that being the menace of Katmos (though the cover of the original issue features the Mirror Master, who was in the other story of that book).


After a brief recap of the Flash's origin, Barry faces off against the ancient threat of Katmos, freed by archeologist John Haines (as the metallic monarch used his mind control ray on the man).  Katmos then encountered the Flash, even taking control of him for a time, but Barry Allen proved to be too fast for this  menace, beating his plans....and still being able to go to dinner with Iris West!

Mr. Element

Next up is the first appearance of another enemy of the Flash, from Showcase #13 (March-April, 1958) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Frank Giacoia, that of the "Master Of The Elements", Mr. Element (though this also was not the feature of the issue to make the cover).


Barry faces Mr. Element and his gang (Argon, Krypton, Xenon and Radon, named after the inert elements of the periodic table), with the tricky Mr. Element using pre-prepared tricks with elements to halt the fastest man alive.  Mr. Element evades capture, and even calls out the Flash while Barry is on a dinner date with Iris...the villain ruins Barry's night, but the Flash proved he could think fast enough to dash the hopes of his enemy.  Mr. Element returns later, in a new identity, that of Dr. Alchemy!

Elongated Man

Flash really needed a friend, and he found one in the Flash #112 (April-May, 1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, at least he would as soon as he solved "The Mystery Of The Elongated Man".


Flash is being out-heroed by newcomer to Central City, the Elongated Man.  Elongated Man was really Ralph Dibny, who was fascinated by circus rubber men since he was a kid, found they all drank a soft drink, Gingold, and took an extract from that which allowed him his elastic powers.  Flash suspected Elongated Man of recent robberies in his city, and set a trap for the Gingold guardian....but he found EM to have captured the real thieves instead.  Flash and Elongated Man tied for the Man of the Year award given by Picture News, and became fast friends after this (with Elongated Man later joining the JLA!).

Star Sapphire

The next story of the issue featured the Flash from the Golden Age, Jay Garrick.  "The Amazing Star Sapphire" was the one of the menaces of All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948) by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Moe Worthman (thought Flash foe, the Fiddler, got the cover).
 
The Flash and Dr. Flura were found comatose, and brought to a laboratory to be revived.  While in the lab, the villainous Star Sapphire appeared, with a plan to have her world destroy the Earth (and lured Flash and the lady doctor to it, via a space-time machine).  Flash stopped Star Sapphire's evil plan, rescued Dr. Flura as well, returning to Earth.   This Star Sapphire later proved to be similar to the Star Sapphire who was the foe of Barry's friend, Green Lantern Hal Jordan (but that connection took a few decades to reveal....).

Grodd

Flash faced the "Menace Of The Super-Gorilla" in Flash #106 (April-May, 1959) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella, though this story wasn't featured on the cover...it was the first appearance of Gorilla Grodd and King Solovar of Gorilla City.

Grodd secretly comes to Central City, while Barry's friend, actor Fred Pearson, thinks he's losing his mind (as he performs in an act disguised as a gorilla, but can't remember his last performance, which people say was his best).  Really, it was Grodd, hiding for a time, as he searched for Solovar (the king of Gorilla City, who had been captured and was in a circus, hiding his own telepathic abilities).  Grodd found Solovar, took the secret of Force of Mind (mind control) from him, and Solovar broke free to find Flash.  Solovar explained this to the Flash, who then had to stop Grodd from taking over Gorilla City...which he quickly did (and also promised to keep the existence of telepathic gorillas and their home from the world).  Grodd would return many times to face the Flash....

Kid Flash

Flash got a little bit of help in his life as he would "Meet Kid Flash" in Flash #110 (December-January, 1959/1960) by John Broome, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (in the non-cover featured story of this issue).  

Iris' nephew, Wally West, was a big fan of the Flash.  Iris asked Barry to escort Wally around town, and hoped to meet the Flash.  Barry brought Wally back to his lab, and super-speed around to meet Wally as the Flash.  While explaining his origin, a lightning bolt struck, hitting the chemicals and dousing Wally, giving him the same super-speed Barry has.  The Flash gives Wally a smaller version of his own suit, allowing the boy to be a super-hero as Kid Flash, as long as he keeps his abilities a secret from everyone.   Later, Barry tells the boy his own secret, and Wally even joins with other sidekicks of other heroes to form the Teen Titans.

There were also special features in this issue, like how artist Carmine Infantino drew the Flash, as well as an index of the Barry Allen Flash issues of the time, and a few special Flash firsts covers.  While it took a long time for Flash to get another annual, Flash did have a couple of 80 Page Giants (#4 of October 1964 and #9 of April 1965) devoted to his earlier adventures (which you can use the index in the annual to guess which ones they are).  Better still, you can get a replica edition of the Flash Annual (which came out in 2001).