Guide to Golden Age Dr. Fate Reprints

Dr. Fate premiered in More Fun Comics #55 (May, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman fighting Wotan to save Inza Cramer using his mystic might...and Kent Nelson kept up the battle for years in More Fun Comics, both with and without his stylish helmet of Nabu.

Let's take a look at where you can read those tales more recently!

More Fun with Dr. Fate

First up, is the tale from More Fun Comics #56 (June, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, with Dr. Fate continuing "The Search For Wotan" (started in the previous issue) and his lady, Inza Cramer, where Kent Nelson's mystical alter ego has to search the underworld to find Inza, to free her from the clutches of the evil sorcerer/scientist.

This story found itself reprinted in the Immortal Doctor Fate #1 (January, 1985), with a cover by Walt Simonson, along with a retold Dr. Fate origin from DC Special Series #10 (April, 1978) by Paul Levitz and Joe Staton and the solo Dr. Fate story from First Issue Special #9 (December, 1975) by Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson (where the ankh symbol was more fully incorporated into the Doctor Fate mythos).

Next up is the next issue, More Fun Comics #57 (July, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, with Dr. Fate dealing with "The Fire Murders", bodies horribly burned to death.  Dr. Fate and Inza deal with Mango the Mighty, the sorcerer who has been burning these people, and his undead legions.

This story was reprinted in Superman #252 (June, 1972) under a high-flying cover by Neal Adams, and this issue also features Golden Age Stories of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the Spectre, Starman, Superman and more!

Dr. Fate and Inza's next single reprint was from More Fun Comics #65 (March, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman find the duo dealing with Nyarl-Amen and "The Fish-Men of Nyarl-Amen" to keep the U.S. Navy safe in Hawaii from these undersea invaders (all unaware of the real tragedy due to hit Pearl Harbor months later).


This tale was reprinted in Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #3 (November, 1972) under a Nick Cardy cover, and also had Golden Age Hawkman and Vigilante reprints, continuing the ties between Hawkman and Dr. Fate, as well as airing out great Golden Age stories!

Inza starts the next story, dealing with Helen, "The Leopard Girl" in More Fun Comics #66 (April, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, where Helen is having troubles dealing with her leopard-like spots, and her cousin, Sarkiss, who wants her inheritance.  Inza calls in Dr. Fate for help, and along the way, Dr. Fate reveals his human side to Inza.


This story was reprinted in Detective Comics #439 (February-March, 1974) under a cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, with a Golden Age Hawkman reprint as well...and quite a few good Silver Age stories reprinted, as well as a new tale of Batman, and one of Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter tales.

With More Fun Comics #67 (May, 1941), readers finally get to see "The Origin Of Doctor Fate" by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, where we find out how young Kent Nelson was exploring an Egyptian pyramid with his archeologist father, Sven, and Kent stumbled upon the tomb of Nabu, who Kent released (as the Lord of Order, Nabu, wasn't dead, but in a gas that kept him in suspended animation).  This gas killed Kent's dad, but Nabu raised the boy and taught him magic, also giving him the helmet of Dr. Fate.  This tale happened in flashback, and also detailed the current battle of Dr. Fate and Inza against the demon, Negal.

This tale has been reprinted a few times....in Justice League of America #95 (December, 1971) under a Neal Adams cover (along with a tale of Dr. Mid-Nite), in the DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #9 (May, 1981) under a cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano (and reprints of origins for the Silver Age Atom, Swamp Thing, Batgirl, Krypto and the Silver Age Green Arrow and Speedy), in the Weird Secret Origins #1 (2004) with a cover by Jerry Ordway, and also containing the origins of the Spectre, Congorilla, Animal Man, El Diablo and the Enchantress in this superbly edited throwback collection by Robert Greenberger, which itself was reprinted along with other origin collections in the DC Universe: Secret Origins hardcover of 2012, and DC Universe: Secret Origins softcover of 2013.

Dr. Fate and Inza next deal with a mad scientist and his assistant Nasha in More Fun Comics #68 (June, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, with Dr. Fate wrecking the scientist's lab, showing off his mystical strength and invulnerability (and maybe a little on how less human Dr. Fate is, as opposed to Kent Nelson!).


This tale is reprinted in Detective Comics #442 (August-September, 1974) with a Jim Aparo cover, and features Golden Ages tales of Black Canary, the Newsboy Legion and Batman, as well as Silver Age Hawkman and Elongated Man tales, and a new Batman story, and the next to last original chapter of Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson's Manhunter.

More Fun Comics #73 (November, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman was the next to be reprinted, and it had a lot happening in it.  It was the second appearance of Dr. Fate with his new half-helmet (reflecting Kent giving up some of his mystical power, but also not being controlled by Nabu any more, living with only his strength, invulnerability and flight powers), and the introduction of "Mr. Who", a criminal mastermind that would continue to vex the doctor with his Solution Z (which gave Mister Who superhuman powers).

This tale was reprinted twice on its own, once in Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #8 (June-July, 1973) with a Nick Cardy cover, and a Flash/Captain Cold battle, and reprinted again along with the rest of the contents of More Fun Comics #73 in the Millennium Edition: More Fun Comics #73 of January, 2001 along with the first appearances of Golden Age Green Arrow and Aquaman.

This was the end of the Doctor Fate reprints, though the Doctor Fate series continued on until More Fun Comics #98 (July-August, 1944), with Doctor Fate in his half-helmet, fighting more like a super-hero than a master of the mystic arts. 

Still, Dr. Fate had his time, also serving with the Justice Society as one of their charter members, and best of all, ALL of Dr. Fate's solo Golden Age adventures, with battles against Wotan, Ian Karkull, Mister Who, the Octopus, the Red Sage, the Clock and more from More Fun Comics #55 to #98 are available in the Golden Age Doctor Fate Archives #1 from 2007 (and his JSA tales in the All-Star Comics Archives).  So, at least the early tales of Dr. Fate aren't that tough to dig up, but be careful picking it up, you might not be able to put it down!  It would be magical if all DC's Golden Age was reprinted like this! 



    

Universal Monsters Cavalcade of Horror

Reprinting old stories is nothing new, and sometimes the stories even come from a long time ago...

...so, take a look at this collection of classic Universal Monsters from Dark Horse, with the Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror from January, 2006, with a cover by Eric Powell.

These stories all originated from their movies, and from a run of comics by Dark Horse in 1993.

Frankenstein

First up was the adaptation of Frankenstein in June, 1993, by Den Beauvais, which is an airbrushed piece, harkening back to the birth of Frankstein's Monster...


...reading this will make you feel "it's alive!"....



...or make you run out to see the original movie.

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Truly, the best of the Dark Horse adaptations, with adapted story by Steve Moncuse and art by Art Adams and Terry Austin, this tale came out in August, 1993...


...with action so real, you'll get wet when reading it....


...so remember to bring along your scuba gear so you can catch a breath reading of the Creature From the Black Lagoon!

Dracula

Straight from the wilds of Transylvania, the Count was adapted by writer Dan Vado and artist Jonathan D. Smith who painted the story of the world's most famous bloodsucker...

..giving deeply rich backgrounds to look at...

...making you feel like Dracula and want a drink of something as well after you read this adaptation from October, 1993!

The Mummy

Deep in the heart of a tomb in Egypt, the Mummy's movie was brought to life in November, 1993 by writer Dan Jolley and artist Tony Harris...

...this tale with keep you wrapped up in suspense...

...at least long enough to finish the tale.  

Sadly, the planned volume for the Wolfman never saw the light of the moon.

Guide to Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl Reprints

Continuing our look back at the Golden Age, and where to find them now, we go all the way back to ancient Egypt....or the early days of World War II, with the high-flying Hawkman, and his partner, Hawkgirl.

Carter Hall was an archeologist and weapons collector, who came into possession of a knife which high priest Hath-Set killed Prince Khufu of ancient Egypt...and when Carter touched it, he saw Khufu's death and realized he was Khufu reborn!  Soon after, Carter met Shiera Sanders (the reincarnation of Khufu's eternal love, Chay-Ara) and ended up donning wings of the anti-gravity Nth metal and using ancient weapons to battle Dr. Anton Hastor, the reincarnation of Hath-Set, with Hawkman winning this time!

All this from Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940) with "The Origin of Hawkman" by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville.

This story was reprinted many times, in the Famous First Edition F-8 of August-September, 1975, in the Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes of 1976 (in both hardcover and soft cover, with cover by Neal Adams, and also had the Silver Age Hawkman origin), and in the Millennium Edition: Flash Comics #1 of September, 2000.

Hawkman fought the "Thought Terror" in Flash Comics #4 (April, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff, where Carter faced a hypnotist called the Thought Terror with Shiera's help (though she had yet to don any winged identity....).


This story was found again in the Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1990, which featured a stunning cover by Jerry Ordway, and many Golden Age stories that were, well, just great, and featured a few other JSAers like Flash, Wildcat, Sandman, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Black Canary and the Spectre as well!

Hawkman's next reprinted story was from Flash Comics #5 (May, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff, later titled "The Kidnapping Of Ione Craig", a female secret agent, that Carter had to save from Hassan Ibn Sadah and his assassins (and no Shiera to be found in this story!).


This story was dug up by the comic archeologist of Jules Feiffer and reprinted in The Great Comic Book Heroes of 1965...

...along with other Golden Age tales of Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Spectre, Wonder Woman and more.

Hawkman took on a crooked doctor in Flash Comics #12 (December, 1940) in "The Heart Patient" by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff, where Carter was helping his friend, Tommy Rogers, who had been convinced he had a bad heart by his girlfriend, Betty Tremont.  Even back in the 1940s there were problems with healthcare fraud!


This story was reprinted in Hawkman #25 (April-May, 1968) in an issue featuring a cover by Dick Dillin, and a new story about the Silver Age Hawkman (who was the feature of the book).  Sadly, the Golden Age and Silver Age Hawkmen never teamed up in the Hawkman book, like the Flashes, Green Lanterns and Atoms did (in their own respective Silver Age titles).

Next up for Hawkman is an important comic for Shiera Sanders, Flash Comics #24 (December, 1941) later entitled "Meet Hawkwoman", though it was technically the first appearance of Hawkgirl!  Shiera was given a hawk costume for a costume party, and she ended up going into action at the event, when birds mistook her for Hawkman.  This wasn't Shiera's first time in a hawk costume, as she went into action in All-Star Comics #5 (June-July, 1941), but she kept at it after this.

This story was reprinted in Superman #252 (June, 1972) under a high-flying cover by Neal Adams, and this issue also features Golden Age Stories of Dr. Fate, the Spectre, Starman, Superman and more!

The Hawkman story from Flash Comics #71 (May, 1946) by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert involved "The Land Of The Bird People" (later known better as Feithera) and had Hawkman find this land in the arctic, including Trata (the villain of the piece), and Worla (the leader of the bird people).
 
This city's existence is kept a secret, but later on, Norda (known as Northwind) from Infinity, Inc. is revealed to be Worla's grandson (and son of Osroro and friend of Carter's, archeologist Fred Cantrell).  This story was represented in Infinity, Inc. #4 (July, 1984) under a shocking Jerry Ordway cover, and "The Land Of The Bird People" was partially redrawn by Al Dellinges (who did a wonderful job, but does make it a question of whether this was a true reprint).

It is first appearance time with the story of "The Ghost" from Flash Comics #88 (October, 1947) by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, though the character's name was technically the Gentleman Ghost (a ghost by the name of Jim Craddock).  Gentleman Ghost would go on to menace Hawkman and Hawkgirl again, and even cross Earths to menace the Silver Age Hawkman and the Atom!


This tale can be rediscovered in Secret Origins #1 (February-March, 1973) along with the origins of Superman, Flash (Barry Allen) and Batman, all under a cover by Nick Cardy, and series edited by E. Nelson Bridwell (who helped dig up so many of these glorious Golden Age tales).

The Gentleman Ghost came back in Flash Comics #90 (December, 1947) in "The Crimes That Couldn't Have Happened" facing off against Hawkman and Hawkgirl again, this time in Africa, in a story by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert.


This story was reprinted in Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #7 (March-April, 1973) under a Nick Cardy cover (that featured Hourman and Johnny Quick's Golden Age stories), in this other E. Nelson Bridwell edited 9 issue series that focused on reprints of stories featuring DC's bad guys, mostly with stories from the Golden Age.

The Gentleman Ghost was back again in Flash Comics #92 (February, 1948) with the "Riddle Of The Clown" by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl facing off with their persistent foe in Paris, and again avoiding capture by apparently dying (as Hawkman had doubts whether gentleman Jim was really a ghost...).


This story was unearthed again in Detective Comics #439 (February-March, 1973) along with Golden Age Dr. Fate and Kid Eternity reprints (and Silver Age reprints of Batman, Elongated Man and the Atom, as well as new Batman stories and a new Manhunter story by Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson, putting a new spin on a Golden Age character), all under a cover by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.

The last of Hawkman's reprinted solo tales not in a larger collection is Flash Comics #100 (October, 1948) with "The Human Fly Bandits" by John Broome and Joe Kubert, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl facing John Rotor and his henchmen (and having to fight their way out of a giant thermometer in a Batman related twist, as it was Batman and Robin who were usually trapped in giant death-traps!).


This tale was reprinted in Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #3 (November, 1972) under a Nick Cardy cover, and also had Golden Age Dr. Fate and Vigilante reprints.  Hawkman and Hawkgirl continued on with solo stories until Flash Comics #104 (February, 1949), but had a few other Golden Age appearances as well.

The biggest of which was in the Big All-American Comic Book of 1944 (a collection of many tales) with "A Hot Time In The Old Town" by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl facing off against Hot Shot, a foe who liked to set fires and needed heat to survive.

This story was reprinted in the DC Comics Rarities Archive #1 of 2005, along with plenty of different Golden Age characters stories, including fellow JSAers Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Batman, Sandman, Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, Johnny Thunder, Atom, Hourman and even characters like Slam Bradly, Zatara and the Ghost Patrol!

More importantly, Hawkman has solo stories in All-Star Comics #1 and #2 in 1940, with All-Star Comics #1 (Summer, 1940) featuring Hawkman fighting the sorcerer Trygg and his army of zombies in a story by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff, and in All-Star Comics #2 (Fall, 1940) with Hawkman facing the Aztec priestess of Nyola, sacrificing people to her god, Yum-Chac.

These stories were reprinted in the the All-Star Comics Archives #0 of 2006, and Hawkman was there for the formation of the JSA with All-Star Comics #3 (Winter, 1940-1941) and the only one there for all 57 Golden Age issues of All-Star Comics (which themselves were reprinted in 12 total All-Star Comics Archives, making the JSA tales complete)!

Sadly, Hawkman's Golden Age tales aren't complete and need to be unearthed, as Hawkman only got one Golden Age Hawkman Archives in 2006, featuring Hawkman's solo tales from Flash Comics #1 to Flash Comics #22 (October, 1941)...


...getting more Golden Age reprints would sure be a reason to bring back DC's Archives, if only to see some of Hawkgirl's earliest tales, as well as villains like the Coin, the Hummingbird, Simple Simon, and the Monocle and friends like Neptune Perkins!

Charter Members of Infinity, Inc. Part 2

Infinity, Inc. was the next generation of super-heroes (at least on Earth-2, a world where folks like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash Jay Garrick, Green Lantern Alan Scott and Hawkman Carter Hall were heroes in the Justice Society for decades....).


It seemed like these new heroes were to replace the JSA...


...but, they were also related to the Justice Society.

Northwind

Norda Cantrell was the winged godson of the original Hawkman, half-human and half-Feitheran.  Hawkman first encountered the Feitherans in Flash Comics #71 (May, 1946), and in the early issues of Infinity, Inc., it was revealed that Hawkman went back their with Fred Cantrell, who became accepted by the inhabitants of the city.  Fred married Osoro (the daughter of Feithera's leader, Worla), and they produced Norda.  Norda was a favorite of the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl, putting a wedge between the two and their own son, Hector, who couldn't fly.  Norda went to track down Hector around Christmas, bursting in on Hector, Lyta and Al Rothstein as they were making plans to storm the JSA HQ and join the team.  Norda ended up flying along as Northwind, and became a charter member of Infinity, Inc. during the course of the Generations Saga.

Northwind's flight and agility was an asset to Infinity, Inc., as was his Feitheran technology (such as the "Globglass Gun" he had, which disabled opponents by messing with their equilibrium), and he served with the team regularly until soon after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, when he returned home to his people, getting in touch with his mystical and religious side there (and learning of a prophecy about Hector Hall and the Silver Scarab), missing out on the end of Infinity, Inc..  Norda later returned, further mutated into bird form, as a member of Black Adam's Injustice Society of the World (along with former Infinity, Inc. members Atom-Smasher/Al Rothstein and Brainwave Jr/Henry King, Jr., and a new version of Eclipso). 

Jade

Jennifer-Lynn Hayden started as a lady of mystery...but her glowing green skin and power pulse that allowed her to manipulate energy marked her as a relative of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern (though that was in doubt for the earliest issues of Infinity, Inc.).

Jennie-Lynn Hayden had found her brother, as both she and Todd had been adopted, ending up with Julian and Myrna Hayden, with a quite suburban life...until she started turning green here and there, which can be a problem!  Jennie-Lynn used this ability to find her brother, and the two showed up at JSA HQ when the other four future Infinity, Inc. members did.

Jade remained a member of Infinity, Inc. for its entire run, even befriending Solomon Grundy (a foe of the Golden Age Green Lantern), then moved away from her brother, working with the Blood Pack (a group of heroes who got their powers from their bloodlines being mixed with alien DNA), losing her powers for a time and becoming the girlfriend of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner (and becoming a Green Lantern herself), then getting the powers back, joining the Outsiders, dying during Infinite Crisis, but coming back during the Blackest Night to join the Justice League of America along with Jesse Quick (being sort of a female Flash/Green Lantern team). 

Obsidian

Todd Rice was Jennie-Lynn's brother, and his ability to become a shadow didn't particularly tie him to any JSAer, but he was also the son of the original Green Lantern.  Todd didn't live the good life of his sister, being adopted by James Rice, who abused the boy, and Todd developed mental problems because of the abuse, suffering a deep depression (not helped by his powers of darkness, to turn into a shadow and bring out people's darkest fears).  Still, he found his sister and the two were there for the beginning of Infinity, Inc.  (though it took a while for the siblings to find out who their mother was....hint, it was one of the Golden Age ladies here!).

Todd hung in to the end of Infinity, Inc. as well, and continued on with his sister, until she left him too....and Obsidian joined the Justice League America with Nuklon (and Fire, Ice Maiden, Blue Devil, Flash Wally West, a merged Hawkman and more, and among others, fought with the Killer Elite, which included Deadshot and Merlyn as members), then worked with Manhunter Kate Spencer for a bit, as well as fighting his darker nature (which at times made Todd a villain, usually due to the influence of Eclipso).

Brainwave, Jr.

Henry King, Jr. is a bit of an odd case in more ways than one.  He premiered one issue before the other members of Infinity, Inc. (in All-Star Squadron #24 of August, 1983, by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway) and set the stage for the other members to appear.  Henry is also the member that didn't have a relation to a JSAer, but instead was the son of one of their most persistent villains, the Brain Wave.  Odder still, his mother was revealed to be Merry, the Girl of 1000 Gimmicks (Merry Pemberton, the cousin of the Star-Spangled Kid), but the details of this union were never revealed.

Brainwave, Jr. crashed the party when the other future Infinitors crashed JSA HQ, and he ended up tagging along when Ultra-Humanite sent the other six back to the 1940s (to fight the All-Star Squadron), and it was Brain Wave, Jr., who, along with Tarantula who helped save the day (and more importantly, saving Albert Rothstein's mom....so Nuklon could eventually be born!).

Henry was attracted to Jennie-Lynn, which upset Todd to no end, especially with Henry's mind powers (which expanded after he absorbed his father at the end of the Generations Saga).  Sticking with Infinity, Inc. to the end, Henry later went over to the dark side, forming the Legion of Doom out of JLA foes like the second Killer Frost, Major Force, the Madmen and other foes of the members of Extreme Justice, and being part of Black Adam's Injustice Society.

Star-Spangled Kid

Sylvester Pemberton started out all the way back in Star-Spangled Comics #1 (October, 1941) by Jerry Siegel and Howard Sherman.  The kid was a member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory, the All-Star Squadron, and after some time-hopping of his own, even joined the Justice Society of America.  But Sylvester wasn't happy as a JSAer, feeling the need to leave the team and wanting to establish a name and direction for himself.

That he felt that much more after the death of the Crimson Avenger, and Sylvester was planning on telling the JSA he was going to leave the team, until these kids all bust in JSA HQ.  The Star-Spangled Kid had the Pemberton fortune, including owning an old movie studio in California, which Syl then turned into the base for Infinity, Inc., helping against new foes, like the team Helix, and even became friends with the female detective, Jonni Thunder.  The Star-Spangled Kid was one of the few JSAers not to be stuck in limbo after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, but he decided to adopt a new identity at that time, becoming Skyman.  Skyman only had the powers of flight thanks to his suit, which used what survived of his Cosmic Converter Belt, and faced off against Injustice, Unlimited (the inheritors of the mantle of the Injustice Society of the World).  Sadly, Skyman didn't survive to the end of Infinity, Inc. with his death being a major part of the end of the team.

Power Girl and Huntress

Karen Starr (aka Kara Zor-L) and Helena Wayne were both characters that came from the run of All-Star Comics in the 1970s.  They both briefly worked with the Infinitors, but neither stuck around for long.  Power Girl survived the Crisis On Infinite Earths, and Huntress....well, not so much.

Still, they were Earth-2's next generation of Superman and Batman, and though they weren't in Infinity, Inc. much, they were still charter members.

Infinity, Inc. began with the Generations Saga, and left quite a legacy, adding more members as well (female versions of Wildcat and a correctly spelled Dr. Midnight, as well as the son of Hourman, and even worked with Mr. Bones of Helix), all before the series ended after 53 issues and two Annuals (as well as team-ups with the Justice League of America, New Teen Titans and Outsiders).

Guide to Golden Age Flash Reprints

Jay Garrick first picked up the hat of the Flash in Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940) by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert...and that series lasted 104 issues, as well as spinning off into All-Flash comics (starting with All-Flash Quarterly #1 in Summer of 1941, which lasted 32 issues), as well as appearing in All-Star Comics with the Justice Society of America (and in Comic Cavalcade with Green Lantern and Wonder Woman), all in the Golden Age...

...so, how do you find those Golden Age tales now?

Flash Comics

Jay first appeared in Flash Comics, so that's where we'll start running...with Flash Comics #1 (January, 1940) with "The Origin of the Flash" by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, this is where college student Jay Garrick accidentally inhales some "hard water" and wakes up out of a coma with the ability to move and think at super-speed!  Later, Jay moves to New York, being an assistant professor, and taking up the mantle of the Flash to save the life of the father of his girlfriend, Joan Williams, from Sieur Satan and his Faultless Four!

This tale has been reprinted many times, first in The Great Comic Book Heroes of 1965, then in the Famous First Edition F-8 of August-September, 1975, in the Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes of 1976 (in both hardcover and soft cover), in the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told (hardcover in 1991 and softcover in 1992), in the Millennium Edition: Flash Comics #1 of September, 2000, and in the Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years of 2015.

Flash's next solo reprint from Flash Comics is from Flash Comics #66 (August-September, 1945), with "The Flash and the Black Widow" by Robert Bloch and Everett Hibbard, with Jay, Joan and the Three Dimwits (Winky, Blinky and Noddy) facing off against Princess Helene and her transforming formula.

This tale is reprinted in the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1991, and in the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told soft cover of 1992, both having covers by Carmine Infantino (who would be better known for his art with Barry Allen Flash!).

These two Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told collections also have the next Flash Comics story, that of Flash Comics #86 (August, 1947) with Jay and Joan facing dinosaurs in the "Stone Age Menace" by Robert Kanigher, Lee Elias and Joe Kubert.



This story was also reprinted in the Flash: Greatest Stories Ever Told tradepaperback of 2007, with an Alex Ross cover (though, again, the focus is on Barry Allen Flash, there are a couple of Jay stories in there!).

Flash Comics #90 (December, 1947) is the next Flash Comics issue to be reprinted, with the story of "Nine Empty Uniforms" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, where the Flash helps a baseball team, the Bobtails, who are on a losing steak, and defeat a gambler who was betting against them (though this wasn't THE Gambler, a Green Lantern foe...).


This tale was reprinted in the 80-Page Giant #4 (October, 1964), under a cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, with a collection of odd Barry Allen Flash stories!

Dig the expressions on Barry Allen's face!

Flash Comics #94 (April, 1948) is the next treat reprinted, featuring the tale of Dr. Maria Flura, who ended up waking up on death's row....with no idea how she got there, being convicted of the murder of Professor Lexon!  All this in the tale "The Images of Doom", by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, in a follow up to her appearance in All-Flash Comics #31.


This tale found itself reprinted in Flash #232 (March-April, 1974) under a Nick Cardy cover (who drew a lot of covers that reprinted Golden Age DC tales)...

...and along with a couple of Barry Allen team-up stories, featured a Golden Age Johnny Quick story!

The last of the Flash Comics stories to be found alone is the last published solo Golden Age Flash story, Flash Comics #104 (February, 1949) with "The Rival Flash" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, with Flash facing a foe who was his rival...and had super-speed equal to the Flash's own!  Nothing worse than a villainous speedster...

This tale has been reprinted many times, starting with Flash #211 (December, 1971) under a cover by Irv Novick and Dick Giordano, in the Flash Archives #1 of 1996 (which then reprints Barry Allen's earliest appearances including all 4 of his Showcase appearances), in the Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told tradepaperback of 2007 and in the Flash Omnibus #1 of 2014.   

All-Flash

Flash's solo title ended up producing a few reprints.... starting with All-Flash #13 (Winter, 1943) by Gardner Fox and Everett Hibbard and the "Campaign Against The Flash", with Jay, Joan the Three Dimwits dealing with Flash being labeled a criminal, and a new hero rising, called Muscleman...all while having to deal with the mobster, Dapper Don Dolan.

This story was reprinted in the 100-Page Super-Spectacular DC-22 of November, 1973 under a cover by Nick Cardy, and also has a Golden Age Johnny Quick reprint...


...as well as a story involving the change of Kid Flash's costume and another with Captain Cold and the Elongated Man!

Next up is a great Jay Flash reprint from All-Flash #14 (Spring, 1944) with "The Rise and Fall of the Norman Empire" by Gardner Fox and Everett Hibbard.  Norman Empire is a card shark, that forces Deuces Wilde (a friend of the Flash) to play for a lady's life!  

This story was reprinted in the Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1990, which featured a stunning cover by Jerry Ordway, and many Golden Age stories that were, well, just great, and featured a few other JSAers like Hawkman, Wildcat, Sandman, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Black Canary and the Spectre as well!

Sadly, only this Flash tale has been reprinted from this issue (the other features Flash foe, the Thinker, and hasn't been reprinted).

All-Flash #22 (April-May, 1946) had two stories redone, one "Deal Me From The Bottom" by Gardner Fox and Martin Naydel, with Jay dealing with Deuces Wilde and his exploiting a boy who could pitch playing cards, and the story of "The City of Shifting Sand" by John Broome and Martin Naydel, with Flash dealing with a liar's club and telling a tall tale....

....the Deuces Wild story ended up in DC Super-Stars #5 (July, 1976, under a cover by Dick Giordano), redrawn by Rico Rival, and that sand story was kind of reprinted in Four-Star Spectacular #1 (March-April, 1976, under a cover by Ernie Chan)...as while the story was the same, it was redrawn by artist Edgar Bercasio from Broome's script.

So, do above qualify as a reprints?


No confusion with the next story, as All-Flash #30 (August-September, 1947) has one of its three stories reprinted, that of "Anything Can Happen" by John Broome and Lee Elias...

...with the Flash finding a murdered man dumped off a bridge, and this continuing to happen repeatedly with Jay arrested!


This tale found itself in Flash #216 (June, 1972) under a cover by Nick Cardy, where Barry Allen Flash faces his foe, Mr. Element!

The story of "The Secret City" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino from All-Flash #31 (October-November, 1947) is up next and has Jay facing off (as the Flash) against the soldiers of the Secret City for the life of Dr. Maria Flura, who went searching for a reporter friend of hers lost in the jungle and how Jay dealt with all of that (and this sets up Dr. Flura's appearance in the Flash Comics story mentioned above!).

This tale was reprinted in Flash #229 (September-October, 1974), under a cover by Nick Cardy, and along with the old Golden Age Flash story, features a new team-up of the Golden Age and Silver Age Flash (vs. Golden Age villains Rag Doll and the Thinker), as well as Silver Age Green Lantern, Kid Flash and Flash reprints, and a Golden Age Johnny Quick Flash reprint as well!

"The Planet Of Sport" from All-Flash #31 (October-November, 1947) by Robert Kanigher and Everett Hibbard is also reprinted, and features Jay and Joan competing in an alien Olympic games after being taken off Earth to the alien world of Strobos along with two other athletes, which they had to compete in to return home, of course, keeping their wars there a secret, as that's what super-heroes do, even when they face a marvel such as alien competition!


This tale was reprinted in the Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years of 2015, along with Jay, Barry and Wally West's first appearances, with a few other interesting tales as well, including Jay and Barry's first meeting, and the first Superman-Flash race!    

The last issue of All-Flash was All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948), and it has two tales reprinted...first, "The Amazing Star Sapphire" by Robert Kanigher and Lee Elias, with Jay and Dr. Flura being found dead....and having to fight the alien empress, the Star Sapphire in their dreams to save Earth from alien invasion!

This tale was reprinted in the first Flash Annual from Summer, 1963, with a cover by Carmine Infantino, and it also reprints the first appearances of Katmos, Mr. Element, Elongated Man, Gorilla Grodd and Kid Flash....and is so incredible, that DC reprinted the reprint in the Flash Annual Replica Edition in 2001!

The second story from All-Flash #32 (December-January, 1947/1948) to be reprinted is the first appearance of Flash foe, the Fiddler, entitled "Duet Of Danger", wherein Flash battles his musical foe for the first time (but the Fiddler will return again and again, including during the first meeting of Jay and Barry).


The Fiddler story is reprinted in Flash #160 (April, 1966) under a cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson, and is also known as 80 Page Giant #G-21, with a few other quick reprints as well.  Sadly, the third All-Flash #32 story, featuring the Thinker, has not been reprinted as of yet.

Comic Cavalcade

Flash had one story from Comic Cavalcade reprinted separately, that of Comic Cavalcade #24 (December-January, 1947-1948), with "The Slow-Motion Crimes" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, and has Jay facing his foe, the Turtle, again, and gets help from Joan and a junior JSA member!

This tale is reprinted in the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told hardcover of 1991, and in the Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told soft cover of 1992, both having covers by Carmine Infantino (who would be better known for his art with Barry Allen Flash...

...and this turtle isn't really related to the Turtle Barry Allen faced in his first appearance!).

Flash also found his first 3 Comic Cavalcade stories reprinted in the Comic Cavalcade Archives #1 of 2005, which also Golden Age stories of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Wildcat, Sargon and more!  Flash also found his solo tales from All-Star Comics #1 and #2 reprinted in the All-Star Archives #0 of 2006, and his story from the Big All-American Comic Book reprinted in the DC Comics Rarities Archive #1 of 2005.  Would that we could get more Archives from DC!

Flash Archives

With this talk of Archives, Flash did have two volumes all to himself!

The first Golden Age Flash Archive from 1999 featured the first 17 Flash Comics stories, covering Jay's first appearance until Flash Comics #17 (May, 1941), and the second Golden Age Flash Archive from 2006 covered Flash's stories from Flash Comics #18 to #24 from 1941, and All-Flash Quarterly #1 and #2 (Fall, 1941)!

Unpublished Golden Age Flash Tales

Flash had three tales from the Golden Age that went unpublished....

The first is called "Journey Into Danger" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, and was printed in Flash #205 (April-May, 1971, under a Dick Giordano cover) where Flash deals with other things that were suddenly sped up, and the man who wanted to take advantage of that!


There's also some Barry Allen, Wally West and Johnny Quick reprints in the issue as well...but the oldest story in the book was also the only one previous unseen!

The second is titled "A Tale of Three Tokens" and is also by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino, and deals with a battle between the Flash and the Thinker, and the Thinker's plot to take a time machine, and this story ended up in Flash #214 (April, 1972) under a Nick Cardy wrap-around cover featuring many members of Flash' family, foes and a few extra!

The third is an even odder case, as it features Rose and the Thorn (the original version, who faced Jay in multiple issues...and would have again, had this story been printed).  The splash page and first two pages can be found in Alter Ego #4 (with a Joe Kubert cover), and the last two pages of this 10 page story were published by DC Comics in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #113 (September-October, 1971, under a Dick Giordano cover), (with Flash handing over the defeated Thorn to Green Lantern (Alan Scott) to be taken to Transformation Island (the place where Wonder Woman reformed her criminals).  This story was later expanded upon by Roy Thomas during his Infinity, Inc. series, especially in the first Infinity, Inc. Annual (and it also involved another Robert Kanigher creation, that of the original Harlequin, with more on those women here!).

So, it might take the skills of a police scientist...

...but you can go back and find Golden Age Flash adventures!