{"id":119,"date":"2008-07-30T03:42:29","date_gmt":"2008-07-30T07:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=119"},"modified":"2008-11-06T23:20:15","modified_gmt":"2008-11-07T03:20:15","slug":"favorite-flash-covers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2008\/07\/30\/favorite-flash-covers\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Flash Covers"},"content":{"rendered":"

FLASH WEEK continues here at ONCE UPON A GEEK…<\/p>\n

Today we’re talking about my Flash collecting and spotlighting some of my favorite covers.<\/p>\n

As I mentioned on Monday, I didn’t start collecting the Flash comic faithfully until 1992 with Mark Waid’s run.\u00a0 However, I had managed to pick-up several issues here and there prior to 1992.\u00a0 I always liked the Flash, but for whatever reason the comics didn’t captivate me enough to merit collecting on an ongoing basis.\u00a0 I was actually surprised when I counted\u00a0the other day and realized I owned\u00a037 issues of the Barry Allen run of the Flash.\u00a0 The bulk of my run was from issues 289 – 309; this was primarily because of the Firestorm & Doctor Fate back-up stories in those issues.\u00a0 Here are a few of my favorite covers from that series.<\/p>\n

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Death of Iris issue, and it features a guy dressed up as the golden age Sandman on the cover.\u00a0 Awesome!<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

Gotta love some Firestorm action!\u00a0 After appearing\u00a0as a back-up for several issues, Firestorm actually got to team-up with Flash in this one.<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

Carmine Infantino is credited with the following cover, but I swear that looks like a Keith Giffen Doctor Fate.\u00a0 My suspicion is supported by the fact that\u00a0Keith Giffen drew the Doctor Fate back-up in this issue.<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

By the way, did I ever tell you that I’m a big Trickster fan?\u00a0 Love that character!<\/p>\n

\"Trickster<\/p>\n

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I’m also a big Justice League of America collector.\u00a0 I have nearly every issue from 100 of the original series onward (that’s over 400 comics).\u00a0 Here are a few of my favorite JLA covers featuring\u00a0the Flash (I even threw in one JLE cover for good measure).\u00a0 Going through this recently, I was surprised\u00a0the Flash wasn’t\u00a0prominently featured on more JLA covers.<\/p>\n

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\"Justice<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

\"JLA<\/p>\n

\"JLA<\/p>\n

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For Wally’s run of the Flash, I’ve managed to go back and get lots of issues prior to Waid’s run.\u00a0 Out of the 242 issues published so far, I’m missing 56 issues (some in the 30’s, some in the 50’s, 160’s, 170’s, and 180’s).\u00a0 Sadly I have to admit that I missed out on the first part of Geoff John’s Flash run.\u00a0 About the time\u00a0Mark Waid finished his run, I was looking to cut back on my monthly spending.\u00a0 I saw a good “jumping off” point with Flash, so I took it.\u00a0 Obviously I now regret that decision.\u00a0 I’m in the process of picking up the trades for the early Geoff Johns issues.\u00a0 Here are some of my favorite covers from Wally’s Flash series.<\/p>\n

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My all-time favorite Flash cover.\u00a0 Drawn by the late Michael Turner.\u00a0 Say what you will about his art, I think this cover is awesome!<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

A nice creepy cover from Wally’s early days as the Flash.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another great cover by another fantastic artist taken too soon… Mike Wieringo.\u00a0 It honestly took me a little while to warm to his style.\u00a0 But once I “got” his style, I couldn’t get enough.<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I’ve always loved the cover above.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, I didn’t realize until today that this was actually a tribute to an old Barry cover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Not a lot of good things I can say about Bart’s run as\u00a0the Flash.\u00a0 While the series did improve about halfway through, it really doesn’t stand out.\u00a0 Here is one particular cover that I liked and some Impulse-related covers.<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

This next one is Bart’s first appearance.\u00a0 I love how they positioned the word “Kid” just above Flash, especially since he went by Impulse back then.<\/p>\n

\"Flash<\/p>\n

I chose this next one because it is by Ethan Van Sciver (artist on the upcoming “Flash: Rebirth”), and this was the first issue in a run where Bart started to take his superhero role more seriously.\u00a0 I think this helped eventually play into him becoming Kid Flash and then Flash.<\/p>\n

\"Impulse<\/p>\n

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t showcase some Jay Garrick covers that I like.<\/p>\n

The following cover is from\u00a0the last issue\u00a0of the short-lived, but fantastic, Justice Society of America series in 1992.\u00a0 Once again, another great artist that was taken before their time… Mike Parobeck.<\/p>\n

\"Justice<\/p>\n

Alex Ross is the best thing to happen to comics in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

\"JSA<\/p>\n

Gotta respect the oldies…<\/p>\n

\"All-Flash<\/p>\n

Love me some Jerry Ordway and the 1980s portrayal of the WWII era.<\/p>\n

\"All-Star<\/p>\n

The return of Jay’s old enemy called the Rival.<\/p>\n

\"JSA<\/p>\n

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While I don’t own every issue I highlighted here, I do own most of them.\u00a0 If you can think of any other fantastic Flash covers I missed, feel free to share!<\/p>\n

Come back for more Flash action tomorrow…<\/p>\n

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Tell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>