DC’s Flash #123 is reprinted this week in a Facsimile edition. That is, it’s identical to the original version, 32 pages, actual size, from 1961, with advertising, house ads and even letter columns reproduced without change.
It’s a Silver Age classic, where Barry Allen meets the Flash of Earth Two, Jay Garrick for the first time.
Fortunately for us in 2020, this tale has aged well. Gardner Fox writes a tightly spun story, “done-in-one”. It’s a lesson in storytelling economy, actually. Fox manages to set the scene of Flash performing for s group of school kids, then is mysteriously transported to an alternative Central City, Keystone City. There he meets Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, in semi-retirement.
Unlike in the typical Marvel team-up, the two superheroes get along and work together. And just in time, as there’s a crime wave happening in Keystone City!
It all entertains cleanly and sensibly, with little superhero drama and no double-cross.
The Flash #123 Facsimile is historic, of course. A near mint copy of this ground-breaking comic sold a few years ago at auction for $83,000. It’s been frequently reprinted since its first appearance, and this Facsimile edition is a fun, sensible way to enjoy this tale of Two Flashes in Two Worlds for just $4. In my frugal world, that’s a decent deal.
Illustrated by Silver Age greats Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Giella, with an iconic cover by Carmine Infantino and inker Murphy Anderson.
DC The Flash #123, $3.99 for 26 pages of content. Teen
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