The Golden Age Comic Blog (Hawkman page 32)

[SDcomics]

[John Moores]

That's the Gray Guardsman there.

[SDcomics]

You got me! Clark Gable top right. Is that young Orson Welles below? I see Marlene Dietrich right at the bottom on the left, Mickey Rooney top left, and maybe Lana Turner below Welles(?) Is that Rita Hayworth below Lana?

You're pretty close, John.  From the bottom left and going up and around: Bette Davis, Gary Cooper, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Bob Hope, Clark Gable, Orson Welles, Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth and Jimmy Stewart.

Mike
(A point for John and JSayonara!)

[SDcomics]

We begin with a super-criminal (or sorts), The Gray Guardsman! The Guardsman is a mad scientist, and strangely, considering his evocative name, a plainclothes one. He doesn't even wear a grey business suit. Still, here we have the beginning of (dare I say it) a Flash's Rogues Gallery, alongside the two villains from the early issues of All-Flash, The Threat and The Monocle. The age of the super-villain is slowly beginning!

Heh.  I can't wait until you blog about issue 36.

Mike
(Fans of the modern day Secret Six should tune in for that.)

[John Moores]

Heh.  I can't wait until you blog about issue 36.

Mike
(Fans of the modern day Secret Six should tune in for that.)

Yes, I'm looking forward to that too. Then we know that the age of the super-villain has truly started. 

[John Moores]

Flash is at his most pranksterish in FLASH #31; the tale is light on plot but heavy on Jay's antics, as he visits a department store to retrieve Joan's dress for that night's party, and finds "Socks" Striker, the gangster attempting a little protection racket. In short order Flash is running through his entire repertoire of super speed tricks, including sending some thugs down a fake ski slope in the store's sports department. Thugs are hit with pictures, placed in saunas, and generally being practical joked to within an inch of sanity.

Meanwhile Joan hits the store too, impatient for her dress, and as usual, gets into trouble. Flash saves her from a nasty fall, but the gangster chief kidnaps her and the store's owner. And so, Flash is on the road again, this time to "Socks'" hide-out, where, in his most elaborate pranks yet, he sets up various "traps", including red dye in the shower, and other crazy Rube Goldberg-lite contriviances. In the end, "Socks" is forced to admit defeat, and Joan gets her dress. We're informed that she is "the life of the party" that night, so once again, all's well that ends well.

These stories have kinda made me wish for a prankster Flash in modern comics. It's made me realise how dour Barry and Wally are, and how they've wrung that element out of Jay too (although he is in his nineties, to be fair). It would be nice to see the Flash as an invisible imp of mischief once again.

[John Moores]

Flash #32, as far fetched as it gets.

An unsuccessful author called Alphonse Peckabit can telekinetically tap into another dimension, bringing into our world characters "he" writes about. Well, that's the pseudo-science explanation we're not given, obviously it's just "Here they are!" And so they are: sentient villains with independant thought: Pegleg, a stereotypical pirate; Muscleman, a powerfully built brute (not to be confused with the character from All-Flash #13); and Hot Stuff, a Human Torch lookalike with fire powers.

The unscrupulous Peckabit sends his minions to the deli round the corner to steal some food and they end up destroying the deli's counter; Jay and Joan, happening along, observe the bickering villains and thinking they're harmless, entertaining loons, engages them in conversation. Then, Jay changes invisibly to the Flash and follows them back to Peckabit, where he offers them a job - entertainment at a ball Jay and Joan are attending. Peckabit (acting as their agent) accepts, but only so the villains can steal from the wealthy attendees. Meanwhile, "Tough Tony", the new ganglord in town, is also aware of the party, and sends his thugs to the party too.

On the night of the party the villains act as entertainment, but the party is disrupted by "Tough Tony's" gangsters, who are also robbing the merrymakers. When the Flash takes a hand, the villains actually help him because the thugs are stepping on their plan. However, once the criminals are corralled, Flash then battles Muscleman and co, causing Peckabit to "create" a foe ten times faster than the Crimson Comet. Thus is born The Zipper, who...unfortunately burns himself to ashes, because he doesn't have the same altered genetic make-up as Jay, which enables him to survive such high speeds. Despairing, Peckabit jumps to his death, and Flash persaudes both gangsters and villains to turn to honest entertainment, which they do(!). Nice.

[SDcomics]

[John Moores]

As you can see, there's Hot Stuff, Muscleman and Pegleg. I'm glad the covers are pretty much descriptive of the story now so you can all see these villains.

[Black Lantern Cliff Francis]

man what ever happened to those three?  they might be fun characters to revisit today.  y'know...what they've been doing since they went straight, what it's like being a flesh and blood embodiment of a fictional character...not too 'meta' but could make for a good yarn.

[John Moores]

There's probably tons of threads they could pick up. One day, we might be in charge and then we'll do it.

[John Moores]

An arch-criminal in #33 too: The Shade!

In this first issue he's a normal man - not immortal or anything like that - in a top hat, domino mask and black coat with long white hair. He has a machine that brings down darkness upon the city, leaving people on the streets - such as a drunk trying to get home for supper - lost and bewildered. Likewise too, society girl Damask Darling, preparing for her debut tonight. And of course, Joan Williams, who is having her portrait painted (she's attending the society ball) and Jay Garrick, who rushes out to find out what's going on.

Jay, now the Flash, finds the drunk guy, and after bantering with him, decides to take him to the police station for help. However, the police station is empty - because under cover of darkness, the Shade has kidnapped every cop in the city, leaving it lawless - and Flash startles some crooks up to no good.  The soon-defeated crooks are approached by our drunk friend, who is sent on an errand to Damask's debutante ball, to tell the Shade - who will be there intending to rob - that they've been captured by the Flash.

Meanwhile, due to some scientific detective work, Flash has reasoned (after finding light enimating from some dust in the police station safe) that the Shade has removed all dust from the air, therefore removing anything that reflects light. So then Jay produces some dust tornadoes with his speed, making it light again. Then it's off to the ball to defeat the Shade. And so begins an enmity that spans seven decades, although of course the Shade has changed a lot in that time. I guess this is his Earth-Two counterpart, however, who was never more than an urbane and clever criminal.


Oh, and the drunk guy? He still got the rolling pin across his head from his wife when he finally got home!

[John Moores]

One interesting thread to note if you've been following this thread is how much more plot heavy these stories have become in the last year or so. The stories in Flash Comics also seem to be a bit more plot heavy than in All-Flash (or rather, the twelve pagers in All-Flash, not the full issue stories, or course), maybe because that was your only helping of Flash in his title mag, as opposed to three stories in the solo comic. Maybe I'm getting a little more descriptive too, but I feel I have more to work with. Comics are very slowly growing up!

[Black Lantern Cliff Francis]

Love the Shade.  Always thought he was the perfect foe for Flash.  I mean, when you think about it, super-speed is an amazingly powerful ability.  How can you counter it?  You can't.  But if you can effectively blind the speedster...

Yes--the stories are evolving.  What year are you into now JM?

[Doc]

Yay Shade!

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