The Best Flash Comics of All Time

The past of the Flashes is the past of comics, oregon astatine slightest DC Comics. The archetypal Flash was Jay Garrick, who debuted successful 1940, and was a deed quality during what’s present known arsenic the Golden Age of Comics. However, successful the post-war years, arsenic involvement successful superheroes waned, Jay yet disappeared from the mag racks.

In 1956, DC decided to effort to revitalize immoderate aged IP’s by dusting disconnected the Flash conception and creating a caller concealed individuality to spell with it: Barry Allen, constabulary scientist. Barry had a snazzy caller costume, genre-redefining creation courtesy of his co-creator Carmine Infantino, and an accent connected some existent subject and plausible (…ish) subject fabrication that felt breathtaking and modern astatine the time. He was truthful fashionable that DC revamped a fig of different older characters and conscionable mostly went each successful connected the superhero again. In fact, Barry’s debut would crook retired to beryllium specified a landmark lawsuit successful comics past that it’s present considered by astir to beryllium the commencement of the Silver Age of Comics.

This measurement collects Barry’s archetypal quality and earliest adventures, arsenic good arsenic the debut of his sidekick, Kid Flash (Wally West). With charmingly zany plots by John Broome and the aforementioned sublime creation by Infantino, whose techniques for drafting super-speed are inactive emulated by artists today, these stories are immoderate of the champion DC’s Silver Age has to offer.

The Stack Newsletter

Sign up to The Stack to person Book Riot Comic's champion posts, picked for you.

Okay, I cognize this is simply a large ask. But you should work each of The Flash (1987 series). Yes, it is 230 issues, positive annuals and specials. But it’s worthy it.

After Barry Allen died successful Crisis connected Infinite Earths, erstwhile kid sidekick Wally West took implicit for his precocious uncle arsenic the caller Flash. The Wally who archetypal steps into those yellowish boots is immature, selfish, and insecure, each of which is compounded by his grief and his conflict to unrecorded up to Barry’s representation with glitchy powers. But implicit the people of 230 issues, Wally grows into his relation and his new, big self. He discovers the Speed Force, the mystical vigor that powers each speedsters. He falls successful love. He builds a Flash Family. It’s a gradual, integrated progression that lone monthly comic books, with their decades-long serialization, tin demonstrate, and it’s a joyousness to watch.

If 230 issues is excessively galore for you, I accidental you could conscionable work Mark Waid’s tally (starting astatine #62), which is inactive considered by galore fans to beryllium the champion Flash comics ever — and it’s handily collected successful commercialized form, too. But don’t slumber connected William Messner-Loebs’s tally successful #15–56. I’ve written earlier astir however overmuch Messner-Loebs’s Flash comics mean to me, and his thoughtful quality enactment acceptable up each the tools Mark Waid would aboriginal usage successful his subsequent, better-known run.

So if you lone person clip for 1 trade, work the 1 linked above. If you lone person clip for the champion of the best, start with #15. But if you privation to spot serialized comics doing what lone they tin do, start with #1.

Okay I’m atrocious but you truly bash person to work each of Impulse. It’s lone 89 issues! Totally doable.

Bart Allen is Barry Allen’s grandson, who grew up successful virtual world successful the 31st period owed to his out-of-control velocity powers. Later helium would spell connected to go the 2nd Kid Flash and the 4th Flash earlier yet returning to his Impulse identity, but successful his archetypal solo series, he’s conscionable a sweet, easy distractible food retired of water, learning to beryllium an mean lad successful a sleepy small-town successful Alabama. This bid is wholly kid-friendly, accessible to caller comics readers, and my favourite comic of each time. Warning: it will marque you cry.

And past sometimes comics are perfect.

At the commencement of 2021, Barry stepped distant to bash weird multiversal science, and Wally took implicit arsenic the prima of the Flash book. From the precise archetypal issue, Jeremy Adams established his Flash publication arsenic quite simply the champion comic DC is publishing close now. It’s wholly accessible to readers who person ne'er picked up the Flash earlier portion being deeply, satisfyingly embedded successful DC continuity and Wally’s idiosyncratic past and growth. It’s perfectly paced and giddily originative — there’s a body-hopping clip question storyline wherever each caller country has a caller artist! There’s an “interactive” contented that reads similar a superhero instrumentality connected The Monster astatine the End of This Book! Every contented volition marque you laugh, and immoderate volition marque you cry. Please work this comic.