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The Flash ran onto TV screens 20 years ago today

Posted in comic books, nostalgia, The Flash, TV shows with tags anniversary, comic books, nostalgia, pop culture, The Flash, TV shows on September 20, 2010 by Paxton

The Flash 2 hour premiere

20 years ago today, on September 20, 1990, CBS aired the two hour series premiere of The Flash. The show originally ran on Thursday nights in a very competitive time slot, 8pm. The show starred John Wesley Shipp, best known as Dawson’s dad on Dawson’s Creek, as Barry Allen, police scientist turned super speedster. Also starring was Corbin Bernsen’s wife, Amanda Pays, as Tina McGee.

This new super hero show was directly inspired by the 1989 Batman movie. The same guy that designed the Bat suit for Burton also developed Flash’s suit. Danny Elfman composed the opening music which sounds very similar to his orchestral Batman score. The stories were also similar to Burton’s Batman, at least for the first half of Season 1. Many of those plots involved gangsters, drug dealers and evil corporations, a staple of the first two Burton Batman movies. Also, at the time, thanks to the speedster effects, this was the most expensive show on TV to produce. It cost over $1 million an episode, which is why it was so easy for CBS to pull the plug after poor first season ratings.

I first heard about this show (pre-Internet Age, 1988 or 1989) on a trip to Six Flags Over Atlanta. Warner Brothers/DC owns the park so they were showing a quick 5 minute trailer on monitors all over the park. I was so excited because I had no idea they were even planning it and Flash is my favorite comic book character. So I was completely stoked by the time September, 1990 rolled around.

The Flash would get a prime spot, like most hot new shows, in TV Guide’s Fall Preview. Here is The Flash’s entry in the 1990 Fall Preview issue (you can click it to make it bigger).

Other shows to appear in that issue? Beverly Hills 90210, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law and Order and Cop Rock. Maybe Shawn over at Branded in the 80s will do one of his TV Guide Fall Preview posts about this issue (hint, hint, Shawn).

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The History of the Superman vs Flash races

Posted in comic books, pop culture, Superman, The Flash with tags Cavalcade Comics, comic books, pop culture, reviews, Superman, The Flash on May 14, 2010 by Paxton

I mentioned before that I had been digging through my comic book collection to find cool artwork and vintage ads to scan and put on my Flickr blog (if you aren’t checking my Flickr blog, I can only assume you hate things that are AWESOME). While going through my comics I came across my collection of Flash vs Superman races. The Flash is my favorite super hero and throughout the ’60s and ’70s DC Comics had Superman and Flash race several times. Being a Flash fan, I think it’s ABSURD to think that Superman is faster than Flash. All Flash does is run. That’s his power. On sheer raw speed, Flash should be faster. I mean, we all know who would win in a flying race. Or a strength competition. Am I right?

So, how did Flash fare in these races? Well, DC obviously wanted to protect their “golden boy”, so they had several ties, but at the end, there is a clear winner. Let’s go through the races and tally up the scores to see who is truly the fastest man alive. For this article I’ll be focusing on the Barry Allen Silver Age Flash, who died in 1985 during the Crisis on Inifinite Earths mini-series.

Superman #199 (1967) – The head to head races between the Silver Age Superman and The Flash began here. The two heroes are asked to race for charity. They both readily agree. As usually happens, crime syndicates bet huge sums of money on the outcome and look for ways to sabotage the one they don’t want to win. After several criminal schemes backfire, Supes and Flash finish in a clear tie so as no criminals can cash in. This, of course, leaves the reader with no sense of closure and shaking their fist in the air yelling, “Damn you, DC!!!”. The Flash is now 0-0-1.

Flash #175 (1967) – The next race happened a few months later. Flash and Superman arrive at JLA headquarters to find two aliens who have somehow managed to capture and subdue the rest of the JLA. The two alien gamblers are mad that the first race ended in a tie and want a rematch (you and me both, Mr Alien). This time, Supes and Flash must run to the edge of the Milky Way and back. If Superman loses, Metropolis will be destroyed. If The Flash loses, Central City will be destroyed. Why Superman and Flash don’t just pummel these guys at light speed is beyond me. So, they agree to the race and halfway through they realize the whole thing is a setup to kill The Flash and we get another disappointing “tie” ending (DC. F**k. You.). So at the end of this issue Flash is 0-0-2.

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Odds ‘n End from around the internet

Posted in comic books, movies, The Flash with tags comic books, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, movies, Superman, The Flash on May 29, 2009 by Paxton

Several news items popped up this week that caught my interest and I thought that you guys would also enjoy them. One is an update of an earlier story, the other two are new.

Back in February, I told you about Action Comics #1 going up for auction.

This comic was notable because it featured the first appearance of Superman and it ushered in the Golden Age of superhero comics back in 1938. Before this comic, there were no superheroes as we think of them today. Well, that copy of Action Comics was sold for $317,200. Not bad for an initial 35 cent investment, right?

Well, another legendary comic book went to auction recently. That comic is Showcase #4 from 1956 and it features the first appearance of the “new” Flash (who also happens to be my favorite comic book character of all time).