''Flash Comics'' is a

comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...

published by

All-American Publications All-American PublicationsThe name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form th ...

and later by

National Periodical Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

(

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

). The title had 104 issues published from January 1940 to February 1949. Despite the title, the anthology featured the adventures of multiple superheroes in addition to

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. He first appeared in ''Flas ...

, the original

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

. Characters introduced in the series include the Flash,

Hawkman (Carter Hall) Hawkman (Carter Hall) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character to use the name Hawkman. There are two separate origins of Carter Hall; the Golden Age origin and the Post-Hawkworld (or curr ...

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

and

Black Canary The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...

Publication history

The series debuted with a January 1940

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

and the first issue featured the first appearances of the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

versions of the

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

, and

Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder. The character appeared in the second season of '' Stargirl'' on The CW network played b ...

. The Flash was later given a solo comic book series, ''

All-Flash ''All-Flash'', originally published as ''All-Flash Quarterly'', was a comic book magazine series published by All-American Publications and later National Periodicals (DC Comics) featuring superhero Jay Garrick, the original Flash. The series was ...

'' which ran for 32 issues between Summer 1941 to January 1948. Artist

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...

's long association with the Hawkman character began with the story "The Painter and the $100,000" in ''Flash Comics'' #62 (Feb. 1945). The

Monocle A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...

was introduced in #64 as a new foe for Hawkman.

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

's first published work for DC was "The Black Canary", a six-page Johnny Thunder story in ''Flash Comics'' #86 (August 1947) that introduced the superheroine the

. Writer

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

and Joe Kubert created the

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comic ...

in issue #89 (November 1947). ''Flash Comics'' was cancelled in 1949 with issue #104. The series' numbering would be continued by the first volume of ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'' series, which debuted during the Silver Age in 1959 and featured Barry Allen as the new Flash. * Hawkman - issues #1 (January 1940) – #104 (February 1949) * Johnny Thunder - issues #1 (January 1940) – #91 (January 1948) * The Whip - issues #1 (January 1940) – #55 (July 1944) * Cliff Cornwall - issues #1 (January 1940) – #19 (July 1941) * Ghost Patrol - issues #29 (May 1942) – #104 (February 1949) * Black Canary - issues #92 (February 1948) – #104 (February 1949)

Collected editions

*'' Golden Age Flash Archives'': ** ''Vol. 1'' collects the "Flash" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #1–17, 224 pages, September 1999, ** ''Vol. 2'' collects the "Flash" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #18–24, 224 pages, February 2006, *''The Flash Archives'' Vol. 1 includes the "Flash" story from ''Flash Comics'' #104, 224 pages, May 1998, *''Golden Age Hawkman Archives'' Vol. 1 collects the "Hawkman" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #1–22, 224 pages, February 2006, *''JSA All-Stars Archives'' Volume 1 includes the "Johnny Thunder" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #1–4, 256 pages, October 2007, *''Black Canary Archives'' collects the "Johnny Thunder" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #86–91 and the "Black Canary" stories from ''Flash Comics'' #92–104, 224 pages, December 2000,

References

External links

*
''Flash Comics''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{Hawkman 1940 comics debuts 1949 comics endings Comics magazines published in the United States Black Canary Comics anthologies Comics by Gardner Fox Comics by Robert Kanigher DC Comics titles Defunct American comics Golden Age comics titles