Entry #7

Issue #1
Rating: 5



Artie Shaw’s Shadows from November 1939
(from youtube channel MusicProf78)

I can’t imagine what it would have been like to read the headlines in the newspapers of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland and the declaration of war in Europe in the Fall of 1939. It had to be terrifying to imagine the possibilities that war could come to the US. The news in November 1940 included FDR’s 3rd re-election, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union are allies, and Germany bombing English cities. And then, without warning, there is [b]Flash Comics #1[/b]! If the world was going insane, here was the cure. You got superheroes that draw their powers from science, mythology, mystical, and legendary sources. Along with a crime story with a twisted sense of humor and a FBI agent saving Alaska from mysterious foreign saboteurs, this comic book had it all!

What really stands out for me with the origin of the Flash story is that the motivating purpose of Jay’s desire to be a superhero is to be near Joan Williams. It’s right there in the very first panel.

She is not very interested in him, until his superhero qualities are revealed. Then it is a shared secret between them.

Unlike Lois Lane, who in Superman #3 wouldn’t mind seeing Clark Kent die in order to advance her career, Joan Williams becomes as valuable to Jay as Dick does to Bruce. I never understood why the Silver Age Flash Barry Allen would be interested in Iris West. To me, she was a high maintenance Ice Princes that wasn’t worth the time. Joan is self-confident, but needs Jay to protect her. Jay, at times lacks self-confidence but has that special ability to provide for Joan when she needs him the most. The perfect ying-yang of comic book folklore. [/color]