Independence Day

Flash Facts: Galactic Dispersal

"Every galaxy in the universe is rushing away from our own Milky Way Galaxy--with the speed of recession increasing in proportion to the distance from us. The most distant galaxies are racing away at fantastic 60,000-miles-a-second speeds."

Issue: Superman vs. The Flash (1976)

Classic Covers: Flash Comics #54

Ad Run: The Flash #173 (1967)

Onomatopoeia: CRASH!

CRASH!: It's common these days to regard Modern Age comics as more intensely violent or senselessly extreme than their esteemed predecessors, and not without cause. Anyone who thinks that modern superhero stories were the first to revel in violent imagery, however, clearly hasn't taken the time to familiarize themselves with the Golden Age adventures of Jay Garrick! Yes, the man we now regard as the elder statesman of speedsters was once a cruel, rambunctious, hotheaded bully. I offer this jaw-dropping scene--punctuated by a CRASH! and a YEEEEEOW!--as Exhibit A. Look how he delights in each imaginatively mean-spirited attack. That's not to say that these low-life crooks didn't deserve a bit of rough treatment but classic comics reveal how dramatically the tone of our action and our comedy have changed over the passing decades, and thankfully so has the original scarlet speedster!

Issue: Comic Cavalcade #9 (Winter 1994)

Upcoming: The Flash #6

"The Dastardly Deaths of the Rogues!," the first story arc of the scarlet speedster's latest series, concludes with The Flash #6, due in late September. And, as comic fans everywhere have noted, DC is continuing to do their very best to hype the mysterious Flashpoint. What might this potential big-time crossover event entail? Time, and future promotions, will tell. Visit DC Comics's The Source for a look at this and other Brightest Day issues--All-new Aqualad! Martian Manhunter! Deadman! The Justice League!--coming this fall.

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and cover by Francis Manapul; Variant cover by Ale Garza & Sandra Hope. Brightest Day dashes on with the stunning conclusion of “The Dastardly Deaths of the Rogues!” With Barry caught between the Rogues and the Renegades, the resurrected Captain Boomerang’s role in the adventure is revealed! You won’t believe how this leads to the upcoming Flashpoint. On sale September 22, 2010. 32 pg. FC. $2.99 US.

Flash Facts: Gaseous Envelopes

"Recent experiments indicate that a gaseous envelope (such as the one shown below around a torpedo) can double the speed of underwater missiles. The vapor envelope eliminates much of the skin-friction drag of a hydrodynamic body."

Issue: The Flash #128 (May 1962)

Classic Covers: Impulse #12

Ad Run: Flash Comics #50 (1944)

Busy Day