Newsarama recently presented a list of collected editions DC Comics has planned for the coming summer. In July the publisher will be releasing a new trade paperback entitled The Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told. How does this volume stack-up against previous books with that title? Do the chosen stories represent all of the men to have worn the crimson comet's costume? And does the table of contents for the new collection truly boast some of the greatest stories ever told about the fastest man alive? Kelson Vibber has posted a rather detailed break-down of the stories that will be reprinted in the new collection. Visit his blog to see what you can expect from the forthcoming Flash anthology.DC announced that Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told will appear in July of this year... I pulled out my copy of the 1991 edition, and it’s fair to say this is an entirely different book... Both books are very heavily focused on Barry Allen, and each includes just one story with Wally West as the Flash. Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told includes two crossover stories: “Flash of Two Words” features both Barry and Jay, and “Beyond the Super-Speed Barrier” features all three during Wally’s days as Kid Flash. So, assuming the contents are final, do they hold up to the title’s promise?
3 comments:
WTF? I could understand the shortage of Wally stories in the '91 "Greatest" collection (which I got when it came out, at the age of 9; it still sits proudly on my shelf). He hadn't been Flash anywhere near as long as Barry at that point. But just one Wally story in a 2007 collection? There are 20 years of stories to choose from now!
Man, DC has no idea how good they had it with that character. Hal Jordan returning and Wally leaving was the worst trade ever.
- Z
I felt somewhat similarly, although I probably own most, if not all, of the Wally-Flash stories I dig.
These kinds of collections usually (seem to) trend toward the tales that are harder to find in their original format.
Maybe DC hasn't learned what I'm still learning and relearning: 20 years is a LONG time, so many of the stories I think of as "modern" aren't all that new.
For a lot of adult readers, including Zeke, Wally's been The Flash for most of their lives.
I can't help but agree that it seems unusual that we are in the twenty-first century and Wally West, who was the Flash for twenty years, is represented in the collection by only a single story. The focus of these collections remains on the Silver Age, and though I can understand that I have to question if it's for the best.
As for Wally's sudden and unceremonious departure from the DC Universe, I'm still trying to make sense out of that one.
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