Flash Comics #1
Flash Comics #1 stands as one of the foundational documents of the Golden Age, introducing three characters who would define DC's superhero landscape for decades: Jay Garrick (the Flash), Carter Hall (the Hawkman), and Johnny Thunder — all in a single 68-page anthology issue. The Flash's origin established the template of the science-accident-granted superhero, while Hawkman's reincarnation mythology brought an unusually layered, pulp-literary sensibility to the nascent genre. Both characters went on to become charter members of the Justice Society of America, the first superhero team in comics history, making this issue the seed from which that entire collaborative tradition grew. The issue also introduced Shiera Sanders — the future Hawkgirl — and The Whip, giving it a density of debuts rarely matched outside the very earliest Action Comics or Detective Comics issues.
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Flash Comics #1 was published on November 20, 1939, carrying a January 1940 cover date, by All-American Publications under the editorial stewardship of M.C. Gaines as managing editor and Sheldon Mayer as assistant editor. The Flash lead story was written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Harry Lampert, who based the hero's winged helmet on classical depictions of the god Mercury — Lampert later recalled superimposing his own design on a dictionary illustration of Mercury and finding them 'almost identical.' The Hawkman feature was also scripted by Fox but drawn by Dennis Neville, while writer John B. Wentworth and artist Stan Aschmeier handled Johnny Thunder, and Wentworth and George Storm produced The Whip; Sheldon Moldoff, whose cover was originally mislabeled as Lampert's in later reprint editions, provided the striking cover image of the Flash in action. Lampert would draw only the first two Flash stories before moving to other work, making his contribution to this issue historically outsized relative to his brief tenure on the character.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Jay Garrick, the Flash (the Golden Age / Earth-Two Flash), written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Harry Lampert; Garrick gains super-speed by accidentally inhaling hard water vapors during a late-night laboratory experiment at Midwestern University.
- First appearance and origin of Hawkman (Carter Hall), written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Dennis Neville; Hall discovers he is the reincarnation of the ancient Egyptian Prince Khufu, fashions anti-gravity wings from 'Ninth Metal,' and dons a hawk-god headpiece to battle Dr. Anton Hastor — himself the reincarnation of the villain Hath-Set.
- First appearance of Shiera Sanders (the future Hawkgirl), introduced as the modern reincarnation of Khufu's murdered love, alongside the first appearances of Hath-Set and Dr. Anton Hastor.
- First appearance and origin of Johnny Thunder, written by John B. Wentworth and drawn by Stan Aschmeier; Johnny is born under numerologically significant circumstances and unknowingly controls a powerful Thunderbolt entity that remains invisible throughout the story, activated by the phrase 'Say You' (Cei-U).
- First appearance and origin of The Whip (Rodney Elwood Gaynor), drawn by George Storm; a wealthy Eastern playboy inspired by the legacy of 19th-century folk hero Don Fernando Suarez (El Castigo) who adopts the masked identity to defend exploited Southwest laborers.
- First appearance of Cliff Cornwall, Special Agent, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Sheldon Moldoff, an FBI operative whose adventure was also part of this debut anthology lineup.
- The cover — depicting the Flash stopping a speeding bullet and rescuing a woman from gangsters — was penciled and inked by Sheldon Moldoff; the Millennium Edition reprint (September 2000) mistakenly credited the cover to Harry Lampert, an error corrected in subsequent archival volumes.
- The entire issue has been reprinted multiple times: as Famous First Edition #F-8 (1975), Millennium Edition: Flash Comics #1 (2000), and a full Facsimile Edition (February 2025); individual stories also appear in Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1, Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1, JSA All-Stars Archives Vol. 1, and Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years (2015).
Cast · 25 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Young Johnny Thunder is kidnapped from his home, given Badhnisian sacred rites and would become the most powerful person in the world at age 7. By a weird chance, Johnny is reunited with his parents, but is sought out once again by the Badhnesians, who are on the receiving end of a new, strange power Johnny has by saying the words "Say You" (Cei-U).
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).