Flash Poster # 4 The Flash #123 (1961) of Two Worlds Carmine Infantino
$49.99
Description
The Flash (Bartholomew Henry “Barry” Allen) is a fictional character, a superhero in the DC Comics universe. He is the second character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), created by writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome and penciler Carmine Infantino. His name combines talk show hosts Barry Gray and Steve Allen. “Flash of Two Worlds!” is a landmark comic book story that was published in The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961). It introduces Earth-Two, and more generally the concept of the multiverse, to DC Comics. The story was written by Gardner Fox under the editorial guidance of Julius Schwartz (whose subsequent autobiography was titled Man of Two Worlds), and illustrated by Carmine Infantino. At a charity event organized by Iris West, the Flash is using his super-speed to perform magic tricks to entertain the children there as the magician has not come. During a rope climbing trick, the Flash begins vibrating his molecules to appear invisible when he suddenly disappears from the stage. He finds himself outside in a strange city, which he discovers to be Keystone City, the home of the Golden Age Flash. Keystone City is located on Earth-Two (not named as such in this story), an Earth in a parallel universe. On Barry Allen’s world, the Golden Age Flash is thought to be a fictional comic book character. Barry looks up Jay Garrick in the phone book, and introduces himself to the older speedster. On this Earth Jay had retired years earlier, the year his comic book series was canceled on Earth-One, and married his longtime girlfriend Joan Williams. Barry claims Gardener Fox’s thoughts must have been tuned in to the events of Earth-Two. The success of “Flash of Two Worlds” encouraged DC to revive many of its Golden Age characters. Eventually, crossovers between the two Earths would become an annual feature in the Justice League of America comics, beginning with issue #21, “Crisis on Earth-One!” (August 1963), and culminating in the 12-issue mini-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths. The cover itself has become an iconic image, and has been referenced in the covers to Flash v.1 #147 (Sep. 1964), Dark Horse Presents #67 (November 1992), Flash v.2 #123 (Mar. 1997), Impulse #70 (Mar. 2001), and Flash Rebirth #5 (Jan. 2010), among others. In 2004, a near-mint copy of The Flash #123 sold in a Heritage auction for $83,000. In Final Crisis #2 (August 2008), the location of this story is revisted by Wally West (the Third Flash) and Jay Garrick (the First Flash), but by the time of Final Crisis the Central City community center has become an abandoned strip joint. Later in the same issue it becomes the location for the return of Barry Allen (the second Flash), for the first time since his apparent death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (November 1985). Carmine Michael Infantino (May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He was inducted into comics’ Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2000. Infantino’s first published work for DC was “The Black Canary”, a six-page Johnny Thunder story in Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) that introduced the superheroine the Black Canary. Infantino’s long association with the Flash mythos began with “The Secret City” a story in All-Flash #31 (Oct.-Nov. 1947). He additionally became a regular artist of the Golden Age Green Lantern and the Justice Society of America. During the 1950s, Infantino freelanced for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s company, Prize Comics, drawing the series Charlie Chan. Back at DC, during a lull in the popularity of superheroes, Infantino drew Westerns, mysteries, science fiction comics. In 1956, DC editor Julius Schwartz assigned writer Robert Kanigher and artist Infantino to the company’s first attempt at reviving superheroes: an updated version of the Flash that would appear in issue #4 (Oct. 1956) of the try-out series Showcase. Infantino designed the now-classic red uniform with yellow detail (reminiscent of the original Fawcett Captain Marvel), striving to keep the costume as streamlined as possible, and he drew on his design abilities to create a new visual language to depict the Flash’s speed, making the figure a red and yellow blur. The eventual success of the new, science-fiction-oriented Flash heralded the wholesale return of superheroes, and the beginning of what fans and historians call the Silver Age of comics. Infantino drew “Flash of Two Worlds,” a landmark story published in The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961) that introduced Earth-Two, and more generally the concept of the multiverse, to DC Comics.
The Flash is an upcoming superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Produced by DC Films, Double Dream, and The Disco Factory, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is intended to be the 14th film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson and stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash alongside Ron Livingston, Michael Keaton, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Shannon, Antje Traue, Sasha Calle, and Ben Affleck. In the film, Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, which brings unintended consequences.
Development of a film based on the Flash began in the late 1980s, with multiple writers and directors attached to the project through 2014. The film was then redeveloped as a part of the DCEU, with Miller cast as the title character. Multiple directors were attached to the film over the following years, with Seth Grahame-Smith, Rick Famuyiwa, and the duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein each departing the project due to creative differences. Muschietti and Hodson joined the film in July 2019, and pre-production began in January 2020. The film is influenced by the comic book storyline Flashpoint, featuring multiple DC Comics characters including both Affleck and Keaton reprising their respective versions of Batman. Filming took place from April to October 2021 at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, and on location around the United Kingdom.
The Flash is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 23, 2023, following multiple delays caused by the director changes and the pandemic.
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