the comics of my youth

Ok, here is another comic that I'm very fond of. There is a little story behind it, which I'll explain after the issue summary.

The Flash #330, February 1984


Issue Summary: I'm kind of at a loss for what is going on in this issue. It is obviously a continuation of a story from the previous issue(s), which I don't have. Here is what I pieced together re-reading it: Flash's (Barry Allen) fiance Ms. Webb (not Iris West!??), is locked up in some mental institution. A doctor is recording her mad ravings about Barry being Flash. He plans to sell them to the news in order to be rich. Flash arrives and races him out the building and throws him through a carwash at super speed.

Ok...then apparently Flash is also searching for some missing boy. While searching the city, Flash is lured by some sort of mist/smoke, which knocks him unconscious. This is part of Gorilla Grodd's doing, but what his master plan is, I don't know.

Flash is now in some sort of alternate dimension/astral plane type place. This is also where the missing boy is. There are some other goons here too who are involved somehow with Grodd. There is some deal where one of the guys is going to steal/absorb Flash's speed. That is about all I can figure out. As a single issue it isn't very good. Hard to figure out only reading one part of the story. Not many cool action shots in this issue either. So why is this one of my favorite comics?



Why This Issue is Special: Here is why this is near and dear to my heart. It is one of the first comics I ever remember. Ahh, 1984. That puts me at 5 years old when I got this. Money was a little tight with my family back then. My Dad was working 2 jobs. This second job was managing a car wash. I remember him coming home one night with a small stack of comics he found that someone had thrown in the garbage at the car wash. No, he wasn't dumpster diving, I think they just happened to be at the top of the pile (in good condition) when he was changing the garbage cans. I think some parent just tossed them in the midst of cleaning out their car interior. Anyways, I remember three distinct comics: Conan, Incredible Hulk, and the Flash (I'm still trying to replace the Conan and Hulk issues). Oh this Flash character was cool! The cover was great, with a giant gorilla on it. Of course that will appeal to a 5 year old. I loved the Flash costume and the way Carmine Infantino would draw him racing around.

I remember tracing my finger along the red streak Flash always left behind. This probably inspired me to beg for a Flash costume. I was pretty pumped when I got a red shirt with the Flash logo on it. My mom sewed me a partial red mask (a domino style mask) with shiny gold trim on it. I ran around the house in that for a long time. That is the main reason Flash is still one of my favorite characters today. Plus running a hypersonic speed would be really, really fun.

Dan's Original Geeky Cool Rating: 8 out of 10

Dan's New Geeky Cool Rating: 8 out of 10. In terms of action/story it is about a 2. Sentimental rating is a 10, so that evens out to an 8.

Original Cover Price: 75¢

Current Value on ComicsPriceGuide.com: $6 in NM condition