Friday, October 17, 2008

Flash #184

Flash #184 (On Sale: October 17, 1968) has a very dramatic cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

"Executioner of Central City" is by Frank Robbins, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. Scientists at the Mt. Vista Ionospheric Observatory identify a burst of destructive energy headed for Central City. Iris Allen is able to contact her husband to warn him of the impending danger. Flash then tries to save the city by circling it at tremendous speed and setting up a repulsive shield. The energy burst is successfully deflected at the exact moment Flash's endurance gives out.

When Flash recovers from his exhaustive effort, he discovers that Central City is gone. A giant crater is all that remains. Flash believes his actions caused the destruction of the city, but he finds one survivor stuck in the mud. The survivor is a woman named Zoral, and she is actually from the future. She explains that she works for Dr. Yom, a future anthropologist who was conducting an experiment to bring a civilization from the past to his own time.

When Zoral returns to her time period, Flash hitches a ride. They discover that Central City has been transported intact into the future as a result of the freak circumstances involved with the energy burst. Dr. Yom wants sole credit for successfully bringing the city into the future and tries to eliminate Zoral and Flash when they learn the truth. Flash is able to defeat Dr. Yom and return Central City to its rightful place in time and space.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.

2 comments:

Dave said...

That's a great cover.

-Keller said...

I would wholeheartedly agree; simple and striking at the same time.