Flash Comics #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFlash Comics #4 (April 1940) is a pivotal early chapter in the Flash Comics anthology that solidified the visual identity of Hawkman for the Golden Age: it marks Sheldon Moldoff's debut on the Hawkman strip, replacing Dennis Neville after just three issues, and Moldoff's cleaner, more dynamic line would define Carter Hall's look for years. The issue is also notable for introducing the first Hawkman antagonist who survives his own introductory story — a small but meaningful narrative evolution in a genre that had previously dispatched its villains by the final page. As one of the earliest issues of a title that housed three of the Golden Age's most enduring heroes (Jay Garrick, Carter Hall, and Johnny Thunder), it stands as a concrete artifact of All-American Publications' ambition to build a shared superhero universe in the opening months of 1940.
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Flash Comics was published by All-American Publications — an imprint operating under the DC/National umbrella overseen by M.C. Gaines and edited by Sheldon Mayer — and hit stands as part of a deliberate push to capitalize on the superhero boom ignited by Action Comics and Detective Comics. Gardner Fox was the primary scripter driving the anthology's tone, writing both the Flash and Hawkman strips; John B. Wentworth handled the comedic Johnny Thunder and western-flavored Whip features. The transition from Dennis Neville to Sheldon Moldoff on Hawkman beginning with this issue appears to have been an editorial decision rather than a creator departure, reflecting the fast-moving production schedules typical of early Golden Age comics shops.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1940; published by All-American Publications (DC); cover art by George Storm; 68 pages, full color.
- The Flash story 'The Gambling Ship' is written by Gardner Fox with art by Everett E. Hibbard; it is reprinted in Golden Age Flash Archives Volume 1.
- The Hawkman story 'The Thought Terror' — written by Gardner Fox, drawn by Sheldon Moldoff — is Moldoff's first issue illustrating Hawkman, marking a key artistic transition for the character; it is reprinted in both The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told and Golden Age Hawkman Archives Volume 1.
- The Thought Terror is the first Hawkman villain to remain alive at the end of the story that introduces him — all prior foes had been killed or neutralized by the final page.
- Shiera Sanders assists Hawkman in escaping captivity in 'The Thought Terror,' smuggling a blowtorch into his cell, though she has not yet assumed any winged identity of her own.
- The Johnny Thunder story ('Johnny Law' / 'Johnny Fights for the Law'), written by John B. Wentworth with art by Stan Aschmeier, ends with Johnny being offered a position as a G-Man; it is reprinted in JSA All-Stars Archives Volume 1.
- The Whip story 'The Plundered Peons,' written by John B. Wentworth, marks Homer Fleming's debut as the strip's artist, replacing George Storm.
- Additional features include a Cliff Cornwall story ('The Stolen Message') and a King Standish story ('The Stolen Washton Jewels'), both written by Gardner Fox, as well as a Rod Rian of the Sky Police strip and a text installment of Gardner Fox's 'Adventure in a Time Warp' (Part 2).
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Daisy's father wins a bundle off the fight that Johnny won, but a thug is determined to take that bundle of loot, no matter what. When Johnny rounds up the criminal, he is offered a position as a G-Man.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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