Flash Comics #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFlash Comics #6 (June 1940) marks a quiet but telling editorial milestone: by this issue, the early rotation of cover features across the anthology's full cast had narrowed down to just two headliners — Jay Garrick's Flash and Hawkman — a pairing that would define the title's identity for the rest of its nine-year run. The lead story, 'The Olympic Adventure,' pushes Jay Garrick's secret-identity drama in a notably bold direction: he competes under his own name at the Olympic Trials, running at full speed in front of hundreds of spectators while Joan Williams calls him 'Flash' aloud, a moment that foreshadows the more expansive identity storytelling DC would develop in later decades. Meanwhile the Hawkman installment — 'Sheba, Queen of the Desert,' drawn by Sheldon Moldoff — is among the earliest examples of Moldoff's long stewardship of the Carter Hall feature, the artist-character pairing that would shape Golden Age Hawkman's visual identity. As a sixth-issue entry in one of the foundational anthology titles of the Golden Age, the issue illustrates how rapidly All-American Comics established stable, genre-defining creative teams within just a few months of launch.
In "The Case of the Drugged Olympic Athletes," Flash Comics #6 (1940) delivers a gripping mystery as the Flash races to uncover who’s sabotaging top athletes before the big games. Penciled and inked by Joe Shuster, the story unfolds with crisp, dynamic art that captures the speed and suspense of the hero’s pursuit. The cover by Everett E. Hibbard, showcasing the Flash in action, complements the issue’s high-stakes tone.
In "The Case of the Drugged Olympic Athletes," Jay Garrick races through the Olympic Trials not just to win, but to expose a hidden gambling ring—pushing his super-speed to the limit and setting world records in every event he enters.
In "Sheba, Queen of the Desert," Hawkman and Ione Craig find themselves in peril during a respite from their journey through Alamut, when desert raiders ambush them and seize Ione, dragging her off to a distant slave market. The story unfolds as Hawkman must navigate the harsh desert and its dangers to rescue her, testing his courage and resolve in a world where strength and cunning are the only weapons that matter.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Flash Comics was published by All-American Comics, Inc. under managing editor M.C. Gaines and assistant editor Sheldon Mayer — a pairing that shaped the entire early Golden Age DC/All-American line. Issue #6 went on sale April 17, 1940, carrying a June cover date, produced on the same monthly production cadence that had been in place since the title's debut in November 1939. Gardner Fox served as the primary writer across multiple features, with Everett E. Hibbard handling both the cover and the Flash lead story, while Sheldon Moldoff drew Hawkman and Cliff Cornwall — reflecting the tight, overlapping freelance stable that All-American relied on in this period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: June 1940; on-sale date: April 17, 1940, published by All-American Comics, Inc. under managing editor M.C. Gaines and assistant editor Sheldon Mayer.
- The cover, by Everett E. Hibbard, marks only the second time Jay Garrick's Flash appeared on the cover of his own title — issues #2 through #5 had featured other characters.
- By this issue, the early multi-character cover rotation had settled permanently: Flash and Hawkman became the only two features to trade cover appearances for the remainder of the title's run.
- Lead Flash story 'The Olympic Adventure' (Gardner Fox / Everett E. Hibbard): Jay Garrick competes openly at the Olympic Trials under his own name, running at full speed while Joan Williams publicly calls him 'Flash' before hundreds of onlookers — an unusually overt identity exposure moment for Golden Age superhero comics.
- Hawkman story 'Sheba, Queen of the Desert' (Gardner Fox / Sheldon Moldoff) features an early major showcase of Moldoff's Hawkman work and was later reprinted in the Golden Age Hawkman Archives Vol. 1.
- The Flash 'Olympic Adventure' story was reprinted in Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 1 (DC, 1999).
- The issue also features: King in 'The Witch' (Fox / Harry Lampert); Johnny Thunder in 'Tally Ho' (John B. Wentworth / Stan Aschmeier), which includes Johnny's girlfriend Daisy Darling; Cliff Cornwall in 'The War Material Smugglers' (Fox / Sheldon Moldoff); The Whip in 'The Kidnapping' (Wentworth / Homer Fleming), featuring Rod Gaynor and Marisa Dillon; and a Flash picture novelette 'Don Fuel and the Mystery Planet' by Ed Wheelan.
- The issue reflects an internal continuity shift: Jay Garrick's alma mater is referred to as 'Western University,' having been called 'Midwestern University' in Flash Comics #1.
Cast · 13 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Golden Age Flash Archives #1 (1999), Golden Age Hawkman Archives #1 (2006)
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