The Flash Annual #3
The Flash Annual #3 (2020) is a meaningful chapter in Joshua Williamson's landmark DC Rebirth run on the Flash — the longest uninterrupted tenure any writer had on the title coming out of that initiative. The issue operates as an official crossover between Williamson's Flash and Tom Taylor's concurrent Suicide Squad (Vol. 6) series, giving Williamson his first extended opportunity to write Captain Boomerang, who had been creatively unavailable to him because the character was central to Taylor's own book at the time. Structurally, the story 'Tall Tale' employs an unreliable-narrator device — Digger Harkness recounting events in self-aggrandizing fashion — to explore the dual identity of Captain Boomerang as both a Flash Rogue and a Suicide Squad antihero, pushing beyond his traditional role as comic relief. The issue serves as a bridge connecting two concurrent DC titles and was judged significant enough to be canonized in the collected-edition reading order for Williamson's run.
In "Tall Tale," a 2020 Flash Annual, Captain Boomerang spins a riveting, self-aggrandizing tale to federal agents, recounting how the Flash once helped the Suicide Squad escape Deathstroke’s grasp. Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Stephen Segovia, Brandon Peterson, and Carlo Pagulayan, with inks by Peterson and Jason Paz, colors by Hi-Fi, and letters by Steve Wands, the story blends truth and exaggeration in a flash-fueled narrative. The dynamic cover by David Marquez captures the moment’s intensity.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — MINT ▾ $2.99–$4.99 3 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.19–$11 11 listings
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Joshua Williamson — who helmed The Flash (Vol. 5) from its 2016 Rebirth launch through issue #60 and beyond — the annual was published on June 16, 2020, with a cover date of August 2020. It carries three pencilers (Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, and Brandon Peterson) inked by Jason Paz, colored by Hi-Fi Design, and lettered by Steve Wands, with Mike Cotton editing. The annual was timed to coincide with Tom Taylor's ongoing Suicide Squad (Vol. 6) run, making it a deliberate inter-title event rather than a standalone story. The story was later collected in The Flash Vol. 14: The Flash Age (ISBN 978-1779509239), alongside The Flash #88 and #750–755.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published June 16, 2020 (cover date August 2020); part of The Flash Annual (Vol. 5), the annual series attached to Williamson's Rebirth-era Flash run.
- Written by Joshua Williamson; art by Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, and Brandon Peterson; colors by Hi-Fi Design; letters by Steve Wands.
- Story title is 'Tall Tale,' narrated in unreliable-narrator fashion from Captain Boomerang's (Digger Harkness's) perspective as he embellishes his own heroics to interrogators.
- Official crossover with Tom Taylor's Suicide Squad (Vol. 6); the Task Force X roster appearing includes Deadshot (Floyd Lawton), Harley Quinn, Chaos Kitten, Aerie, Fin, Osita, Thylacine, Wink, Zebra-Man, and Deadly Six.
- Deathstroke appears as the antagonist; Captain Boomerang and The Flash are listed as the two featured characters in DC Database's character index.
- The issue gave Williamson his first chance to write Captain Boomerang in his Flash run, as the character had been tied up in Taylor's Suicide Squad book throughout the preceding year.
- The story's set locations include Australia, reinforcing Digger Harkness's established origin as an Australian-born criminal.
- Reprinted in the trade paperback The Flash Vol. 14: The Flash Age (2021), which collects The Flash #88, The Flash Annual #3, and The Flash #750–755.
Cast · 3 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Suicide Squad Renégats #1 (2020), Flash #50 (2020), The Flash #14 (2021)
Key issues in The Flash Annual
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.