Recently while browsing eBay (as I’m in the process of buying back some of the Copper Age Comics I’d sold off back in the day), I got hit with nostalgia for the marketing of the era. Yep, we’ll talk about ’87s excellent Wally West Flash relaunch in a future blog…this blog is about the promotional poster for it!
Shot above is from the eBay listing; the seller posted a pretty shitty pic, so I cleaned it up the best I could in Photoshop.
I clearly remember this poster from early ’87, as it was on display at the NJ comic shop where I had my monthly pull list. Once again, Sienkiewicz’s painted art grabbed me…loved the colors, loved the style. (Just FYI, the “smoking boots” pose is adapted from an interior panel from the actual comic, pencilled by Jackson Guice.)
DC, Marvel, and even some of the Independent publishers were producing some beautiful promotional materials at the time, which were usually distributed one per retail (comic store) account. We’ll have more blogs (and pics!) showcasing them in the future.
As for this Flash poster that was recently auctioned on eBay? I didn’t bid on it, as I’m trying to show some restraint…cuz I know, if I bought this, the completist in me would open up the floodgates to bid on all kinds of other Copper Age promotional items…
…that being said, I really regret not buying it! Maybe one day it’ll show up again…
Interesting how Guice has gone back & forth from “Jackson” and “Butch” through the years.
I agree that this poster is excellent and look forward to your piece on the relaunch. It was pretty radical back then; the first sidekick to ever fulfill the ‘sidekick promise,’ as Mark Waid has said, and get ‘upgraded.’ Baron’s early work on the book was terrific, as was Bill Messner-Loebs’ stint. (“Kilg%re,” anyone?
) I fondly remember a one-issue Loebs story called ‘Nobody Dies,’ simply about the Flash saving lives in everyday, non-supervillain situations.