Flash Comics Vol 1 5

"The Flash: "Menace of the Vandal"": The Flash rescues painter Boleau from some gunmen sent to kill him by a greedy art collector known as the Vandal, an owner of several Boleau paintings, who has been murdering artists to drive up the value of his collection. Jay t

The Flash: "Menace of the Vandal"
Cover
Flash Comics Vol 1 #5
May, 1940
Executive Editor	M.C. Gaines
Cover Artists	Jon L. Blummer
The Flash: "Menace of the Vandal"
Writers	Gardner Fox
Pencilers	Everett E. Hibbard
Inkers	Everett E. Hibbard
Editors	M.C. Gaines
The King: "Get the King"
Writers	Gardner Fox
Pencilers	Harry Lampert
Inkers	Harry Lampert
Hawkman: "The Kidnapping of Ione Craig"
Writers	Gardner Fox
Pencilers	Sheldon Moldoff
Inkers	Sheldon Moldoff
Johnny Thunder: "Johnny Becomes a G-Man"
Writers	John B. Wentworth
Pencilers	Stan Aschmeier
Inkers	Stan Aschmeier
Rod Rian of the Skypolice: "The Mephisians Attack"
Writers	Paul H. Jepson
Pencilers	Paul H. Jepson
Inkers	Paul H. Jepson
Cliff Cornwall: "The Snow King"
Pencilers	Sheldon Moldoff
Inkers	Sheldon Moldoff
Flash Picture Novelette: "You Can't Get Away With It"
Writers	Ed Wheelan
Pencilers	Ed Wheelan
Inkers	Ed Wheelan
The Whip: "Judge Frawd's Court"
Writers	John B. Wentworth
Pencilers	Homer Fleming
Inkers	Homer Fleming
Previous Issue	Flash Comics # 4
Next Issue	Flash Comics # 6

I'm not so bad myself at disguises! You see if I don't bring the King back with me!!

— The Witch

Flash Comics #5 is an issue of the series Flash Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1940.

Synopsis for The Flash: "Menace of the Vandal"

The Flash rescues painter Boleau from some gunmen sent to kill him by a greedy art collector known as the Vandal, an owner of several Boleau paintings, who has been murdering artists to drive up the value of his collection. Jay thwarts this operation, as well as a backup scheme in which the crook tries to rob an art museum.

Appearing in The Flash: "Menace of the Vandal"

Featured Characters:

• Flash

Supporting Characters:

• 
  

Antagonists:

• Vandal

Other Characters:

• Boleau

Locations:

• 
  

Items:

• 
  

Vehicles:

• 
  
  

Synopsis for The King: "Get the King"

A gorgeous girl jewel-thief, known as "the Witch," seeks to find and kill the King, by disguising herself as a wealthy old hag. She mistakenly believes that the King is a crook and will attempt to steal her jewels. The King disguises himself as the Witch's bodyguard, Sport Dolan, gets close, and learns her plans. On his way out, he makes a complete fool of Dolan, and re-steals the Witch's stolen loot from an earlier theft, planning to return these gems to their real owners.

Afterward, looking back on the encounter, the King and the Witch each find themselves thinking fond thoughts about the other.

Appearing in The King: "Get the King"

Featured Characters:

• The King

Antagonists:

• The Witch (First appearance)
• Sport Dolan
  

Synopsis for Hawkman: "The Kidnapping of Ione Craig"

There is an attempt on President FDR's life, and the assailant is described in the papers as an "Easterner." Also elsewhere, the King of Emporia and the Premier of Frappe are likewise attacked.

During intermission at the Metropolitan Opera, Carter Hall spots a guy on the street, in an Indian-style turban; he acts on a hunch and follows the fellow, and sure enough, soon the foreigner pulls out a big curved "khanjur" and attacks a blonde woman, prompting Carter to knock him out. The rescuee is startled that Carter knows the proper name for this exotic weapon; she slips her business card into his pocket then disappears just as the police arrive. Carter follows up on this impromptu introduction, and shows up at her address later that night. She is Ione Craig, a secret government agent, and that very night she is sailing for Araby, to take down Hassan Ibn Sadah, the mastermind behind the recent assassination attempts against various heads of state. Ibn Sadah has revived the original Order of Assassins, dating back to 1070 AD.

Miss Craig then travels from New York to Cairo via steamship, secretly tailed by Hawkman, who introduces himself under that identity in Cairo, and volunteers to help. Her plan is to persuade the British colonial authorities to perform an air raid on Alamut, the Secret City of Assassins, and she has a map of its location which she gives to the Hawk, who then flies off to confirm the target. After a long flight across the desert, he finds the city, and stealthily flies over the wall, finds the main palace, sneaks inside, finds, and spies upon Hassan Ibn Sadah, a namesake descendant of the legendary founder of the Sect. He learns of Sadah's plan for world domination, which he hopes to achieve by assassinating several heads of state and replacing them with members of his own cult. Meanwhile in Cairo, Ione Craig is kidnapped in the street by two Assassins, and soon is brought to Alamut also.

Hassan immediately decides to rape Ione, provoking Hawkman to emerge from concealment, whip out a slingshot, and kill one Assassin (Abdul Ben Hathor), rather than sling a shot at Hassan who is much too close to Ione for a safe shot. Sadah calls for his archers, all of whom shoot at and miss the deftly aeronautical Hawkman, who escapes the scene, then returns after dark, taking out another assassin with his slingshot, and entering the main hall. He grabs a huge scimitar from the wall and challenges all the assassins present, and fences with them until he can cut the chain holding Ione prisoner in the room, then grabs the girl, and takes flight, pausing only to kill Sadah with his slingshot, then escapes with the girl.

Appearing in Hawkman: "The Kidnapping of Ione Craig"

Featured Characters:

• Hawkman

Antagonists:

• Hassan Ibn Sadah (Dies)
  • Order of Assassins
    • Abdul Ben Hathor (Dies)
    • many more Assassins (some die)

Other Characters:

• Ione Craig (First appearance)

Locations:

• New York City
  • Metropolitan Opera
• Cairo
• Araby
  • Secret City of Alamut
• Emporia (Mentioned only)
• Frappe (Mentioned only)

Items:

• Hawkman's slingshot

Vehicles:

• transatlantic steamship
  

Synopsis for Johnny Thunder: "Johnny Becomes a G-Man"

Johnny Thunder joins the FBI and becomes a G-Man. His first case is to investigate the disappearance of a bank vault. The entire vault is gone including a man inside, Johnny's father Simon Thunder.

Johnny becomes suspicious of a piano company across the street from the bank. When he enters the building, crooks capture him. The crooks have tunneled under the bank from the piano company building, and caused the bank vault to fall underground. They then sealed up the floor, so the vault can't be seen from above inside the bank.

Inadvertently using his Thunderbolt powers, which he doesn't know how to invoke or control, Johnny is able to rescue his father and apprehend the crooks.

Appearing in Johnny Thunder: "Johnny Becomes a G-Man"

Featured Characters:

• Johnny Thunder
  • Thunderbolt

Supporting Characters:

• Simon P. Thunder
• Daisy Darling
• Herman Darling
• Mildred Thunder

Antagonists:

• Cut Perce
  • his bank robber gang

Other Characters:

• FBI agent Findem
• Chief Detectem
  

Appearing in Rod Rian of the Skypolice: "The Mephisians Attack"

Featured Characters:

• Rod Rian

Supporting Characters:

• Skypolice

Antagonists:

• Mephisians

Other Characters:

• 
  

Locations:

• 
  

Items:

• 
  

Vehicles:

• 
  
  

Synopsis for Cliff Cornwall: "The Snow King"

Cliff Cornwall takes on the Snow King, a spy who operates only in Winter and has never been seen. Snow King's secret is that he uses sleeping pills combined with a building's heating system to put all of his victims to sleep.

Appearing in Cliff Cornwall: "The Snow King"

Featured Characters:

• Cliff Cornwall

Supporting Characters:

• 
  

Antagonists:

• the Snow King

Other Characters:

• 
  

Locations:

• 
  

Items:

• 
  

Vehicles:

• 
  
  

Appearing in Flash Picture Novelette: "You Can't Get Away With It"

Featured Characters:

• 
  

Supporting Characters:

• 
  

Antagonists:

• 
  

Other Characters:

• 
  

Locations:

• 
  

Items:

• 
  

Vehicles:

• 
  
  

Synopsis for The Whip: "Judge Frawd's Court"

Rod Gaynor leaves Seguro and travels northeast to the town of Danvers. There, he receives a huge traffic fine by crooked Judge Frawd. The Whip investigates and learns that the judge is illegally fining and jailing people. He then uses the convicts as his personal servants. The Whip also uncovers corruption on the part of the town's newspaper editor, who is Frawd's collaborator. He soon sends word back to Seguro for Marisa Dillon. She leaves Seguro for Danvers to expose this story.

Appearing in The Whip: "Judge Frawd's Court"

Featured Characters:

• The Whip

Supporting Characters:

• Wing Tai
• Carlos
• Sam Dillon
• Marisa Dillon

Antagonists:

• Judge Louis Frawd (First appearance)
• T.V. Smith, newspaper editor (not named until Flash Comics #6)

Other Characters:

• Victoria Frawd
• Myron Frawd
• Ralph, reporter

Locations:

• Massachusetts
  • Danvers
• New Mexico
  • Seguro

Animals:

• King

Notes

• Menace Of The Vandal is reprinted in Golden Age Flash Archives 1.
• The Kidnapping of Ione Craig is reprinted in Golden Age Hawkman Archives 1.
  • Wherever Alamut is, it's within one night's horse-ride from Cairo.
  • Hawkman killed Abdul Ben Hathor and Hasan Ibn Sadah, with a slingshot. Hawkman body count now 6.
  • Carter Hall smokes a pipe.
  • Elsewhere in DC Comics, this same month, Captain Desmo is battling the Society of Assassins.
• Aside from the stories above, this issue contains:
  • "Planet of the Metal Men" by Evelyn Gaines (text story)

See Also

• Cover gallery for the Flash Comics series
• Images from Flash Comics Vol 1 5