3 out of 5

Flash: 3 out of 5

Dr. Fate: 4 out of 5

This is probably a classic Flash run – Julie Schwarz editing, so big, crazy techno-gadget plots – but it’s super silly with AMAZING jumps in logic in the dialogue.  But there’s an internal hammy consistency to it – along with the glowing praise in the letters pages – that makes me understand that this is probably what was desired at the time, so I give it a pass.  Plus, the Infantino art is just super classy, matching the bonkers plotting with a similarly grounded approach, but willingness to splatter any and everything on the page with that groundedness (and not excessive panache) takes a patient, practiced hand.  Everything reads clearly and excitingly, all the characters are handsome.  So while the villain-of-the-week-with-a-copyrighted-name stories may not work for me – issues 310 and 311 are about ‘Colonel Computron’ and leave a dangling thread of “who’s behind the mask?” that was giggly enough that I wish I’d seen it resolved, issue 312 is a Heatwave caper that’s like a cute lil’ Perry Mason thing, and 313 is a Gorilla Grodd / Psykon TOTES MAKES NO SENSE NOT EVEN COMIC BOOK SENSE mind-switeroo story by Barr – they do feel like prime Silver Age.  The stories don’t feel dialed in, but rather dialed up for the goofy effect they achieve.

Regardless, it’s not why I got the issues.  I got ’em for the Fate backups, by Pasko and Gerber.  Having not read Pasko, it’s hard to tell the divide between his writing and Steve – in some issues Steve is just credited with story, and Pasko the script – but the initial random concept of Fate finding a Lord of Chaos hidden inside a gem which is hidden inside a corn husk in an Iowa farm (why??  I’m still unclear) rings of Gerby randomness, and the smart narration-through-narrator (instead of ‘fill-in-the-story-blanks-with-thought-bubbles-god-damn-I’m-using-this-hyphen-method-a-lot-today’ style) for the mostly wordless Dr. feels like Steve’s style.  Who knows.  Whatever the divide, this story is actually a lot of fun, with some truly impressive designs and layouts by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt, often utilizing four vertical panels to do these psychedelic swoops many years before I feel like this version of widescreening became more popular.  I initially read this four-part story in a one-issue collected edition (under a Dr. Fate title), but the story works better split up with the Flash bits inbetween because the writing crew – though the methods are creative – retells the what’s what each issue, so chewing on a rehash four times in one go sorta ruins the pacing.  ALSO, in that reprint, I believe they computerized the Fate effects, which just spammed all over the awesome artwork.  It looks better – much more organic – in the limited color range in which it was initially produced.

The lingering ‘buh?’ moments of the story – including a questionable deus ex machina – may not make it worth tracking down, but it’s a totes worthwhile find if you happen to be a Flash collector.