Tom versus the Flash number 142 or I always conveniently hide balloons and clubs. It's what I do.

Welcome back for the Flash number 142 the February 1964 issue featuring a cover penciled by Carmen Amphantino and inked by Murphy Anderson.

Our first story in this issue is the perilous pursuit of the trickster,

written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Carmen Amphantino,

inked by Joe Giella, and edited by Julie Schwartz.

That's right, it's a Gardner Fox story to lead off this issue.

In the Flash companion that came up from tomorrow,

as there was a great interview talking about the fact that Gardner Fox loved the trickster. He loved the sense of humor behind the character and it fit

more of his personality of writing. So although trickster stories are written by Gardner Fox, including

this one. We start on the terrace outside of Iris West apartment where the neighbor kid is playing with a new

set of toys that Barry Allen bought him. That's right, a police detective kit. All the stuff

kids love about detective work, magnifying glasses, ballistics reports, blood samples, all the great

stuff kids love to play with. And he's out there, he's fired up.

He wants to be a forensic scientist, just like Barry Allen. When lo and behold, who runs up to him,

none other than the trickster who has escaped from jail to commit another series of fabulous

crimes, the first one being the stealing of a set of toys from a child. And he's going to use this

detective set to commit robberies. He goes ahead and tells the boy that as he's grabbing it

from this crying child. He says it amuses him because it will be ironic to use this children's

detective set to commit crimes. And then he runs off on his same

shoes that he ran in on, his special jet shoes, and the kid loses it. He's crying. Iris comes

outside, and she tells him what's going on. And we see trickster taking off through town,

getting ready to adapt those toys into weapons he can use.

...