Tom versus Flash number 286 or it's hard to sell a black and white indie book in the DC universe.

Welcome back for the Flash number 286, the June 1980 issue of Patriot cover pencil by Don Heck,

inked by Dick Juredown and with the issue being edited by Len Ween.

Our story in this issue is The color schemes of the Rainbow Raider

written by Carrie Bates with art by Don Heck and Frank Chilormante. Gene D'Angelo is the

color. And Ben Oda is the letter. That's right we get the introduction of the rainbow

raider, an attempt to insert someone new into the rogues gallery of the flash to various

levels of success. He shows up a couple more times.

I think Jeff Johns killed him off, actually. Perhaps we don't see him anymore, but for a while,

Rainbow Raider was one of the rogues. We go to the Central City Police Station. Kind of late at

night, we see a weary Barry Allen leaving. He has been working insane hours. So Sergeant in the desk is noticing this, makes a comment to Barry and Barry. He's like, yeah, I'm really tired. He's leaving. Just as he's heading off the door, an alarm goes off behind the sergeant's desk. It's an alarm from the Centrix Art Museum on Fairfax. It appears to be a robbery going on there. Of course, Barry hears us as he's walking

off the door. He's not going to get any sleep tonight. We can tell he's tired of his tie is loosened.

He's no Reed Richards. He hasn't grown facial hair in that day that he's been working to show how

tired he is. He laments the fact, no sleep. No sleep for the Flash.

throws on the costume, starts heading towards the Sandtrex Museum. A couple of cops see a red blur go by. And they go, oh, what, did you see that? What was it? At this point, cops, it's the fly. When you see a red blur, it's, of course, the Flash. So the Flash is head on his way over. It's this new captain, Captain, Captain Fry, the one who's super punctual that's been causing all these problems.

He's been making Barry stay... of course the Flash. So the Flash just had on his way over. It's this new Captain, Captain Fry,

the one who's super punctual that's been causing all these problems. He's been making Barry stay

at late, stay late at work. He's always on top of him. Barry doesn't have any time to go out

and be the Flash. He's always leaving during the workday. Now it's a little bit tougher. He's

got to do his patrols all the time at night. But he can't just go up to fry and say, listen, I'm the Flash. You need to cut me a break. Sometimes I need to leave a little bit early. Sometimes I'm going to be gone for an hour. He's running around town, yawning, thinking there's only so much more I can handle of this. I'm only human. I'm going to get tired. And just as the Flash is approaching the Centrex Museum, which is, how long did it take for him to get there? Long enough to give exposition, of course. That's the magic of super speed. He can only move fast enough to get to a place, but not too fast that we don't get some exposition. He's shocked when he gets to the museum because there's a giant rainbow leading in. There hasn't been rain in Central City in weeks.

He gets it in the museum.

He sees a couple of guards, and they're covering their faces sort of cowering in the corner.

...