Harry Lampert -- creator of DC’s Flash in 1940 has died

[Khephra]

Harry Lampert, creator of DC’s Flash in 1940 has died from brain cancer, the Associated Press reports. In an obituary on his site, Mark Evanier reports that Lampert died Saturday morning.

Lampert, 88, had begun drawing professionally when he was 16 years old, inking characters such as Popeye and Betty Boop. He created the Flash when he was 22. While Lampert stayed with the Flash for only five episodes, Lampert had no idea how popular the character would ultimately become, surviving over 64 years, and spawning an entire family of speedsters that all dated back to his original creation, Jay Garrick. In the first issue of Flash Comics, Lampert and writer Gardner Fox introduced readers to Garrick, a college student at Midwestern University who was seriously underwhelming his girlfriend Joan due to his sub-par football skills.

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According to the AP article, Lampert’s family said his favorite cartoons were his gag cartoons which appeared in the likes of Time, Esquire, Saturday Review, Teh Saturday Evening Post and The New York Times. Along with cartooning, Lampert loved bridge, and both wrote and illustrated The Fun Way to Serious Bridge.

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[MyshkinCommaPrince]

1. It is sad.

A little bit Hermes/Mercury, a little bit Flash Gordon. Jay Garrick was a nifty character.