Throughout the comic universe, readers have been introduced to such fiery characters as Human Torch, Firestorm, Inferno, and Magma to name a few. Ahead of these smoking hot heroes and baddies, Fox Feature Syndicate ushered in a sizzling hero of their own. Do you know who this was?
Gary Preston, a/k/a the Flame, was created by writer Will Eisner and artist Lou Fine and made his debut appearance in Wonderworld Comics #3 in 1939. The son of missionary Charteris Preston, Gary was separated from his family after a catastrophic flood hit China. In order to save their child, the Prestons placed Gary in a basket in the hopes that he would be safe from the flood. Gary ended up floating to Tibet where he was taken in by a mysterious tribe. Unfortunately, his parents did not survive. This mystifying clan of people taught Gary how to command fire. He learned the art of controlling the size and temperature of fire, how to raise his body heat to melt steal bullets, and how to teleport from inside one flame to another.
Eventually, Gary moved to the United States and took up the mantle of the superhero the Flame. As he continued honing his skills, which included spontaneously bursting into flames, The Flame served as a crime fighting hero for America. During this time, Gary met Linda Dale who teamed up with him as his sidekick, Flame Girl. Together, the Flame and Flame Girl joined Black Terror, Green Lama, Fighting Yank, Death-Defying Devil, and the other members of Project Superpowers to help the allies in World War II. At the same time, Fighting Yank was deceived into trapping the Flame and the rest of the superhero team in the Urn of Pandora. Over 60 years later, the Fighting Yank discovered the truth and freed the heroes trapped inside the Urn of Pandora.
Now, 10 years after the launch of Project Superpowers, Dynamite Entertainment is relaunching the series with Project Superpowers #0. Written by Rob Williams (Suicide Squad) and artist Sergio Davila (Injustice), this special #0 hits comic shops July 2018 for the introductory price of just 10¢. You can read more about this exciting relaunch on Scoop.