This is an ashcan edition from DC. Graded out at 9.6 - the highest ever for an ashcan. Only 6 known copies.
Ashcans are promotional editions that are unfinished. Back then it was used to secure the copyright for the Flash title. Very rare.
Ashcan edition of Flash #1 - (
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Link - ( New Window )
there is must read book
Men of Tomorrow
it tells the whole story about how comic books came to prominence
one interesting fact is the Flash , Hawkman were actually part of a separate sister company than DC Comics called All American Comics
in early 1940's they merged into one company
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book - ( New Window )