This is, I believe, the oldest comic book I own--I have a few pulp magazines and such that are older, but no comics. And I paid a grand total of $3.00 for it, which, even in the dilapidated state it's in, was quite a bargain.
ALL-FLASH COMICS - so named because it was packed cover-to-cover solely with tales of the fastest man alive, as opposed to FLASH COMICS, which was an anthology title--was the third DC title devoted solely to the adventures of a single character. Creators Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard pulled out all the stops on this one, beginning with a two-page recap of the Flash's origin (The same format that had previously been used in SUPERMAN and BATMAN #1, and would later be used in GREEN LANTERN #1), and continuing through four fast-paced stories. By this point in the series' history, they'd gotten a pretty good feel for the strip, and the delicate balance between drama and whimsy which made it flourish.
I found this copy along with five other coverless and tattered issues of ALL-FLASH at a New York show in the early '90s, all priced between $3.00 and $7.00. I bought the three E.E. Hibbard-illustrated issues, but left the rest behind, a move I regret today.
This is, I believe, the oldest comic book I own--I have a few pulp magazines and such that are older, but no comics. And I paid a grand total of $3.00 for it, which, even in the dilapidated state it's in, was quite a bargain.