By ANDREW A. SMITH, Scripps Howard News Service

Comics: A Flashback

"I've got the strangest feeling I'm being turned into a puppet."
Those are words from Barry Allen in 1962, who was The Flash for 30 years before being killed in 1986. We'll get to that quote in a minute, but first let's talk about Barry, who has returned from death and to a new ongoing title called "Flash: Rebirth."

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Comics: 'Blazing Combat' reprint a treat to read

To say that I enjoyed the new hardback reprinting of "Blazing Combat" is an understatement. I didn't just read it -- I inhaled it like oxygen.

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Comics: Looking at strange collections from the '50s

Thanks to the flood of reprints these days, the curtain is being pulled back on one of the strangest eras of comics: the 1950s.

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Comics: Marvel's 'Captain Trips' as unsettling as original novel

Stephen King's novel "The Stand" starts with a man-made superflu that wipes out most of humanity before segueing into an even scarier story, about the Anti-Christ. It's terrified readers for years.

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Comics: Checking out 'Eerie' -- at long last

"Comics have finally joined the mainstream." That's how George Gene Gustines began his March 5 story in The New York Times, introducing the gray lady's new weekly best-seller lists for "graphic books."

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Comics: What to watch for in 'Watchmen'

"Watchmen" is one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, but is almost unknown outside comics fandom. So here's a primer in time for the movie adaptation, premiering Friday:
Q: What is "Watchmen" about?

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Comics: There will be blood

"Will there be blood? I like to imagine so."

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Comics: 'Origins and Omens' reveals clues about DC characters

Regular readers of DC Comics may have noticed a unique stimulus package of their own this month.
Over the course of the month, 18 regular titles and the "Adventure Comics" No. 0 special will feature six-page backup features called "Origins and Omens." At 36 pages, that's four extra story pages for the same price.

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A look at some of the year's top graphic novels for teens

The Young Adult Library Services Association, part of the American Library Association, has announced its 2009 Top 10 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. Since I have three of them on hand, let's take a look:

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At 70, Superman has changed through the years

I can't let 2008 end without mentioning the 70th anniversary of the most important character in American comic books.

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