Current mood:

pensive

The Flash and Piper - Again.
Sorry for the masses of posts on this topic, but I figure if people are interested in one of my favourite characters, I'm certainly not going to dissuade them :-).

This is for dotiscute

Okay. Firstly, if you want to know all the appearances of Piper you can have a look at his entry on Those Who Ride the Lightning.

My personal recommendations for Piper-centric stories?
Note: (some of these are reposted from my hopelessly out-of-date site Second Bananas)

Flash #53
Piper doesn't actually appear in much of this story but I have to include it because it includes what must be Piper's most remembered and quoted scene: his coming out to the Flash. Wally acts hilariously badly at first by remembering a sudden appointment and running like hell (and then congratulating himself for being so slick that Piper didn't notice he was uncomfortable!). By the end though, he's obviously decided that Piper's friendship is important to him, and he accepts everything rather gracefully from then on. Onya, Wally :-).

Flash #56 - 57
A refreshing change from the usual heroics, this was a two-part murder mystery that was rather entertaining. Wally finds that he's been named in the will of the Icicle (an old villain who's recently died), and he turns up to the reading with friends in tow. Unfortunately, some of the Icicle's family and in-laws are also there and are not at all happy to find that they are losing out on the money. Some may even be willing to kill for it.

Piper's mainly in the first issue, where he tags along to the reading for moral support, making cutting jokes at the expense of he rest of the guests and generally making Wally sorry he took him :-). The second issue is actually rather interesting as well though, because it contains the letter column showing peoples' reactions to Piper's coming out a few issues before. Some people's comments were rather sad, others rather refreshing. One of the most interesting letter columns I've read though, I have to say.

Flash# 120-121
After lurking in the background for some time, Piper was thrust into the limelight for this two-partner. It's set against the background of the Presidential Elections and has Piper going up against an old rogue whom he's convinced is tied up in a scheme to get elected. Since he has no actual proof of this, Wally, Linda and James (his partner at the time) are legitimately skeptical. Someone's being played here...

Flash #179
A sub-plot that's been boiling for a while comes to a head. Osgood and Rachel Rathaway are dead, found lying in their own home with their eardrums blown out. And the security tapes show who did it - their apparently reformed son, Hartley. The Flash is astounded, even more so when Piper... confesses? What the heck's going on there? Wally and Linda visit him in custody to try and sort things out, just in time for a bunch of lunatics infected by specialised Joker venom to come knocking. This may well be poor Piper's most horrendous day.

Flash #190
This is Piper's Rogue profile issue, and it's cool. Piper's escaped from the hell-hole that is Iron Heights and is not going to let himself go back. So he runs from old colleague to old colleague while angsting about his life so far. You can really see his desperation in this one, and his interactions with the other reformed Rogues are interesting.

Flash #220-222
The Rogue War, starring every Rogue under the sun, reformed and current. Piper has some nice moments, especially in 221 and 222.

On the other hand, if you just want to start collecting the The Flash, #220 is probably the best one to start. It's the beginning of the "Rogue War" storyline, and it's recent enough to still be in the shops. Plus, it was good :-).