when reading Flash...

[CTTT]

I'm currently going through Silver Age Flash and intend on reading Barry Wally and Bart. It's ok to stick with those guys right? Or do I need to backtrack and read Jay Garrick also? I tried reading him but he lost me at breathing gas fumes to obtain his speed. Barry's and Wally's origin seemed much better by comparison.

[Vordan]

I don’t think so. Barry and Jay eventually meet but outside of knowing Barry read comics about Jay as a kid, I don’t think it’s essentialy to have read Golden Age Flash to enjoy Barry.

[The_Sneezing_Stormtrooper]

The Jay Garrick stuff is pretty repetitive from what I've read. Lots of him stopping everyday crooks. The Barry stuff has that 50s/60s sci-fi charm to it. Even if the dialog can get a bit stale, the concepts and art make silver age worthwhile. Golden age is a bit harder to justify beyond being a completionist, especially since it contributes so little to the mythos.

[Gero4568]

Reading the Jay books aren't that important to the Silver Age. In Post-Crisis, a few issues provide backstory on certain villains, but those are still not necessary, just optimal.

[LifeIsILL]

Silver Age Flash was ahead of its time I would say. Lots of interesting concepts that was just ahead of the curve.

[Jekyll]

To your original question, the answer is no. However, don't sell Jay short. Jay Garrick is my favorite DC character and while his golden age stories are quite silly, his silver age to modern age stories are great! You will see him appear with Barry and Wally. I would also highly recommend the 90s-2000's JSA stories.

[CTTT]

Yeah I'll check those out...I'll also follow Wallace West as well.