In Flash 114, Barry Allen faces off his old nemesis, Captain Cold. His protege and future Flash Wally West must come face-to-face with what arguably could be a more frightening threat: beatniks!

This outfit’s endsville, Big Daddy.

You gotta hand it to Carmine Infantino: these guys don’t look like idealized comic book beatniks, like Judy Funnie from Doug. They look legitimately like they are strung out on heroin and living in squalor.  There’s a guy just straight up lying on a dirty mattress In the corner.

Our story kicks off when Wally’s pal, Jimmy —- an honor student and star athlete —- is falsely accused by his teacher of cheating on a test!  Jimmy (whose mother is dead and whose father is an absentee sea captain … and no I am not making that up) runs away from Blue Valley to escape his shame.  He goes to York City to live with his cousin, Paul King.

Truancy has its consequences, though. Paul is none other than the crime boss known as the King of the Beatniks.  Far out, man! Jimmy is forced into crime (and I’m assuming a clove cigarette habit and poetry slams) in the Beatnik Gang!

Look at that guy in panel 3. Truly record players are the opiate of the masses.  How has a gang this lethargic not been rounded up by the York City cops already? The crazy hours?

Jimmy refuses to go along and gets locked up for his troubles.  No berets or turtlenecks for you, kid. It turns out that just because he ran away, he isn’t instantly “cool.” It’s up to Kid Flash to foil a fur coat heist… which shouldn’t be a problem as these guys are totally high… er, razzled.

Kid Flash has a fatal weakness, though. He may be able to run in between raindrops and have the the ability to walk through walls, but he is easily defeated when you slam a door in his face. The King of the Beatniks pulls out a gun (like, not a freeze ray like the one being pulled on his adult mentor, but a GUN gun) and shoots point blank.

The noise of the discharge rouses Wally.  He uses his super speed to evade the bullet and round up the beatniks. Jimmy is rescued, just in time to win the big track meet for the school. All is right again in Blue Valley. Hooray!