In 1979, something BIG happened to the Flash - longtime editor Julius Schwartz and artist Irv Novick both left the title to work on other projects within DC. To understand why this was such a BIG deal, you'd need to be aware that Julius Schwartz is more or less the Godfather of DC Comics' Silver Age Revival* - he'd actually been editing The Flash for the last twenty years since the new version of the character was introduced in DC's Showcase #4 (1956). That same year, Schwartz also relinquished editorial control of Justice League of America, Detective Comics and Batman. Schwartz spent the following years overseeing/editing the 'Superman' titles (ex: Action Comics, DC Comics Presents, New Adventures of Superboy, Super Friends, Supergirl, Superman, Superman Family, World's Finest Comics, etc). Irv Novick had been the regular Flash artist since 1970, so his leaving the title was also a big shake-up. When Schwartz left The Flash, Novick also left to go pencil Batman.
Filling in for Schwartz was veteran Flash artist Ross Andru. Andru had been the interior penciller for The Flash from 1967 to 1970 (prior to Novick) only this time he was editing the series instead of pencilling it. At this point it should be mentioned that The Flash's sales were stagnant and that may have been what inspired the departure of Schwartz and Novick. Andru had some big plans for Barry Allen and had a new direction in mind for for the series. It should be noted that Andru was no stranger to editorial tasks, as he was also editing a few other DC titles around this time (Jonah Hex v1, Weird Western Tales v1, Adventure Comics v1, Wonder Woman v1 and The Warlord v1).
Despite the big change-up in editorial vision and interior art, the one thing that did NOT change was Cary Bates as writer of the series. During the late 70s/early 80s, the editor guided the overall direction of the series while the writer wrote and plotted the individual issues. Bates had been the full-time Flash writer since 1971, so it didn't really make any sense for him to leave. Bates would remain as the regular writer on this series until it's cancellation in 1985.
Starting with The Flash #270, Andru's first issue as editor in 1979, the series took a much darker tone. New 'grim and gritty' villains were introduced (the Clown and Clive Yorkin), Barry's job was in trouble due to his possible implication in a heroin smuggling operation, and Barry and Iris were suddenly going through marital difficulties. This is a large contrast to the light-hearted Schwartz stories of the last two decades filled with gimmicky, plot-driven "villain du jour" stories where nothing drastic ever really happened in the life of the main character. Schwartz' run was pretty much an extension of the 1970s Silver Age Flash stories that didn't deal with any real "adult" themes (ex: relationship woes, psychology, crime, violence and drugs) - Barry Allen was one of the few heroes that were happily married. Andru's new direction saw Barry Allen's life proceed on a downward spiral and culminated with the death of a MAJOR supporting character. This is a HUGE distinction from the Schwartz run, as Schwartz would have never allowed a main or supporting character to get married, killed, or turned into a villain. Andru and Bates both collaborated on this 'new direction' for Flash, with the understanding that the series would become a darker and more "adult" book. As mentioned, Flash's sales weren't doing so hot prior to Andru coming on board as editor, so the DC Powers That Be were open to this 'new direction' as proposed by Andru.
Writer Cary Bates was affectionately known by Flash readers as "Mr. Surprise" - his signature moves were lots of mysteries and cliff-hangers that ended with Flash using his powers in preposterous way. Bates would pile on a lot of surprise plot twits and weird side-effects that defy laws of gravity (ex: turning Barry Allen into a literal comet). Keeping this in mind, it wouldn't surprise me if it was Bates' suggestion to have a classic Flash Rogue responsible for the murder and accompanying drug-running scheme that turned the Flash's life to hell (rather than one of the newly introduced grim and gritty 'realistic' villains). The Rogue's hadn't appeared in the series for a while (since Flash v1 #254) and Andru's run sought to re-integarte them into the series.
Another thing that was different about Andru's run was the introduction of a really long story arc. Andru's run lasted from Flash v1 #270 to Flash v1 #283 and could be read as one single story. During the Schwartz-era, all of the issues were basically stand-alone stories and the mystery was introduced and resolved within the same issue. Andru brought continuity, characterization and a soap-opera element to the series.
From this author's very own personal opinion, I find pre-Crisis Flash (Barry Allen) to be one of the most boring characters to read. By the late 1970s, the Flash was nearly omnipotent and could basically phase/vibrate through any challenge being thrown at him. All of his enemies needed to be equipped with heat-seeking missiles (or some other speed-defying invention) in order to pose even the slightest threat. We're basically dealing with 'Spectre syndrome' here - a character who cannot be harmed is very boring to read about because there is no challenge for the character to overcome. I'd say the most interesting about the Flash is his Rogues gallery. Yes, the Flash's villains are more interesting than the Flash himself. A lot of readers felt this way too, and demanded to see the Rogues re-appear during Andru's run - which Andru delivered on.
When Andru's run finished in 1980, Len Wein took over as editor (and Cary Bates remained as writer). If nothing else, Andru cleared the slate leaving a Wein a nice clean, surface to start from (from a story-telling perspective). Wein had no intention of undoing everything Andru had done (i.e. reviving any deceased characters) as Andru's story arc had given the Flash the sales boost it needed to avoid cancellation. Fans had mixed reactions to Andru's work, but sales would indicate that the majority enjoyed it and the series even brought in new readers. Wein's direction brought the series back to a more traditional DC superhero formula (ex: Flash battles Rogues, struggles with a new love interest, a new life with new supporting characters, single issue and two-part stories, etc) and coasted until Ernie Colon took over as editor in 1982. Wein's run also included Firestorm (Flash v1 #289 - #304) and Dr. Fate (Flash v1 #306-#313) back-up stories that coincided with DC's new price increase of 50 cents on most titles - which removed most ads and added 8 extra pages of story.
There was a bit of a struggle during this time period to find a regular Flash artist after Novick left. Readers were finicky and either vehemently hated a particular artist or absolutely loved him. A few names that might sound familiar all took a stab at becoming the regular artist (Rich Buckler, Jack Abel, Alex Saviuk, Frank Chiaramonta, Don Heck, John Calnan) but none of them managed to stick it out for one reason or another.
From the sounds of things, it seems as though The Flash was playing 'catch up' with all the other super-hero titles (Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc) that had received massive "real-world" renovations in the early 1970s. In the Silver Age of comics it was the fun and easy-going comics that captured the interest of readers, it would seem that 'realistic' stories with adult themes sold better in the late 70s/early 80s. That theory would hold true as the readership of the series improved after Andru's run.
*As mentioned, Schwartz ushered in the Silver Age of super-heroes by overseeing the creation of updated versions of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Atom (Ray Palmer), the Flash (Barry Allen) and Hawkman (Katar Hol/Carter Hall) among others in the late 1950s/early 1960s. It's kind of fitting that Schwartz also edited the Golden Age Flash's adventures from Flash Comics v1 #54 - #104 (1944 to 1949).
