BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The illustrator who created the DC Comics superhero "The Flash" has died.

Harry Lampert was 88. His family says he died of brain cancer.

Lampert began drawing professionally at 16, inking cartoons in New York for characters such as Popeye and Betty Boop.

Six years later he created the DC Comics original "Flash Comics #1" in 1940.

His family says he had no idea how popular it would become.

The Flash, always known as the fastest man alive, is the original super-speedster. Other than his running skills, he can also vibrate his molecules at super speed, allowing him to pass through solid matter.

There have been three characters to don the Flash's outfit over the years -- Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West.

Garrick was replaced by Allen in the early 1960s, when DC revamped some of its classic characters, ushering in what's considered the Silver Age of comics. As a result, Garrick lived on "Earth-2" and Allen lived on "Earth-1."

Allen was killed off in the comic in 1986, and was replaced by his nephew West. Formerly known as Kid Flash, West has been wearing the famed red suit ever since.

Lampert received a steady stream of fan mail and requests for his early "Flash" drawings. His daughter says he was redrawing "The Flash" and selling it to people almost until his death.

The family says his favorite illustrations were gag cartoons, which appeared in publications including Time, Esquire and theNew York Times.