Publisher: DC Comics
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia
Release Date: 8th June 2016
It’s safe to say that—at least in my opinion—DC has been knocking it out of the park with their Rebirth series thus far. This week especially we’re getting some fantastic books, such as the new Action Comics and Detective Comics and Aquaman, but I’m here to talk about this week’s new issue of The Flash. The Flash is a character that I haven’t read a lot of, but whenever I do read his books I always love the writing. He’s a much more compelling character than people give him credit for, though that seems to be changing now that his TV show is a huge success. Does this first issue of our new The Flash series stand with the great stories of the speedster? Let’s break it down and take a look at this week’s The Flash: Rebirth #1.
Barry Allen is having a normal day like any other. Well, not a normal day like you and I have, a normal day for The Flash. That all ends when he comes to his latest crime scene, one that mimics the murder of his mother years before, forcing him to take this case on a more personal level. Apparently that’s not enough, when he leaves the crime scene he has a vision of himself fighting Professor Zoom, trying to kill him, something that he’s never witnessed before. Barry tries to find out what’s going on, as things become stranger and stranger.
Like I said, DC has been killing it with their new books and this is no exception. Joshua Williamson’s writing gives us The Flash that we all know and love, providing the origin once more for new readers, but not in a way that’ll be boring to the fans. Rebirth has been all about rebuilding these characters and setting them up for this new universe, which has been handled wonderfully. Williamson captures the heart of The Flash, capturing that joy you get when you read his stories. When you open a Flash book, you know that it’s going to be fun. The Flash really has a heart like no other superhero in the DC universe, which isn’t to say that the other heroes don’t have heart, but none quite like The Flash (both Barry Allen and Wally West).
Something that has been an issue with a lot of superhero films—not all of them, but a lot of them—is that they focus more on the heroes kicking the bad guy’s ass and less on them actually saving people. Which is a huge mistake because that to me is a defining aspect of any superhero. That’s another element that they capture in this book, we see that even when Barry isn’t fighting bad guys he’s going out and helping people. He goes to the scene of a fire to bring pizza to the victims, bringing light to the darkest of situations. That is something that is so essential to superheroes and why we love them, it’s such a small aspect to this issue that has a huge effect on me.
I need to give praise to the art of Carmine Di Giandomenico and the coloring of Ivan Plascencia, a duo who also truly understand The Flash. I mentioned above that when you open a Flash book, you know that you’re going to have fun, which is always paired wonderfully by the character’s bright, vibrant color pallet. Plascencia brings such a gorgeous look to this book, colors that pop right off of the page and make you giddy to behold. It makes you feel like a kid again, like The Flash should. There’s one panel in particular, a splash panel that features Wally and Barry running towards the frame with the city in the background, that totally took my breath away. It’s a moment that reminded me of why I loved these stories as a kid and I why I love them now.
This book is just one more reason why I can’t wait for whatever DC brings next. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to feel this giddy about DC comics each week, excited to jump into their universe every time. This issue is perfect for newcomers and a treat for fans, giving us The Flash we know and love while creating a new, yet familiar universe around him. It’s such a weird juggling act that Williamson is able to pull off with such brilliance. This first issue is a gorgeous, fun intro to what I can only imagine is going to be a fantastic run. This is what comic book and superhero escapism is all about, that magic and wonder. I can’t wait to see where they’re going to go next.
Rating: 4.5/5.
PREVIEW ARTWORK
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The writer of this piece was: Mike Annernio
Mike Tweets from @MikeAnnerino
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