Struck by a bolt of lightning and doused in chemicals, Central City Police scientist Barry Allen was transformed into the fastest man alive. Tapping into the energy field called The Speed Force, he applies a tenacious sense of justice to protect an serve the world as The Flash!
The Fastest Man Alive returns to his own monthly series as part of the DC Comics—The New 52 event with the writer/artist team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but he has seemingly met his match when he faces DC Comic’ hottest new Super Villain, Mob Rule, who really can be everywhere at once!
As Mob Rule wages a campaign of crime across Central City, including an electromagnetic blast that plunges the city into darkness, The Flash learns the the only way he can capture Mob Rule and save Central City is to learn how to make his brain function even faster than before—but as much as it helps him, it also comes with a steep price.
This volume collects issues 1-8 of the monthly series.
— Amazon’s description of the book.
And yes, contrary to previous reports it does collect issues #1-8. I met Brian Buccellato at Long Beach Comic & Horror Con over the weekend, and he showed off a copy of the book.
Digital Backissues
ComiXology adds Flash #70-71 and Impulse #31-32. Flash #70 concludes the 4-part “Gorilla Warfare” crossover with Green Lantern #30-31, while Flash #71 is the first part of a 2-part story with an all new Dr. Alchemy. Impulse #31 has Max Mercury going up against his old nemesis Dr. Morlo, and Impulse #32 focuses on one of Bart’s friends, Preston, as he deals with both being injured as a bystander in a superhero/villain fight and facing his mother’s mental health problems.
Okay….sell me on this book.
Yes, it’s been my intent to boycott DC52 until Wally’s return, but having taken a second week’s look at the Previews over at CBR…I’m sickened. Really. Truly. Barf Bag. From the extreme no-hold barred violence at Marvel to the Rot and now The Grey (did they HAVE to make Grundy a zombie?) I hate Garrick’s costume more every time I see it.
Tell me that DC52 Flash has not as yet nor is planned to go the route of gore sickening deaths and I’ll toss my boycott early if only to support a decent comic book that isn’t expressly geared for readers 3 years and under.
I forgot to mention that it looks like Shayera is now a villain? Can Superman be drawn any more horribly despite a potentially interesting plot?
Was I born to late for decent graphic novels?
I get the hard feelings over the New 52. Truly, I do. But this is a gorgeous comic book. It’s not just that Francis Manapul draws it well, which he does, but the extent to which Manapul and Buccellato have thought through the Flash’s powers, and then present that visually on the page is really impressive. There are these Rube Goldberg, impossibly complex sequences on the page of Barry existing at one moment but thinking faster than what’s happening around him in the next — it’s brilliant.
I wouldn’t steer you wrong; there is minor gore in this book, but I’m aware of that kind of thing and I think it’s minor, plus Manapul’s art is so controlled — no 1990s excesses, no sexual gratuity — that you know he’s only showing as much as is necessary for the story.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you try this one.
I can deal with basic violence. Even the early Wally books had that…kind of hard not to considering Flashes are fighting bad guys. Was more concerned about things like how much the eating of a brain was depicted.
For instance, what started his off was running across a Preview cover of some ghoul thrusting his finger through his upper mouth and next to his eyeball….with all the blood that entails. Grossed out….would have paid NOT to see that and am seriously contemplating never going to that site again or searching for comics at all in any form other than what safe webcomics I’ve found and maybe/possibly this Flash series. Seriously…I’m seeing more and more Horror posted most places I USED to go to.
Summary: I think Flash may well be the only comic book I every consider picking up at all. Even if Wally shows up he’d have to be recognizable and not set within a gorefest of material. (If that becomes the case I’d rather he had ‘died’ with Mark Waid’s historic run.
Okay, I got it..and was it hard slogging! I had to search several places before I could order it for something below $25. Wally Word looked the cheapest, but no matter what I did to Javascript the site wouldn’t let me order *anything* from them…so I gave up and tried other pastures. The comic stores I used to deal with are charging quite a bit even before S&H. Sheesh.
Fortunately the b&m store I went with isn’t too far away so I can return it unopened if I change my mind and without having to trust the shipping company twice.
There is a sale still going on where you can get a third qualifying DC book free and I figured “If I’m going to break my boycott..” I tried…I REALLY tried to find even a second DC book I was even half interested in. Heard too much bleah-bad on JL and Superman books to want to spend dollars on those.
*crosses fingers this goes well*