Comics! Flash #0

Flash #0

Story by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art by Francis Manapul

The Solicitation
• At last, it’s the origin of The Flash! • The loss of his mother put Barry Allen on the road to becoming a hero, but only when he gains his powers will he understand her most important lesson.

Preview

Why I Bought It
Well, let's see if we have an origin story that I could care about with the Flash!

What I Liked
Longtime fans of the Flash will know that Geoff Johns was the one to retcon the fact that Barry's mom was killed by Barry's father, or at least accused of it. That seems to be the story that they are sticking to in this new 52, which is just fine. I think it is an overused idea that the death of parents help create the hero, as we see it happening in most all of the new origins for the Justice League (think about it for a moment, then know it is fact).

The art is very nice in this book. Manapul gets creative with break away story panels that adds to the story telling without detracting from it too much. It can be a very showy thing, and as we've seen in the Annual issue, not very many artists can pull it off with a sense of style.

And you know what? This could have almost been a better first issue than what was issue #1. The big difference is that it at least gives Barry a back story in this book.

What I Didn't Like
The idea behind Barry's costume. If you go through and tell the reader that spandex won't work, and then that metal doesn't work, but then don't name the new stuff you create? That's cheating. And it seems like it is a process the make the different panels for Barry's costume, but the panels seem to change each issue with the Tron-like lines all around it. Add to the fact that if this was my first experience with Flash, and since this is a Zero issue, you should have a scene where the costume pops out of the ring. It gives a sense of payoff to the one page detailing the shrinking or whatever it is that is going on with the costume and why the ring has lightning around it.

If anyone could explain to me how Flash was able to break through the car door window at the end of the book and be able to look like he is in mid-fight sequence in the front seat of the car then I have a science lesson or two to talk to you about. It is as if the inside of vehicles are like the TARDIS for Manapul, it's all bigger on the inside.

And teasing about a new member of the West family showing up is just a big tease. I have a couple of ways that Wally could have been reasonably put into the new 52, which is pretty simple to do if you are going to give Batman a 10 year old son. West could have been the poster child for legacy characters and the idea for them in the new 52, but DC chose not to go forward with it. Argh.

Panel to Remember
The first panel that Barry appeared as the Flash. It is just a straight up shot of Flash running towards the reader, but it works. It is the first time you see the Flash in costume and it is pretty enjoyable.

Quotable
"This is so cool..." - Barry after creating the ring. And I'm sure it is cool, to the writer and artist of the book. But it is one thing for this to be cool, and another thing for some simple explanation.

Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 8/10
Buy Next Issue: I'm stuck on this title for life, which is getting better at times than it did a year ago.