Comic Books

THE FLASH #1

The Fastest Man Alive returns to his own monthly series from the writer/artist team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato!

The Flash knows he can’t be everywhere at once, but what happens when he faces an all-new villain who really can! As if that’s not bad enough, this villain is a close friend!

Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
Variant cover by IVAN REIS and TIM TOWNSEND

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 9.2%
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Avg Rating: 4.3
 
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Comments

  1. This is a light week for me, the majority of the DC #1’s I want are out, but I am going to pick up this and GL: NG.

    I loved Manapul’s art on the last Flash series, but I am a story guy first and foremost, and will be looking at this with a critical eye.

  2. Ugh, i don’t think i can get this. I’m burnt out of the Flash

    • I do have that worry. I have left Flashpoint behind as an event that started good, but lost it’s way, but on reflection Barry really messed up reality for everyone.

  3. Cosmic Treadmill?

  4. Evil Wally?

    I’m actually super excited to read a Flash book not written by Geoff Johns. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy’s writing, but his Flash run did not stir the soul. Manapul was the star of that book, and now he’s front and center!

  5. Both excited and worried about this at the same time

  6. Has francis manapul wrote anything big before or is this his writing debut? I love the guy’s art but i’m nervous about a newbie on a big book like the flash. *fingers crossed*

  7. has manapul written anything before this?

  8. I like the Flash, he has a great power set that hopefully will appeal to new readers. This relaunch should be good for him.

  9. Who cares? His art did all the heavy lifting in the last run of the flash. WALKING ON A HELICOPTER BLADE PEOPLE!

  10. I’m taking a wait and see approach to this title. Manapul did amazing work on the previous Flash title that I absolutely loved. The energy in every panel of his art makes him the perfect flash artist. Unfortunately, I’m concerned about his ability to meet deadlines and his role as both artist and writer. I’ve never read a consistently well done title written by an artist and I’m concerned that Manupal pulling double duty will lead to delays and Manapul eventually leaving the title. Hopefully having a co-writer will help. I want this title to be great but there is a strong possibility it won’t be. I hope I’m wrong and will keep my eye on the buzz surrounding this title.

    • Manapul got a lot of grief for Flash being late, but I can state without question that he is FAST with his pencils and ink wash. I suspect the reason Flash was late had more to do with Mr. Johns.

    • He was prepping Flashpoint and all this 52 shenanigans plus writing two other books so he let Flash slip probs.

    • Without inside knowledge, the reason for the previous delays are just speculation. Even if Manupal wasn’t responsible for the delays on the other flash title, I’m still concerned about delays here because of his handling of both writing and art duties. A co-writer will hopefully help, as I said before, but it still makes me nervous.

    • I think it would be faster if someone was writer and artist you don’t have to have the back and forth and you aren’t waiting on anything. Plus hopefully we’ll get a story that is told visually like good comics should be.

    • “I think it would be faster.” Finch disproved this on the Dark Knight. I haven’t heard anything about Daniels having problems on Batman or his current Detective run, so maybe it depends on the creator. Being both a writer and artist means twice as much work, but you’re right there aren’t any communication or collaboration issues. I guess we’ll just have to see how it plays out. I want this title to be good and Manupal to succeed but we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.

    • From what I can cobble together, the delays with the previous Flash series mainly to do with writing delays and rewrites. Perhaps this was either caused or made worse by knowledge of the pending DCnU. Think about it, if the big reboot wouldn’t have been happening would that Flash series still be continuing and would Flashpoint have had a somewhat different ending? My sense is that Johns had to change some things because of that.

    • Manapul said with this newer art style he can get though pages a lot faster because he is his own inker etc. Finch could just be slow in general. We’ll see I guess!

  11. I love Flash. I love Francis Manapul drawing the Flash. But, I love the Flash family even more. It’s so disheartening to me to see that Wally, Linda, Jay, Max, and all the rest have seemingly been written out of the DCU. The dynamic of a makeshift family of superheroes was always my favorite part of the title and now, it’s just not there. Really disappointed.

    • I feel like they’re gonna bring them back, eventually. The big thing with the New 52 is streamlining the concepts (in theory, at least), so I can see why they wouldn’t want to introduce all that crazy history right away. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the Flash Family.

  12. This is the big name #1 I am most unsure about. Writer/artists always worry me because its just human nature that they’ll put more effort into one than the other. It could be good, but there’s also a chance we could get a pretty mess. Then again Brian Buccellato also has writer credits, and you can always trust a Brian.

  13. Kind of surprised to see this getting more pulls than Superman.

  14. Prediction: This will be a better Flash story than has ever come before it.

  15. Flash is my favorite since I was a kid. I’m so ready to ‘run’ with this series!
    I’m actually gonna ‘double-dip’ (buy both floppy and digital) as a way of support…plus I wanna give the new digital thing a go!
    Cheers and best of luck to both Manapul & Buccellato!

  16. the flash costume redesign is actually really nice. one of the better ones

  17. Any previews online for this one? I’ll definitely be getting it, but I wouldn’t mind a preview…

  18. Barry Allen Flash has been my favorite for over 30 years he is the character that got me into reading comics in the first place. It has really been up and down since the last days of Barry; Wally has had a good run here and there however; I am just hoping I am not going to be buying this because its my favorite hero and buying it because it is truly awesome.

    Just Sayin’,

    K

    • i really don’t mean to be rude but i think that is how this is going to be taken. If you’ve been a barry fan for 30 years i’ll just guess that you’re mid-late 30’s early 40’s… why are you ending EVERY comment with “just sayin’…k”?? Its very reminiscent of the girls that type “kthxbye” at the end of their facebook comments. Again!! not trying to be rude… just a bit confused.

  19. all right, lets see if you can write! (please don’t be another Tony Daniel!)

    • Manapul’s conversatoin with Art & Franco on wordballoon was really interesting and made me think he has an excellent grasp on the situation and is thinking kind of outside the regular speedster tropes for this series.

    • Sorry, I think that a writer should have to prove his chops before he gets to write a flagship title. I think Marvel’s way of devleoping talent is a lot better than DC. Yes, yes I know it hasn’t always been that way but times have changed.

      I can’t get excited for the Flash. They ditched a well developed Flash in Wally West through the most blatant examples of editorial mismanagement and then in desperation ressurect Barry Allen, a one-dimensional character that they’ve desperately been trying to make interesting. And been failing at. Flash Rebirth was one of the worst comics I’ve ever read.

    • i was just sad that, after all the build up and a slightly rocking start, Geoff Johns abandoned it.

  20. I’m gonna try this. I’m sure I’ll love the art, I hope the story is on par.

  21. Yes! Finally the wait is over! The Flash is the book that I started reading with and I’ve been looking forward to seeing what the ‘new’ Barry Allen is all about.

  22. I’ve seen the preview on speedforce.org, looks really good. Barry’s personality seems more fun too!

  23. While I was really looking forward to the CSI style Barry Allen that John’s promised I was disappointed with the second half of the last series….. That said, Johns is on record as saying that he wrote that series’ pacing based on Manapul’s art and with his input. So for that, I am hoping we see more of the same as far as the fun art and incredibly dramatic framing that we saw in the first half of the last series.

    Like others, I LOVED the Flash family of characters (Jay, Bart, Max, Johnny, Jesse, Wally….) that became mainstays during the Waid run but I am willing to give this series a chance. After all, Flash has always been my favorite hero.

  24. that is not a great cover…

  25. love it

  26. I have never been into The Flash.

    Maybe I’m just not that fond of speeders, or maybe it’s because there are WAY too many Wally’s and Berry’s to keep track of.

    I don’t know, but I’ve never collected his books and have only followed The Flash in JL and various event comics.

    We’ll see of that changes with this one.

  27. I don’t care what Manapul does with the writing, as long as his art is in this, I’m going to love it.

    • Really? you care so little about story?

    • @Bluestreak honestly. I’ve bought books that I don’t care about just because Manapul’s art is in it. It’s not that I don’t care about good stories, I just want as much Manapul art in my life as possible. Having Manapul art on a great story just makes it all that much better.

  28. What a glorious cover. Preview was interesting, hoping Manapul brings it.

  29. I am so looking forward to this so much, I even watched the first episode of The Flash on Youtube. The series in 1990 that went belly up. Wish they’d try bringing it back, it was way ahead of it’s time.

  30. YES! this is a great example of an artist who can write. The story was good, characterization solid, and dialogue smooth. Not to mention the art was fantastic. Manapul was the new Scott Kolins for me but is on his way to being much more with writing duties being this good. The new flash costume is also perfect!

  31. Wow! This was friggin’ awesome!

  32. I may have to rethink my “artists shouldn’t write” point of view. Manapul does a great job with this issue.

  33. I was very much impressed with the dialog! Goodness all the way through!

    What a page turner!

  34. Wow I loved this! Soo happy to see that Francis Manapul can write as well as he can draw! I’m excited for this series now!

  35. This was pretty sweet. I dig Manapul’s style and layouts. This was my first Flash book ever, and it did not disappoint.

  36. friggen fantastic

  37. loved it. the credit and title page splash played like the intro to an awesome tv show. impressive storytelling on both sides of the ball. the angles through the layouts are well thought out, indeed. bravo

  38. Simply a perfect first issue. The art was incredible, the story was simple yet engaging, the pacing was flawless, the characters were well drawn and likeable right off the bat (a feat which very few Barry Allen writers have accomplished) and the tone was consistently fun throughout.

    Please take note, Rest of Comics. THIS would be how it’s done.

    • I read the comic, came here to gush about it and you’ve already posted all my thoughts. This issue was instantly my favorite of the more standard superhero books of the relaunch.

  39. This was excellent.

    Read what @CaseyJustice said. That is spot on how I feel about this.

    This and Aquaman are very close but Francis Manapul being my all-time favorite artist pushes this over the top.

  40. This was really good – art, story, everything. I was pleased.

    I’m glad I read this before I read Voodoo, because it assured me that week 4 of the relaunch was not entirely going to be about guys compensating for lack of a decent story with boobs boobs boobs.

  41. Weird a character that I have never liked has me interested enough to stick around… For the first arc at least.

  42. Flash is my favorite character of all time however; no matter how hard I wanted it to be true this book gets a 4.5 out of 5 just short behind Aquaman which I gave a full on 5! I did not expect much from either book to be honest and well much to my suprise these are two of the best books of The New 52!
    The art was good, story was cool with out using a rougue to kick off the series was a great introduction into The Flash!
    I just did not think the art really fit the story or the character, its not crappy art mind you; just to kidish for me. I’d like to have a little mature art work for this series however; I am sure it will grow on me. Don’t worry no matter how many times the worlds change Barry and Iris’s love will always find a way!
    So far this has been and Impressive reboot in my opinion and I was a nay sayer from the moment I heard about it!! I did not want to give up my traditional ways and here I find myself intrigued and enjoying this new ride. Lets see if they can keep it going?
    My top ten from the new 52 so far and the drop list so far:

    Drop List:
    Static Shock
    Frankenstein
    Legion Lost
    Wow thats it….???!!

    Top 10:
    1.) Justice League
    2.) Aquaman
    3.) Flash
    4.) Suicide Squad
    5. Red and The Outlaws
    6. Wonder Woman
    7.) Voodoo
    8.) Red Lanterns
    9.) Justice League Dark
    10.) Green Lantern

    Just Sayin’,

    K

  43. Barry’s back…

    Pass

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