The Flash has always been a superhero I'm interested in, be it for the fact that I was fortunate enough to catch a few random episodes of the early ‘90s TV show in my youth, or the constant rumblings of Mark Waid’s legendary run on the book when I first got into comics in the early 2000s. But the Flash was always that character I wanted to read, but was immensely frightened of jumping into. For one thing, in my mind, the Flash has always been Barry Allen; a result of the aforementioned TV show, which led to erratic confusion when jumping into comics, as I found myself faced with the character of Wally West. Now, Wally West is an engaging character, and in hindsight, having read the majority of Geoff Johns’ and Mark Waid’s runs on the series with that individual standing in the titular role, I can say that my apprehension was teetering on the cusp of stupidity. This recent reboot of the Flash, following Flash: Rebirth, has been my first major exposure to the character, following brief intersections along the way. When Waid rejoined the series a couple of years ago, I tried it out, hated it and dropped it; when Bart Allen was the Flash, I read it, hated it and dropped it. So, when Geoff Johns comes along with the idea of bringing Barry Allen back as the Flash, I’m frightened, because I so don’t want it to suck. And, thankfully, it doesn’t. Flash: Rebirth might have been somewhat clunky in places, but this new ongoing series has been an absolute dream to read. The first issue was, perhaps, the single greatest issue of a comic book I have read in my seven years of regular comic book reading; it was absolutely phenomenal. And with this second issue, it gets even better. The first half of the book is dedicated to a fantastically well-paced and fluidly drawn fight sequence involving the Flash and a set of futuristic rogues, who may or may not be the good guys. The art by Francis Manapul is absolutely beautiful; I would give my right arm to own some of these pages, and I never say that about artwork. There are, however, some slight annoyances with the addition of another artist, Joel Gomez, whose appearance in the book does cause a somewhat jarring feeling, but is equally as good as Manapul, nonetheless The story, meanwhile, is an intriguing beast. Johns has managed to craft a story that ties in both with the present day adventures of the Flash, and the futuristic angle the series has been known to drop in from time-to-time. By having the Flash wanted for a murder he has not yet committed increases the tension throughout, and leads to an awesome cliffhanger. It’s not just the main storyline that is engaging, however. The tie-in to Brightest Day involving the resurrected Captain Boomerang being offered an ultimatum by the present-day Rogues is a nice touch that surely foreshadows a future story arc, while the magnificent page of the Flash rescuing numerous civilians from a burning building is perhaps the most gorgeous splash page I have seen in a good long while. With this creative team, for the first time I am reading and enjoying the Flash, and I hope it continues, because, my God, this series deserves to be one of the best around. And, so far, it most certainly is.