The Flash #1 is full of really cool art. I knew this coming into it, but much like Batwoman #1, I wasn’t sure we were going to get a good story to go with it. I liked the short-lived Flash relaunch with Johns and Manapul quite a bit, but got nervous when I saw that Manapul would be taking over writing responsibilities for the new series. My fears are mostly put to rest as we get a very fast-paced look at the new status quo for Barry Allen. Much like his new costume, it’s both familiar with some new details that make him pop off the page.

The Flash is a great science fiction character. His powers and theme come right out of the time when sci-fi was all the rage in comics. There’s so much room to play around with the mechanics of his powers and how it affects reality around him. It doesn’t have to always make sense, but it does have to always be fun and something new. With this first issue, Manapul shows that he has what it takes to keep our hero firmly tied to his science fiction roots.

Much like with many of the books, I’ve really started to sit up and take notice of colorists for the relaunch. Sometimes they tell a crucial little part of the story like in Batwoman and sometimes they give a unique flavor to the story and art that just black and white or an average colorist would otherwise not have delivered, such as in Wonder Woman. With The Flash, colorist Brian Buccellato delivers with some incredibly rich crimsons and lightning yellows for the superhero action and offers a much more muted, quiet color pallet for the rest of Barry’s civilian life. It’s the contrast that makes Flash seem like he’s almost too fast for the page as he runs between panels. The whole book feels like it’s full of motion and action, and it all sings under Manapul’s impressive writing debut.