The Flash: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues #1

When I started reading comics, Wally West was the Flash.  Some fans of my era see Geoff Johns' as changing the DCU so he can write the characters he knows and loves instead of the mantle holders that were around when he started off at DC.  With a lot of new fans coming into comics, it is nice that Johns is making comics accessible again.  His work on Green Lantern will sure to bring in more comic readers after the 2011 movie.  The Flash under his control is the same thing, it is bringing it new fans, even if Allen is not Wally, this story was entertaining.

Part of the reason this book is so entertaining is the visual pace Johns scripted the book.  Johns left a lot of the storytelling to rising Superstar Francis Manapul.  Seeing Manapul's work first hand, when I commissioned a John Constantine from him, you can see the love of the medium when Francis illustrates.   The image flows out of his mind and into his hands with the same ease as the water that flows from his water bottle to his paint set.  I am glad this book was six issues long, because it is a pretty quick read with so much of Manapul's love on the page

Manapul does not only stick to conventional panels, some of his other panels are just great.  There is a synergy with both artist and writer on this book that it is hard to really say who carries who.  When speaking to Francis at a con, he praises Johns for listening and incorporating things Francis wants to draw, but on the same card all the ideas started from Johns in the first place. 

I spoke above about Love Francis puts in his work and you can really see it in his art.  Each character has emotions we all can easily decipher and the romance he portrays with any of his main leads always feels semi-autobiographical to me, as if the art is his love letters to his lover, a visual role-play that is so charming on print.

My only complaint with this book is that all the hardcovers DC releases should be deluxe-size, kind of like an incentive for not waiting for the cheaper soft-cover.  With the hardcover being the same print-size as the monthly and the later printed soft-cover, it really doesn't matter what version you own, the story is still solid and the art-size is universal.

If the Flash is a character you are interested in, this is not the best jump on point, but is it close to it.  Flash: Rebirth  should be read first and possibly Blackest Night/Brightest Day, not all the references will be understood by this being the first Flash book someone reads.

Cheers
- Silkcuts