Flash, where should I start?

[Jarath]

Right I am really excited about the Flash: Rebirth mini coming up next year. The reason for this is that I loved GL:Rebirth and it drew me into the GL world and I have got every trade following rebirth and have tried to brush up on the history aswell.

I know very little about the Flash mythos. I know the names of the flashs and a rough history but nothing more really. I was thinking I'd get some of the better Flash trades to read before Rebirth kicks off (although I might wait and get a nice Hardcover trade of it but that is beside the point). Can anyone recommend a good place to start. One of the Flash villians that seems really interesting to me is Zoom, so if there is anything good with him in I will eat it up.

[Froggy]

if you like zoom

get the Blitz TPB with him,

[Maestro]

Geoff Johns has written Flash before. In fact he wrote it for five years. These are his trades in order:

The Flash
Wonderland
Blood Will Run
The Rogues
Crossfire
Blitz
Ignition
The Secret of Barry Allen
Rogue War

[Jarath]

I am a Johns fan might have to invest in a few of those.

Whats the art like in them? Name me some names please :D

[AbsurdistEmergence]

I am a Johns fan might have to invest in a few of those.

Whats the art like in them? Name me some names please :D

Scott Kolins is the regular artist from Blood Will Run until Blitz. Then Howard Porter mainly does the art from Ignition to Rogue War. I can't remember who does the first trade, Wonderland, but he wasn't impressive.

[Kevinroc]

The Life Story of the Flash should give you EVERYTHING you need to know about Barry Allen.

[Kelson]

Scott Kolins is the regular artist from Blood Will Run until Blitz. Then Howard Porter mainly does the art from Ignition to Rogue War. I can't remember who does the first trade, Wonderland, but he wasn't impressive.

Angel Unzueta did the art on Wonderland. And Ignition was Alberto Dose, just for the duration of that story. (He did the cliffhanger pages at the end of the previous story, and Porter did the last few pages at the end of Ignition, once Wally had a breakthrough. It was a deliberate stylistic choice.)

Anyway, here's a link to a full list of Flash trades in order (http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/books.html). Or, if you're interested in Barry Allen specifically, I've got a list of Barry trades & hardcovers (http://speedforce.org/2008/06/barry-allen-collections/).

[earl]

You know this is one thing that DC could get a bit better, they should start doing some tie in trades with reprints that provide more back story.

There are quite a few for Batman or Superman, like the decade books and all sorts of other reprints, but not as much for some of the other characters.

I'd think a well put together Green Lantern compilation bringing in some stories that tie into what is going on now, like maybe the old silver age trial of Sinestro and then some of the 80s Green Lantern Corps stuff including Alan Moore's Mogo story would be great.

The should do something like that with Flash as a primer maybe showing his origin, the meeting with Earth 2, then some of the better stories of the Rogues and then maybe something on the trial of Barry Allen right before the Crisis. Heck most of those stories are 1 issue long, so it could be done.

[Jarath]

Picked up Wonderland and Blood Will Run a few days ago.

Wonderland was enjoyable, got some Flash history and stuff about his powers and how they work. The story isn't amazing but it works well as a spring board into the Flash mythos I think.

Blood Will Run I really enjoyed. I first saw Kollins's work a few weeks ago when I got the Rogues Revenge #1 and reading BWR trade I'm really starting to get into it. I enjoyed the story as usual with a Johns tale, only thing I'm not quite hooked on yet is Flash's powers. But with the character of the Rogues and Wally himself I'm not finding the lack of interest in the powers a turn off at all.

I really looking forward to Hunter Zoloman becoming Zoom aswell, I've purposefully not read up on it so that it can surprise me.

Thanks alot for the all the help guys, will grab a couple more books if I can find them in town this week I think.

[Project 22]

Start with the mini. Wally as Flash has lacked in his personal comic for ages because writers don't know how to treat him.

[OzBat!]

If you can find them, "The Return of Barry Allen", and "Terminal Velocity" by Mark Waid and a couple of different artists.

Both show Wally finally coming to terms with being THE Flash, and also introduce or re-introduce Jay Garrick, Max Mercury, Johnny and Jesse Quick, and a lot of early Impulse into the mix, and set up the Speed Force as the previously-unknown extra-dimensional power source for most speedsters. It also set the stage for the next several years' worth of stories and laid the platform for what Geoff Johns would later have to play with.

[Jarath]

Two of the first ever comics I bought were Flash family comics, and I think it may have been parts of the Terminal Velocity crossover :)

I think I am going to start out by grabbing the rest of the John' trades and then maybe take a look at some of the Waid stuff.

[drupgyu]

I know this may be blasphemy but I don't know how I feel about the return of Barry Allen... I dig the concept but even though I have collected comics for over 25 years, the only Flash I have ever known has been Wally. Is Wally going to be second tier again?

Also, this was the last death that was really a death in that he never came back. What's left? Gwen Stacy's return? Phoenix came back, Green Arrow, Green Goblin, etc. Barry was the last death without a resurrection.

[HopeLantern]

Right I am really excited about the Flash: Rebirth mini coming up next year. The reason for this is that I loved GL:Rebirth and it drew me into the GL world and I have got every trade following rebirth and have tried to brush up on the history aswell.

I know very little about the Flash mythos. I know the names of the flashs and a rough history but nothing more really. I was thinking I'd get some of the better Flash trades to read before Rebirth kicks off (although I might wait and get a nice Hardcover trade of it but that is beside the point). Can anyone recommend a good place to start. One of the Flash villians that seems really interesting to me is Zoom, so if there is anything good with him in I will eat it up.

Great minds, man, great minds. I was just going to post a similar on the topic. I just started reading flash with the "Fast Money" story arc, and obviously Final Crisis' appearance of Barry Allen. I'm going to pick up some of the suggested trades, too. I have an issue with "Speedsters" as I personally (IMHO) find them to be written really 1 dimensionally. That's why I've never, ever picked up flash. I actually picked up part 3 of "Fast Money" on accident. The cover grabbed my attention, next thing I new, I had finished pretty much the entire arc. Flash seems different. What else would I expect from Geoff Johns?