I need some more of The Flash

[Infinity Man]

As I have said before, I'm pretty new to comic books. I have begun to really like the Flash, particularly Jay Garrick. Does anyone have any Flash recommendations? It doesn't have to be just Jay Garrick, any of them are fine. Thanks for helping the noob.

[Matt]

Flash: Rebirth would seem to be the obvious choice to go for.

[Kevinroc]

Flash: Rebirth would seem to be the obvious choice to go for.

It ain't exactly new reader friendly.

It might be hard to find but "The Life Story Of The Flash" by Mark Waid ("written in character by Iris Allen") helps catch one up on the broad strokes of Flash continuity (who Jay, Barry, Wally and Bart are) and you can probably jump in to something else from there.

Although if Green Lantern: Rebirth is any indication, you can probably skip Rebirth and jump in to the upcoming Flash ongoing (details of that are still to be announced) as GL was pretty new reader friendly following Rebirth.

[Matt]

The Return of Barry Allen TPB would be another excellent choice, though by present standards it is getting on the old side.

[Thok]

If you want Jay Garrick, you might also try looking at the various JSA trades, where Jay is a recurring character (along with many other legacy characters.)

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

This trade (http://dccomics.com/dcu/graphic_novels/?gn=10736), although from the 90's, is pretty damn good.
You don't really need to know too much going in, it plays with different things The Flash can do, and Jay features throughout, with one issue all about him.

[NickFury90]

The entire Geoff Johns run of Flash is great, more so the first half with Scott Kolins(although a lot of it is out of print ;_;). Fantastic super hero stuff.

[Infinity Man]

What about this?
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Flash-Archives-Archive-Editions/dp/1563895064/ref=pd_sim_b_40

Are the Golden Age comics good, or are they just too dated today unless you had them as a kid or something?

Thanks for all of the help. DC's universe is so strange it's hard to navigate it as a new fan.

[Ilash]

Flash and Green Lantern: Brave and the Bold for some great Barry Allen/ Hal Jordan stories and it has a guest appearance by Jay Garrick.

For more of those modern day Silver Age retellings, check out DC: New Frontier and JLA: Year One. They're not flash books exactly but he is a major character in both.

For Wally West, check out all the Mark Waid trades you can find (except the Wild Wests) and Born to Run is an awesome start. Geoff Johns' Flash is also great but definitely more for the first half of his run.

[JumpingJupiter]

It ain't exactly new reader friendly.

It might be hard to find but "The Life Story Of The Flash" by Mark Waid ("written in character by Iris Allen") helps catch one up on the broad strokes of Flash continuity (who Jay, Barry, Wally and Bart are) and you can probably jump in to something else from there.

Although if Green Lantern: Rebirth is any indication, you can probably skip Rebirth and jump in to the upcoming Flash ongoing (details of that are still to be announced) as GL was pretty new reader friendly following Rebirth.

I disagree. I never read any Flash ever before and I love the first two issues of Flash: Rebirth! My wife knows next to nothing about superheros and likes the series as well. I emphatically recommend Flash : Rebirth.

[Mainline]

As I have said before, I'm pretty new to comic books. I have begun to really like the Flash, particularly Jay Garrick. Does anyone have any Flash recommendations? It doesn't have to be just Jay Garrick, any of them are fine. Thanks for helping the noob.

Get the inexpensive "Superman v. The Flash" collected trade which features mostly Silver-Age Barry stories, but has "DC First: Superman v. Flash" which is a modern story, written by Johns, featuring Superman racing Jay Garrick.

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what to read to be caught up on the Flash?

http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/
http://www.titanstower.com/source/whoswho/flash3.html

The most relevant thing to read would be Johns 5-year run from 164-225. A solid run which solidified Johns's rise in the DCU, (re)establishes the Rogues who will be around for Barry, and regularly makes Flash fans. If you have to truncate it, I'd start at 170, 192, or 201. In the 2-3 years between Johns's departure and return a lot has happened, but not necessarily coherently or of equal quality/caliber.

For a completely new reader, Rebirth hasn't been entirely accessible so far, your mileage may vary... I'd hold off until the plurality of reviews become more positive before forming a first impression of The Flash today.

http://speedforce.org/2009/04/rebirth-round-up/
http://speedforce.org/2009/05/rebirth-roundup-2/

The book has always traditionally been a fun and exciting Fights & Tights action/adventure book... so far, Rebirth is a book with an agenda told through a mystery to get over a continuity hump (a lot of unclear history is getting thrown about)... so hold off on judging Flash until either more of Rebirth is out or you read other books.

The changing of the guard makes it harder to recommend definitive works, but if you don't mind- and why should you- reading about Wally as Flash check out Born to Run (as a Year One origin story), Return of Barry Allen (character turning point/milestone), Dead Heat ("boss battle" epic), Chain Lightning / Black Flash (cosmic epics). Nearly any of these will be accessible as they made a point of recapping/expos'ing material backstory. Post-Crisis (that is to say, after Wally became The Flash), Jay's role as a mentor rose in Waid's writing... and later he took on the guardianship of Bart... so you can get your Garrick fix within the Flash books that way.

What about this?
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Flash-Archives-Archive-Editions/dp/1563895064/ref=pd_sim_b_40

Are the Golden Age comics good, or are they just too dated today unless you had them as a kid or something?

Thanks for all of the help. DC's universe is so strange it's hard to navigate it as a new fan.Depends on your personal taste, I like them for nostalgia's sake, but honestly the stories are pretty dated and simplistic for modern sensibilities. I wouldn't purchase those sight-unseen, visit your local comic book store, library, or Borders/B&N and see if you like them before buying.

I'm guessing your attraction to the Flash is based on his powers since you're unfamiliar with all the surrounding lore, so I'd renew my recommendation of the Waid period of The Flash which basically focuses on the powers. Exploring their source and novel applications. Johns's run is more gritty and realistic though, so if you like Garrick because he fought gangsters, you could read those.

To help you navigate the DCU, you might want to start reading 90s JLA trades (Waid wrote many of those as did Morrison who also wrote Flash) which give you the lay of the land amongst the most iconic of the DC's heroes and- if you like powers- show off all the characters in their most god-like states (Batman is a planning and gadget genius, Aquaman is a super-strong telepathic warrior mage king, Flash is a medic teleporter, etc).

[Infinity Man]

To help you navigate the DCU, you might want to start reading 90s JLA trades (Waid wrote many of those as did Morrison who also wrote Flash) which give you the lay of the land amongst the most iconic of the DC's heroes and- if you like powers- show off all the characters in their most god-like states (Batman is a planning and gadget genius, Aquaman is a super-strong telepathic warrior mage king, Flash is a medic teleporter, etc).

Is that the series with Tower of Babel? I have that one, and liked it a lot, so I'll try more of those. Thanks for all of the help everyone.

[Kevin Vetter]

I haven't read all that much flash but I'd suggest the trades blitz and rogue war from johns run. Though it's mostly for how awesome zoom is and he really puts wally through hell in both books and jay plays a role in them as well.

[Kiryu]

Born to Run. Leaps and bounds a superior introduction to the Flash then Rebirth.

[Phantom Druid]

It ain't exactly new reader friendly.

I'm finding this to be true in my case. I've always liked the idea of the Flash character, but I have to admit i've never gotten involved in any of his titles before. I only know him from other appearances. What really drew me to Flash:Rebirth was Johns' Final Crisis:Rogue's Revenge, which I found to be the best Final Crisis title. It really made me anticipate the return of Barry Allen, but to be honest, I'm a bit confused. Rebirth seems like alot to take in, and people poppin' in and out of the speed force rips can be confusing to a new reader, but i'm slowly picking up on things by doing a little homework. I'd really like to see the rogues soon though, since they were the main factor in peaking my interest in all this. More rogues!: evilsmile:

[Karl O'Neill]

Blitz is hands done the best flash story ever.