Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

I vaguely remember picking this up when it started. I remember liking it, but not much else. Many fans were up in arms and (much like the Ben Reilly Spider-man) this quickly went away and is mostly forgotten.

Send away. I am emailing the box.

It was an interesting storyline, but you have to get past what I always considered the "point" of Impulse.

Bart Allen is the young, irresponsible, quirky teen hero of the DCU. And when you come across this older version of himself, it feels a little weird. Wally is still around (and about the same age) as Bart, so it comes cross as curious that they had to add another Flash.

To me, Bart is always the most fun when he's being impulsive, but not stupid. Like when Geoff Johns gave him the entire library to memorize in Teen Titans or in Impulse #50, where he teamed up with Batman and nearly became a bigger threat to Bruce than the Joker. ;)

IF you can see Bart as Flash, go for it. But he'll always be irresponsible to me.

I enjoyed this mostly for the Jay Garrick appearance. I'll post more extensive comments in a bit.

Please send #2.

The Flash: Fastest Man Alive came at a time when DC was (yet again) trying to inject some fresh, new directions into their line-up and generate interest with Infinite Crisis, 52, and the jump of all titles to “One Year Later”

To be honest, I wasn’t following Flash at the time, so I can’t really speak to whether that shake-up was warranted for this title. It does seem odd that they would take a relatively popular character in Bart Allen, with a home in the Teen Titans book, and spin him off in this way. I vaguely remember at the time it just seemed like “oooh, it’s DC Crisis time. One Flash must go and another must take his place.” And yet another #1 issue for the buzz (and sales bump) of a #1 issue.

On to the issue at hand, though:

Glad to see Jay Garrick. I always love to see the original in action. And some nicely done art on the pages featuring him in action.

The 1-year jump makes this issue a bit confusing, and little context is given for a new or returning reader to get their bearings. It just seems assumed you know what has gone before, other than the as-yet-unrevealed tales of the 1-year gap.

I like some of the art, but a lot just falls flat for me.

Overall, this title makes a lot of assumptions on the goodwill and knowledge of the reader. It could have done so much more to get people on board with the new direction and concept. But, that's probably why it was so drastically abandoned hardly a year later.

Enjoyable, for what it is, but there are obvious reasons this aspect of Flash history is often overlooked.

You didn't know Hal was dead? Man, I can see that as being a shock then. ;)

Robert makes a good point. One Year Later, and probably Flash more than others, assumed more knowledge than usual. I had hoped OYL storylines would all be great, but most simple didn't work. (For a contrast, check out Green Arrow's run. "Green Arrow v. 8: Crawling from the Wreckage" starts you off a year later, but gets you caught up fsst. As a bonus, you get a pretty great Arrow/ Deathstroke fight that acts as both a solid follow up from identity Crisis and is simply a brilliant done-in-one fight scene.)

One Year Later and Marvel's current fast-forwarding of Avengers simply doesn't work for me. But there are still little glimpses. Like of Jay "I was first!" Garrick. :D

All good stuff. Rucka=amazing. But yeah, if you don't like Scott McDaniel on Nightwing, you -really- won't like him on Green Arrow.

I never really paid attention to the Flash until the new TV Show started. I really love the show and would love to participate in this opportunity to discover more stories around this character!

Can't wait for issue #1

#2 feels like a bit of wheel spinning. Not much happens, other than making Bart seem surly and bratty ("I don't wanna be the Falsh, wah, wah, wah").

Which is sad, because Bart had come a long way from his annoying impulsive roots as Impulse when he became Kid Flash in Johns' run on Teen Titans and in Infinite Crisis. Guess they needed something to distinguish him from Barry & Wally. Though the reluctant hero thing doesn't seem to fit someone taking over the mantle of the Flash, a legacy role, including working with the Justice League.

Maybe if they had made this a Kid Flash book with Bart gradually realizing he is ready to shoulder the responsibility of that legacy ...

Ready for #3.

P.S. Is there anyway to clean up the PDFs so that it is one comic page to a page, rather than the double-wide? Makes it much slower to get through. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth & can dig out my old copy of Adobe Acrobat to do it myself, if need be, but it would make it much easier.

Still interested in #3. I'll just have to do the re-edit myself. No big.

That's right. You're in NY, aren't you? Be safe. Take it easy. Use the time to read more comics!

#3 is a step in the right direction.

Like many modern comics, I think they are spreading plot and development over too many issues (the better to make a collection), but this story is starting to find a place.

Still underwhelmed by the "reluctant hero" aspect. The radical change in Bart's personality from pre-1 Year Later is beginning to grate.

A lovingly drawn Jay Garrick keeps this interesting.

I can't be too hard on this, as I remember the relaunch of Flash with Wally post-CoIE took awhile to develop into its own thing. Really didn't fall in love with it until Waid took over.

Bring on #4.

Just finished #4.

This series is finding its footing, finally.

Thought this would be one where I only had the Jay Garrick appearance to praise, but overall I really liked it.

Bart is settling into the role, if reluctantly. The new thinks-he's-a-hero-but-is-really-the-villain, Griffin, is interesting. Sometimes, the whole greedy hero think is a bit OTT, but not to the point of annoyance.

The meat of this for me is the Bart-Val dynamic. Page 14 has a nice bit of art with them and the issue ends on a cliffhanger that puts the whole shebang in jeopardy.

Still, It's easy to see why so many didn't give this book a chance. It is a radical shift from Wally or Barry, yet also leave behind alot of what people already loved about Bart.

Bring on #5.

So, #5. Surprisingly, after a bit of a break, the story was pretty fresh in my mind.

Taken on it's own, I find it interesting having Bart in the role. I think they could be doing more with him as the last (?) remaining speedster. Other than Jay, who has lost his connection to the speed force.

I can see where people might have had a problem at the time. Much like when Wally took over, people just weren't too sure about a new Flash. Unlike that time, DC didn't have internet hate to contend with and could give the new Flash time to find his footing. (Pun intended.) I think fans just didn't want to give this a chance.

It's a pretty decent book nonetheless. Knowing how this ends, somewhat, I am excited to see how they get there.

Bring on #6, Kenny!

P.S. Someone else want to join in this discussion? I'm feeling like the voice in the wilderness here.

Re-reading Flash: Rebirth, I also realized why this series is often forgotten. Its consequences—(view spoiler)[the age up and death of Bart (hide spoiler)]—were quickly reversed. Even DC almost immediately tried its best to pretend it never happened.