Last summer, as we patrolled the aisles of Artists Alley at SDCC, we stopped dead in our tracks when we spotted colorist Moose Bauman's table and his cover print of FLASH: Rebirth. It was by far one of the coolest images we've seen to grace the cover of a comic in quite some time. We're not ashamed to say that a Moose signed print is framed and hanging on the wall right now. And as we listened to Moose explain a little bit about what was going to happen to the world's fastest human we were intrigued.
Writer Geoff Johns has brought Barry Allen back and while what we've heard on the forums and panels about the return of the original Scarlet Speedster sounded lame, the cover gave us hope. It is an awesome image. The original Flash, pulling on the boots, and getting ready to run for justice while the lighting bolts swirl around him. An intriguing concept and we couldn't wait until the issue arrived to see if the story actually lived up to the cover.
Writer Geoff Johns has brought Barry Allen back and while what we've heard on the forums and panels about the return of the original Scarlet Speedster sounded lame, the cover gave us hope. It is an awesome image. The original Flash, pulling on the boots, and getting ready to run for justice while the lighting bolts swirl around him. An intriguing concept and we couldn't wait until the issue arrived to see if the story actually lived up to the cover.
What is the answer to that question, you ask? The answer is a resounding...maybe. Every good story must have a beginning, middle and end to be effective. And Flash: Rebirth has a great beginning and a fine ending that will make me want to read the next book, but in the middle it breaks down somewhat. Barry Allen and Hal Jordan spend a lot of time strolling around Central City exchanging a lot of existential mumbo-jumbo which is supposed to pass as "important dialogue" and most of the time it falls flat. They reminisce. They talk about what the world is now going to do with all these "Flashes" and yet they never answer the one essential question on every one's mind. How did Barry Allen come back from wherever he was?
There are some great set pieces in this book. Early in the story, a panel of Captain Frost and some of the Flash's enemies lamenting that they're going "to need more rogues..." is hilarious. And the ending when someone unexpected shows up (and doesn't someone unexpected always show up?) gives you hope for the story arc as we move to future books.
But I couldn't help feeling the overall effect of what should be a monumental, groundbreaking comic, came up short. Sigh.
Still, I'm not ready to give up on The new old Flash yet. If the cover for the next book is anywhere near as good as the cover for issue #1, that alone will be a reason to buy it.
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