Flash is back and it's all about the speed. Constantly. Yep -he's fast. And we're told that constantly.
Art is great, and yes it's a fun little run through Flash mythology, but it just feels flat.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. Before I got my hands on a digital copy, I knew nothing about Flesh, his story and his mission, and even though this is not the first Flesh novel ever, I had no problem catching up on everything. I had a great time while reading and would recommend it to everyone who enjoys superhero stories.
Now I just can't wait for the movie to come out (with my gorgeous Ezra MIller as Flesh)!

A solid trade that any fan of DC Comics can pick up and enjoy. Rebirth continues to be just that for DC and a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre.

I wanted to love this I really did. I love the Flash tv show. But sadly this was not for me. It was just a little boring. I wanted more from it. I will not be continuing with the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I received an ARC for this almost 6 months ago, and for some reason, I never got around to picking it up. Awfully wrong decision... I enjoyed this so, so much! A very solid start for a very promising run.. Barry Allen is back . Even when the story gets a bit cliche or trope-y, his kind heart and his pure soul make everything interesting and exciting to read about. I usually root for morally grey or chaotic good characters, but Barry is just so good I can't help but love and support him. It's always a pleasant surprise and experience to see myself rooting for such a loveable and kind character.

Also, can we please talk about the gorgeous artwork in this one?? It was so vivid, so colourful I was taken aback. The Flash's runs are always fast-paced (no pun intended) and action-packed and this one is no exception. It's just as adventurous and thrilling as you'd expect it to be, but at times so emotional, I was forced to choke back my tears. Overall, a great and very promising beggining.


An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I really dont get what people see in the Flash. Without the other Justice League members to carry him, he is just boring. This is one of the few times the television show is way better than the books.

The art and coloring were fantastic. Di Giandominico does a bang up job of drawing speedsters. And while the coloring in the Rebirth issue was iffy looking, in the rest of the issues the coloring melded perfectly with the art.

I liked the general premise of the story. What happens when a bunch of normal people get super-speed? Some will abuse those powers while others wouldn't even want them in the first place. It allows us to see a nice cross-section of humanity. I also liked seeing Barry get a partner. It opens up a lot of possibilities. August's portrayal with him constantly wanting to take the law into his own hands really bugged me. The dude's a cop. I feel he'd want to follow proper procedure to make sure he gets justice for his brother's murder.

I do feel having 2 Wally West's is going to get confusing really quick, especially when one of them is also going by The Flash. Someone needs to start going by a nickname quickly. All in all a good start after Venditti and Jensen's subpar run.

Less than a dozen pages into this graphic novel, Barry is complaining in a way that he so rarely does. The Barry Allen we are used to is typically happy and cheerful. Where Batman is the downer, The Flash is the uplifter. Here, however, it seems that Barry is channeling his inner Batman.

At the heart of the complaining, is Barry’s desire to do more for Central City. He feels like he is falling short. It is a feeling most of us can relate to. If he focuses on work, The Flash misses out on his hero work. If he focuses on hero work, Barry misses out on work. And the whole while, his social life suffers. He cannot be in all the places he needs to be all the time.

All of this results in a less confident Barry, questioning his ability to do good. Perhaps giving us a more real Barry Allen.

Read more at: http://jasoncstanley.com/comic-review-flash-vol-1-lightning-strikes-twice-rebirth/

My complaint with superhero graphic novels is often that its so hard to get started. These books tend to build on decades of history and old plots. If you haven't already read dozens of comics its so hard to understand what's going on and who all of these characters are. I'd hoped that the rebirth series would be a decent jumping in point, even though I've not read Flash comics before. I understood this one decently well. Iv'e had enough exposure to Flash to have a grasp of the speedforce, flashpoint, and a portion of the characters.

ARC from Netgalley.
Lightning Strikes Twice? More like lightning strikes everywhere!
Return of (pre-Flashpoint) Wally West, new speedsters, Barry gets a girlfriend, and (young, New 52) Wally West becomes Kid Flash... this Volume is packed with fast paced action and story, and feels much like the Flash TV show.
Rebirth begins with the return of Wally West from the Speed Force, and while he does reunite with Barry, the majority of his story isn't till Titans Vol. 1. Barry, on the other hand, has a new problem: Black Hole, a terrorist group who causes a speed force lightning storm that gives a bunch of people speed, including Barry's friend and cop August Heart. When a new enemy, Godspeed, appears on the scene, Barry believes it to be the leader of Black Hole and captures him. But Godspeed is still on the loose and only appears to be stealing speed from the new speedsters, which inadvertently kills them, including Barry's new girlfriend, Fast Track.
Barry's CSI skills help him discern that Godspeed is none other than August, who believes that his speed should be used to kill criminals before they have a chance to commit anymore crimes. Kid Flash comes fully on the scene and he and Barry take him down.
Did Fast Track really die, or is she gone? What will become of Kid Flash? Who really started the Speed Force lightning storm? and.... (loving this link) How can Barry help Batman to discover who left that "button" in the Batcave (Watchmen reference!!)?
This is a great starting place if you haven't been reading Flash. Recommend.

Maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I’m happy to see Barry Allen returning as the Flash. Although in this version, Barry has the personality of a spaghetti noodle. Wally West is also back, in fact a couple of them. Trying to keep track of the convoluted gyrations that DC has gone through in an effort to maintain some sort of continuity over the years is painful, particularly since DC cares jack all about continuity. I’m hoping DC gets its act together with this rebirth notion and returns to simpler times. Maybe DC is on the way to doing that with Flash.

After a recap of Flash’s origin, we see him delivering pizza (talk about speedy delivery!) and having visions of Zoom, who killed his mother. Is Barry losing his mind? Probably, but then he has a vision of white Kid Flash, who returns to Barry’s life for reasons that make little sense (“help, I’m stuck, pull me out of the speed force”). But the black Kid Flash is also around. All of this causes Flash to try to reconcile the various time streams and alternate Earths that have made such a mess of the DC multiverse, and that would drive anyone mad.

So Barry’s memory is messed up -- ten years are apparently missing or changed -- and so is Wally’s, and apparently so is the memory of everyone they know, and probably the reader’s is messed up as well, because nobody has the kind of perfect memory that can keep track of the tortured history of DC’s various incarnations of the Flash and his superhero buddies. If Barry lost his memory of all the bad stories DC gave to the Flash, so much the better. This is a rebirth but not a reboot, so Flash apparently needs to come to grips with his past. Or at least he needs to come to grips with the speed force, which seems to be out of whack.

When the Flash needs help, where does he turn? To Batman, of course. Batman knows everything. But does anyone know why the speed force is spreading like a virus? Well, maybe not like a virus since people need to be hit by lighting to catch it, but still.

Some fairly dull pages have Flash teaching people how to cope with the speed force, sort of like a Zen master. Of course, a super villain is trying to steal all the speed force and keep it for himself. That’s also a little dull. So is Barry’s constant whining that he can’t be in two places at once, even though his super speed lets him almost be in two places at once.

Meanwhile, an evil organization called Black Hole is attacking S.T.A.R. Labs and kidnapping Iris West and causing havoc in ways that seem too random to have resulted from careful plotting. They call themselves Black Hole because … well, because it sounds cool.

Then we have more dull training pages and some dull Kid Flash pages. Then there are the usual comic book arguments about whether heroes should be vigilantes.

But finally, later in the story, the story involving supervillain Godspeed starts to get good. And then the story involving black Wally starts to get good. And then the ending turns out to be good. So on the whole, I’d rate the volume as slightly more good than bad.

The art didn’t impress me. Carmine di Giandomenico is no Carmine Infantino. All the lightning buzzing around Flash and Kid Flash and virus-infected speedsters might have been a good idea, but it isn’t visually pleasing.

I’ve always liked Flash and I think his rebirth has the potential to be quite good after all the convoluted explanations about the past are swept into the dustbin of comic book history. It isn’t quite there yet, but I’m still giving it 4 stars because DC is finally getting itself back on track with Flash and a bunch of its other characters.

Barry Allen is always late even though he is The Flash. Just because you are super fast does not mean you can be in two places at once. Then Wally West comes back letting Barry know that something was missing and likely to happen. One thing that happened is that lighting struck multiple people in Central City giving them the Speed Force. Now, Barry has another job, being mentor, guide, and example to them and also being a boy friend. Yes, Barry finally found someone who could keep up with him. Now all Barry needs to do is solve the mystery of Godspeed and keep another Wally alive and running!

Ever since the TV show The Flash, I've been dying to read more about the superhero, so when I received the approval notification on Netgalley, I was super duper excited. Alas, I can't say I was as in love with this book as I thought I'd be. Let me start with what I did like.

I realize there's a lot of backstory that I don't have, but I liked the fact that I was able to start reading this book, even with what little knowledge I acquired from the TV show, and not feel as lost as I thought I'd be. That's always a huge fear of mine when I try to read comic books about superheroes that have been getting their stories told for decades, that I'll never get the gist of things. So it was actually a really nice surprise to see that I was able to read this book and not be completely lost about some of the characters or storylines.

The thing that I liked most was the fact that this book shows that sometimes the Speed Force makes mistakes. It shows that not always someone that gets speed powers has good intentions. Sure, we all know about how Zoom killed Barry's mom, but that is one example (or at least the only one I know of). But in this story there are a lot of bad guys turned speedsters, people who are willing to abuse their newfound powers and use them for evil. I also liked the balance between those who wanted to use the powers, those who thought they got lucky or that they had a chance to be what they always wanted to be with their powers, and those who wanted nothing to do with superpowers. In a way, I feel like that was one of the main themes of this comic book, balance between good and evil, between friends and enemies, between those who wanted powers and those who didn't. And the book did an okay job of getting that across. I also liked that I wasn't suspecting the right person, so the book kind of fooled me for a while.

The art itself was pretty great. Not the best I've seen, probably not what I imagined a DC comic should look like, but I did go into this with pretty high expectations. Even though they can be challenging to read, I adored the double-paged panels. The panels themselves aren't that difficult to read, they aren't too crowded with either characters or text bubbles. I liked the fact that whenever the POV changed, we got some inner monologue bubbles, because, in a way, it helped me understand the characters better.

The thing that I didn't enjoy was how fast it seemed that Barry got to the answer, and the fact that, in some way, the first part of the book seems to be very, very disconnected from the second part of the book. This part of the review might have spoilers for some of you, so don't read ahead if you don't want to.

Maybe this is just me, since I'm new to this comic book, but I was slightly confused by the idea of Barry Allen not remembering certain things in the beginning, and not knowing about it. It seemed as if he wasn't even aware that something was wrong with him, and then just a few pages in, he manages to crack that mystery and restore part of his memories. Not a bad idea, except, and maybe I'm wrong here, but it didn't feel as if that particular plot point had anything to do with the rest of the story. Now, it's possible that that is the big story with the full run of this comic book. Or, which is another possibility, is that the first part of this volume is actually the first issue of the Rebirth comics, while the rest is from a different comic book, in which case, I'm still confused. Mostly because, and this is another thing that kind of bothered me, the volume doesn't make it clear when one chapter or issue ends and when another one begins. I don't know if that's the case with every DC comic book volumes, but this one didn't include chapter breaks, or at least it didn't seem like that to me. I guess you could take the change in the POV as a new chapter, but it still doesn't really help all that much.

I actually wanted to be more impressed with this book than I actually was. It may be that I had too high expectations, or it could be that because of the two different storylines, the entire volume felt a bit strange. Will I read the next volume? Probably, since this one ends on a cliffhanger and you know I can't help myself but be curious about it and to want to know the end of the story. But I'll probably seriously reduce my expectations. In the end, I did enjoy this story, even if not as much as I wanted to.

I've recently branched out into the world of comic books / graphic novels. As a lover of all things The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow on the CW, I found by requesting The Flash: Lightning Strikes Twice from NetGalley that I enjoy a good comic/graphic novel.

The Flash Vol. 1 finds Central City overrun by untrained speedsters after the city is hit by a speedforce storm. These new speedsters are a mix of those who want the speed to use for good, those who want it for evil purposes, and those who don't want the speed at all. Barry then decides to start a training program for all of the new speedsters. As the new speedsters are learning how to use and control what they've been given, a villain by the name of Godspeed enters the fray. Now, the new speedsters are disappearing and Barry must figure out why while also figuring out a way to stop Godspeed.

Just a note: I'm not a seasoned comic book / graphic novel aficionado, therefore, my review may seem simplistic and and not at all in-depth. Sorry (not sorry). I chose this graphic novel to request to review from NetGalley because I'm a new fan of The Flash and Arrow on CW and I'm glad I did and was approved. I really enjoyed the comic. The art was eye-catching and remarkable for my untrained eye. The story unfolded in a way that thoroughly engaged me from the start. I have no complaints other than the predictability of the villain. I liked this Barry (not at much as Grant Gustin's "Barry") and found the dialogue of all characters to flow well. Collectively, they all told a great story.

Would I read another comic / graphic novel by Joshua Williamson? Definitely.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this graphic novel provided to my through NetGalley.

This first volume of The Flash (Rebirth) is a fun start to new tales for the Scarlet Speedster. Multiple people have been endowed with the Speed Force and Barry Allen will shepherd them in their journeys as new speedsters. However, things can't go but so smoothly for Flash and friends. Great artwork and writing make this highly recommended.

Well I enjoyed this way more than I thought that I would. I know that I am not the greatest fan of the Flash, I do not watch the TV show as I found it boring and enjoyed the grittier version of Arrow that was on at the time (what can I say, I know that he is not comic book accurate but like Nolan’s Batman, he seems realistic I guess). Lightning Strikes Twice has completely convinced me to start watching the show.

Lets start with what I enjoyed about Lightning Strikes Twice; it has an well thought out storyline that flowed extremely well from one issue to another. I am struggling to find many gaps in logic. We find Barry having to deal with the speed force hitting not just one other person, but what seemed like a good hundred people in Central City. He has to deal with being a forensic scientist at the police department, the Flash and now being a mentor to these new speedsters.

The only thing that I wish was better was the art style, in the last couple of issues, either I had gotten used to it or it had started to grow on me but compared to other comic books that I have read, it just was not up to par. If I could only give one recommendation as to what to change for it to be so chunky would be to not make the faces so harsh, they seemed to be made of many solid lines and at times I was guessing the facial expression as they were not displayed in an easy to recognised way.

If you enjoy The Flash TV show, then you are bound to enjoy this comic book.

A review by Robert Coffil

Rebirth (the not-a-reboot, reboot) has revitalized DC. The second half of the year, the top 300 list was dominated by DC books all while putting out fewer titles than Marvel. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so I picked up The Flash Vol. 1 Lighting Strikes Twice.

Joshua Williamson is a writer I’m a fan of. His Image book Birthright is a delight to read each month. Also, his book Frostbite has been a gem in a resurgent Vertigo line. Can he successfully make the jump from creator owned writer to a big two writer? I would like to think the answer to that is yes, but this Flash isn’t the best display of his talents.

As a collection of comics, the trade is par for the course. Glue binding and variant covers in the back. I will say it does have a whopping nine issues in it and retailing at 17.99, that is a win. My one complaint is that there are no interviews or essays about the book. I love collections that add something to comic, but nine issues of content sort of makeup for that. And of course, there is a misprint. The trade credits Di Giandomenico on an issue when it is clearly his fill-in artist.

My first problem with this book is the first issue. Why is the Rebirth: Flash issue in this book? Without the Rebirth issue itself, this book lacks context for Wally being part of the Speed Force and him floating around. It is very retro-DC that the connection between Barry and Wally is what draws Wally to Barry, but because the Rebirth issue isn’t included, it lacks context. And even though Wally is in the first issue you don’t see that iteration of Wally again in the next eight issues. Furthermore, the events that happen in the Rebirth: Flash issue bear no impact on what happens in the next eight issues. For this trade to read better, it would need to do one of two things: include the Rebirth issue, or not have Rebirth: Flash in it.

The next chunk of eight issue read like a straight revitalization of Flash. The thematic lynchpin of these issues is the idea that Barry, even as the fastest man on earth, can’t do all the good he would like too. Thematically, it is hit on at least once an issue and serves as a nice grounding for the comic. I loved the team of Iris, (Black) Wally, August, Dena and all the speedsters. Barry can sometimes come across as a little too earnest, but it is his cohort of teammates that add a nice leveling out to his personality.

The framework of the story works, but the actual execution doesn’t wow me. Over the course of eight issues, we get one long arc being told. The first three issues set up a mystery, the end of the third/beginning of the fourth make you think its been solved. The fifth issue is a fake-out. The conclusion of one threat has revealed a bigger threat and the final three issues are a resolution to that threat. Stylistically, this story has a nice design. The dialogue and some of the page turns seem perfunctory without blowing me away narratively. What did blow me away was the Carmine Di Giandomenico art, at least at the beginning.

The art of Giandomenico starts off wonderful. He draws Flash crackling with energy and you can tell what the mood the Flash is in because the running emotes. It’s small and if you buzz through the book you will miss it. However, if you look at the posture while he is running you can tell his mood. I really enjoyed that. In the beginning of the book (the first three issues), Giandomenico’s panel work, and storytelling are interesting. He has nice framing shots and he is dynamic in his panel design. In the latter half of the volume, Giandomenico’s storytelling is straightforward. This is where the double shipping of the books are hurting the overall art of comics. Sure, the comics are out and they are selling, but some of the artistry is lost due to the necessity of a shorter period to work on the books. I will say, the character work of Williamson is better (because you know the characters more, they have been developed) so even though the art doesn’t pop as much as it did in the first half the story propels you forward.

What killed the momentum of the book was the fill-in artist. I know this is the modern cure of comics and double shipping books twice about, but the fill-in artist on this book doesn’t work. It’s not that the art is bad, it isn’t, it that the stylistically they are dramatically different. Felipe Watanabe and his team of inkers don’t carry that same kinetic energy that’s on the page when Giandomenico draws.

The Verdict
Skip it. Unless you are a hardcore, die hard Flash fan, you can pass on The Flash Vol. 1 Lighting Strikes Twice. In an industry where great comics are coming out on a weekly basis, this one just isn’t up to snuff. I saw the twist coming in the third issue of the series. The inclusion of Flash Rebirth without the actual Rebirth issue doesn’t provide the story continuity that you need. Like I stated earlier in the review, either include the Rebirth issue or take the Flash Rebirth out because the Rebirth issues add nothing to the story and lack context. Giandomenico’s storytelling suffers in the last three issues. It doesn’t have the same dynamic storytelling that it has in the first three issues. The panel design and layout goes from some really interesting panel layouts to splash pages and straightforward panels.

Great story for the Flash. A nice approach of the man Flash and the hero one!
Great storyline! Loved the graphics!

Let me start off by thanking Net Galley and DC Comics for allowing me to read this book for an honest review. I have been very lucky to have been able to read the Rebirth comics of my favorite heroes.

Barry Allen has a lot to contend with in this book. It starts off a little confusing to be honest with you. We find Barry working CSI on a case that is very similar to his mother's death while having visions of Zoom and Wally West. However, Wally comes out of that vision and is back running along side Barry for a few pages. Now here is where I get confused. I didn't read a lot of Flash during New 52 but I did before that. I remember Wally West and him being Kid Flash, but now we have another Wally West who is Iris West's Nephew who also has a touch of the speed force. What book explains the two Wally's? I have to read that one.

Anyway, this all happens in the first few pages and that is all we get of the visions and return of Wally West. I'm sure this is setting up future stories but I was hoping for something about this. Instead we get one heck of a story that could mean big trouble for Barry. A Speedforce storm hits Central City and strikes a whole lot of people. Now flooded with speedsters Barry has to split his time between CSI work, being the flash, and training new speedsters. This also brings about a new very fast and very dangerous villain known as Godspeed.

This was s great way to start of the new story line with the Flash. I couldn't put this down and just flew through it. I highly recommend this to any fan of the Flash because it is very well written. My only complaints about this book is the set up in the first few pages that didn't go anywhere in this volume and the art work. I didn't have any pictures that really stood out for me to include in my review this time. I try to get some art from the digital comics I read as an example but the art is kind of fuzzy and not very detailed. I get that it shows just how fast Barry is at all times but I have read other comics that have still been able to convey this and have more detail. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

The Flash is a man who has the superpower of running fast. There is a speed force storm causing many people to have the power that Flash has. Many of them don't know what to do with this power or want it. Flash wonders if this storm came from a terrorist called Black Hole. Godspeed has attained this power and has decided to take care of the criminals in this story. He also kills innocents as he takes their (Flash) power from them to become even stronger and faster than Flash. Flash must find a way to become stronger than Godspeed to stop him and put him in prison. Will Flash be able to?

The artwork in this graphic novel is excellent. I enjoyed the storyline. It discusses good vs. evil. Even though this is a familiar theme, it was done well in this story. It is also about friendship and trust. I enjoyed this story. Enjoy it!