By Keil Hopwood
Written and Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccelato
The Zero month promised origins, so what is Barry’s in the New 52? How did he become the Flash? Why did he join the police force as a forensic scientist? Why does he wear bow ties?
As we are all well aware, September was DC Comic’s Zero Month. It makes sense to me, therefore, that the beginning of my reviews here should be the start (chronologically speaking) of one of my favourite New 52 titles, The Flash.
The Flash #0 opens with a question; “Why are you here, Barry?”. It’s a good question, both in context of the story being told, and in a wider sense. The Zero month promised origins, so what is Barry’s in the New 52? How did he become the Flash? Why did he join the police force as a forensic scientist? Why does he wear bow ties? Why is he here?
The Flash #0 opens with a question; “Why are you here, Barry?”.
Flash #0 does a better job than most of the zero month issues in answering these questions, pinning down which aspects of pre-52 Flash have been retained, and which have been changed.
In essence, his origin is the one we all know and love, struck by lightning whilst holding chemicals. Now, I have no idea what crazy volatile chemicals they use in crime labs that result in super speed when electricity passes through them, but hey, I’m no sciencetician. And, like before, his mother meets an untimely end by unknown hands, and Papa Allen gets the blame. Barry needs him to be innocent, and goes in to the police force to prove this (again, what police force would allow someone to investigate their mother’s murder when their father is the prime suspect is beyond me). There are minor differences, Captain Frye seems more of a father figure to young Barry (implied to be because he and Barry’s mother were intimate), but overall its pretty similar.
Like before, his mother meets an untimely end by unknown hands, and Papa Allen gets the blame.
The storytelling and art are, as ever, exceptionally well done, with wordless panels often expressing more than the exposition. This level of interaction is often overlooked in comics, with many feeling like illustrated stories, as opposed to stories told through words and art. Also well done is that the Flash’s origin tale is interwoven with flashbacks to his childhood. not only does catharsis feature in both, but the colouring does a great job of showing where each panel is set, even ignoring the fact Barry is a child in one time frame. Further, Manapul and Buccelato seem to have found a good voice for Barry, and made him a guy you’d like to be buddies with. And, as ever, every page is worthy of framing and pinning up on a wall somewhere.
I’d be remiss if I ignored the fact “Daniel West” makes an appearance (confirmed to be Iris’ brother in issue #14), as a villain busted by the Flash early in his career. One can only assume that this is a potential “in” for a de-aged Wally; son of a jailbird, looking for a strong male role model, finds one in The Flash, but this is, of course, speculation.
I’d be remiss if I ignored the fact “Daniel West” makes an appearance (confirmed to be Iris’ brother in issue #14), as a villain busted by the Flash early in his career.
Overall, I continue to enjoy the Flash series. Some may say that it is a “villain of the week” book, and whilst it maybe doesn’t do anything as bold as Batman’s Court of Owls, it’s a fun superhero book, begining to re-establish an icon. And, judging it on those merits, you really can’t fault it.
For more comic views and reviews follow Keil on Twitter at @Keilimanjaro
Posted on November 21st, 2012
Category: REVIEWS, THE SLOPES OF KEILIMANJARO
Tags: Barry Allen, Brian Buccelato, Comic Review, Daniel West, DC Comics, Flash #0 Review, Flash Vol. 4 #0, Francis Manapul, Keil Hopwood, SLOPES OF KEILIMANJARO