Customer Reviews

Flash - The Fastest Man Alive, Book 1: Lightning in a Bottle

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bart Allen hasn't been the same since the Infinite Crisis. The former Kid Flash and Teen Titan went toe to toe with Superboy Prime; inadvertantly traveling into the future which resulted in the destruction of the Speed Force, the disappearance of then Flash Wally West, and his own aging into an adult. Fast forward one year later, and Bart is a factory worker in Central City with no powers, and wanting none of the Flash legacy. However, soon enough he and his friend Griffin Gray are caught in an accident that reconnects Bart's link with the Speed Force, and gives Griffin his own powers as well. Naturally, you know what's coming. Yes folks, we have a new scarlet speedster in town, and thanks to writers Danny Bilson and Paul Demeo, this Flash for a new generation already gets his share of a rogues gallery, as well as a love interest. Lightning in a Bottle manages to pack in enough Flash history as well as tie up some loose ends left over from Infinite Crisis (just what happened to Bart in the future?) while artists Ken Lashley, Karl Kerschl, and Ron Adrian, do solid work. The only real downside is that this first volume feels way too short, and the idea of Jay Garrick in mortal danger has been a Flash plot device for so long now that something better can surely be thought of. That aside, Lightning in a Bottle is a great new beginning for the Flash, and I for one am looking forward to seeing what Bart Allen will be racing towards in the future.

Yeah ... so ... um, I swear I've been meaning to write a review of this collection for about a month now, and just when I sat down yesterday to write it, well, we got some news about Bart Allen and The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive Issue #13. I promise you, the recent news did not alter my thoughts on this work whatsoever.

When this new series began, I honestly didn't get it. I didn't understand why they ended one of my all-time favorite runs with Geoff Johns' Wally West as the Flash. What initially put Wally on the path to greatness, after a bit of a rocky start, was Mark Waid's fun and fanciful writing, and Johns just kept that sprint moving.

So, even though I didn't understand why they were relieving Wally of his duties, I also didn't get very upset about it. After all, Wally was once Kid Flash, and he had to step into Barry Allen's boots, and, though it took many years, he eventually became a top-tier character in terms of roundedness and dynamic. I didn't see the point in tossing Wally aside, but I also had faith that Bart would come into his own one day. I love the character of the Flash, no matter who's in the mask, so I was going to stick with it.

Oh, but the fanboys cried havoc! I kept hearing the news series was terrible; Bilson and Demeo, the new writers, didn't have a clue what they were doing. Blah, blah, blah. As is my habit, I waited for the trade.

Guess what folks? It's not bad.

Granted, it's not up to the level of Geoff Johns' or Mark Waid's run, but those guys are seasoned all-stars. I thought it was a nice intro to a new series with some interesting plot points, art ranging from the very good to the serviceable, and while Bart wasn't as fun as he use to be as Impulse, or, to a lesser degree, Kid Flash, he also seemed to bring an interesting perspective to the character that I felt would be interesting to follow.

Did I like Bart as much as Wally? No, but once upon a time I didn't like Wally as much as Barry, and that changed in the early nineties when I was in high school. Bart had been around for a long time, I felt fairly confident he would come into his own and the writers would get into a groove with who they wanted him to be and where they wanted to take him.

Well, if you've heard the news, it's all a moot point. I don't want to give anything away, but the second volume of this series will be the last. I'm looking forward to reading it, and, with the news of Mark Waid returning to a Flash book picking up where the other series left off, I'm fairly stoked to read those, too.

But, don't let the disgruntled readers fool you. Lightning In a Bottle is not bad and, if you're a Flash fan, despite who's wearing the uniform, I think you'll enjoy it.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

Bart Allen started his fictional superhero career as an annoyance to Wally West and then as comic relief in his own "Impulse" series. These writers took this character and answered the question of "What happens when Bart Allen grows up and becomes The Flash?" and they do it strong.

Don't let the fanboys influence you on the internet about this one, it's a fun read that only people that can't bear to see someone else beneath the mask will tell you it's terrible. It's not bad, in fact it's very very good.

Not a bad job just kind of flew under most peoples radars. It was a pretty solid story and the art was pretty good most people just didn't like the fact it was a new flash so it really never got any good word of mouth going. I really started like Bart around the 3rd or fourth issue of this series of course I've liked him since back in his Impulse days. If your new to DC and want to read Flash don't start here it is pretty hard to follow if you aren't up to date on recent DC Events.

this was a good story following the infinite crisis stuff. flowed well, and gave you some of the answers as to what happened to bart and wally,and barry, ect... not all the answers are told(but why would they, there is still alot of story to tell.) but it gives you well more than enough to make this a good read. hopefully the next ones will try and bring wally back. 4 stars out of 5 only beacuse i would have liked to see better drawings. they were good, but bart in the flash suit looked alittle skinny, not the flash I'm use to . all in all very good.

This book sucks... I'm not going to lie to you. This book was written by the same people who wrote the pilot episode for the Flash TV Series... how well did that one turn out? Demeo and Bilson try to make Bart an adolescent-friendly character "with huge shoes to fill". Yeah, we get it. The villian sucks and the art doesn't match the book at all, it is absolutely horrendous. Instead of shelling out money for this you should wait for Marc Guggenheim's (Of CSI fame) run on the character which should be out soon. His story is coherent, engaging, and you don't feel dumber for reading it, which is a bonus.