Reddit reviews The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Rebirth)
We found 21 Reddit comments about The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Rebirth). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
DC Comics
For Barry:
For Wally:
By the way, these are just starting points. I'll help you with an actual reading order if you need.
This is the reading order for a modern Barry Allen. If you're interested in the best of the best Flash stories and the greater Flash mythos, Flash in the 90's to mid 2000's is the best era of the Flash. Mark Waid's Flash currently has 1 trade out with trade 2 coming out May 2nd. The first trade is an origin story about Wally West, the second trade is a story called "The Return of Barry Allen" which is the best Flash story of all time. Waid's run is the best Flash run of all time and the third trade is coming out in the Fall. Grant Morrison and Mark Millar wrote a short zany run in the middle of Waid's run. It's one trade long and worth the read. Lastly, Geoff Johns Flash run is phenomenal. It's the second best of the three and there are currently three trades out. It's a bit more serialized than Waid's run, which is a plus. Waid writes Wally a lot better than Johns but what Johns has over Waid is phenomenal and relatable villains.
Flash Rebirth brings Bary up to speed with the world and shows him dealing with being a man out of time.
The Flash Dastardly Death of The Rogues is the best Barry Allen story, it is a must read
Flash: Road to Flashpoint. This story is pretty alright, the collected version has a lot of interesting one shots and such and it directly leads into Flashpoint. This doesn't get recommended often, but I enjoyed it and I think it should be at least mentioned
Flashpoint kicks off the New 52 and is a decently written Barry Allen story. This leads into the New 52 series
The Flash New 52 Vol 1-4 Collected in this omnibus. This has absolutely stunning art and it's the same art team that did Dastardly Death of the Rogues, the artists also double as the writers and they capture a good Barry Allen in my opinion. This run is great but everything after is pretty mediocre
DC Universe Rebirth is a great story and Barry and a certain other speedster are very relevant to the story
The Flash Rebirth (2016) is the current ongoing, you can digitally purchase it or buy the issues individually from Midtown Comics (The website) or your LCBS. I'm linking the first volume of this run.
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) by Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about stories/characters from TV, movies, games, etc. that you already like. Do you seek “good” storytelling or encyclopedic DC knowledge? Are you here to collect or read? How much time/resources are available?
Don’t try to read everything—there’s too much. Forget about continuity, universes, and timelines; it's all very confusing, even to creators/fans. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so first appearances/early origins may not be the best starting points. Creative teams change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told (e.g. I never cared for Aquaman until Geoff Johns’ run).
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their “greatest hits”. Focus on well-received, relatively self-contained, and complete stories. You may encounter the occasional unexplained reference/character/event—just ride along (Wiki if necessary). Remember, there are so many other great characters and publishers to explore, and not all comics are about superheroes.
Comixology for digital. instocktrades for physical (US). ISBNS for price aggregate.
Recommendations:
Flash
Green Arrow
More if you're interested:
Title | Writer
---|---
Animal Man | Grant Morrison
Animal Man | Jeff Lemire
Aquaman | Geoff Johns
Batman: Year One | Frank Miller
Batman: The Long Halloween | Jeph Loeb
Batman: Hush | Jeph Loeb
Batman | Scott Snyder
Batwoman: Elegy | Greg Rucka
Birds of Prey | Gail Simone
Gotham Central | Brubaker & Rucka
Green Lantern| Geoff Johns
Hellblazer (Constantine) | Delano, Ennis, et al.
JLA (Justice League) | Morrison & Waid
Kingdom Come | Mark Waid
Omega Men | Tom King
Suicide Squad | John Ostrander
Secret Six (Suicide Squad) | Gail Simone
Superman: Birthright | Mark Waid
Superman: American Alien | Max Landis
Superman: All-Star Superman | Grant Morrison
Saga of the Swamp Thing | Alan Moore
Swamp Thing | Scott Snyder
New Teen Titans | Marv Wolfman
Wonder Woman | Greg Rucka
Wonder Woman | Brian Azzarello
Alternatively, you can skip directly to the new Rebirth re-launch by reading the Rebirth event (2016) and any Rebirth #1. Check out the /r/DCcomics sidebar for more info.
Events/crossovers can be fun and/or tedious. They are most appreciated by readers already well-versed in relevant continuity. Generally, the best non-event comics integrate these seamlessly or avoid them entirely (notwithstanding editorial/executive mandates). Regardless, you may want to familiarize with major plot points.
Modern DC events/crossovers:
Title | Writer
---|---
Crisis on Infinite Earths | Marv Wolfman
Identity Crisis | Brad Meltzer
Infinite Crisis | Geoff Johns
52 | Geoff Johns, et al.
Final Crisis | Grant Morrison
Blackest Night | Geoff Johns
Flashpoint | Geoff Johns
Forever Evil | Geoff Johns
Multiversity, The | Grant Morrison
Darkseid War | Geoff Johns
Rebirth | Geoff Johns
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Do you like older/newer comics? Weird concepts? Super-smart meta-analysis and social commentary? Family-friendly content? Hyper-violence? Male/female protagonists? Humor? Horror? Have you noticed that a specific artist, writer, or creative team consistently produces content you like? Follow these instincts.
Suggestions to improve the guide are welcome.
We got the Return of Barry Allen, featuring Reverse Flash and Dead Heat featuring Savitar, both from Mark Waid's run. During Geoff Johns's run, there was Blitz, featuring Zoom (which is a fan favorite story) and Flash: Rebirth, featuring Reverse Flash. If you want something more recent, the New 52 series features a new iteration of Reverse Flash by the name of Daniel West, the Future Flash, and a heavily retooled version of Eobard Thawne (that last one is a bit more controversial among fans but it's worth a shot.)And lastly, the DC Rebirth series (different series from the one I mentioned up above) featuring a new speedster by the name of Godspeed.
> If I get a comic how do I know which comic to read next
As a new reader, the easiest way to get into comics would be by reading trade paperbacks (trades, or TPB for short). They collect usually 5 or 6 issues from a series, and will say "volume 1, volume 2, etc" on the book. DC did a relaunch of all their books a couple years ago called "DC Rebirth", so pick any character you want to read and look up volume 1 from there. I'll link a couple examples for you; The Flash, Green Arrow, Batman. Also check out the sidebar for other recommendations
you're thinking about the trade paperbacks
they're coming out in the new year
each will contain a run of ~6/7 issues and be a complete arc (usually)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flash-TP-Vol-Rebirth/dp/140126784X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478367363&sr=8-2&keywords=flash+rebirth
This is the story where Barry Allen came back after years of being lost after Crisis on Infinite Earths.
If you're looking for the first story in the DC: Rebirth series of the Flash comic, you're looking for this: https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Vol-Lightning-Strikes-Rebirth/dp/140126784X
Here for Barry
The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Rebirth) https://www.amazon.com/dp/140126784X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_n2T-AbKHMJG1K
Here for Wally
The Flash by Mark Waid Book One https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401267351/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_x3T-Ab6VJAQXX
What you're looking for is this
Barry Allen started his carrier in the comics in 1956 until 1985 and then he was absent on until 2009. His modern-age series called The Flash: Rebirth when he returned. After that 2 trades came (In comics, a trade paperback (often shortened to trade) is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme.) called The Flash Vol. 1: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues and The Flash Vol. 2: The Road to Flashpoint.
After these, a HUGE event came that changed everything called Flashpont that "reset" the continuity and started the New 52 age and it's first story-line called The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward or alternatively The Flash: Starting Line (DC Essential Edition (collecting the first 2 trades in 1 book) This series (New52) lasted till Spring 2016 and collected 9 trades (the show you watched is based on this era).
In early 2016 DC Rebirth came (only name change, everything is continued from New52) but a huge exception: a long missing character came back to the grand scene who was missing for so long. Rebirth's first trade is The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice and currently the latest is The Flash Vol. 9: Reckoning of the Forces, but that's not the end, the series is still ongoing. Alternatively you can buy "The Flash Rebirth Deluxe Book(s)" that collect 2 trades per book in an affordable price/way.
So if you are interested in Barry (overall) start with The Flash: Rebirth and move onward to Flashpont, but you can just start with The Flash, Vol. 1: Move Forward or DC Rebirth followed by The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice, then read everything up to today. (the current story-arc called Year One coming out just right now, starting with issue #70)
But if you are interested in old material, the best place to start is The Flash: The Silver Age Vol. 1, the first comics where Barry showed up. (but beware, the art and the story is really different than what's today's standard)
(there is an omnibus on sale at the moment (a collection of multiple trades) called The Flash By Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato Omnibus that collects the first 4 trades of the New 52 era.
Sorry, was linking it to one of my friends earlier, heres the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flash-TP-Vol-Rebirth/dp/140126784X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486317751&sr=8-1&keywords=comic+paperback+dc
The volumes are collections of the individual issues.
For instance, Flash volume 1 includes the Flash: Rebirth one-shot and Flash #1-8.
I wasn't sure if you wanted to read digital, in trades, or in floppies so here are the links to the trade paperbacks.
Flash: Rebirth (2009)
DC Universe Rebirth
The Flash: Lightning Strikes Twice
Honestly if you have 15 or so dollars or so pick this up.
https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Vol-Lightning-Strikes-Rebirth/dp/140126784X
this is a good jumping in point, the only thing you really need to know is what happened to Wally West but a quick Google search can tell you that.
Other than that....
https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Return-Barry-Mark-Waid/dp/1563892685
this might be the best story that involves most characters from the show.
Since it seems like you're mostly interested in DC characters I'd recommend checking out the current Rebirth Series. Now I'm only familiar with Batman and Flash, so I can't speak to the quality of the other series but I've enjoyed both of them so far.
Here's some links to the first volume of the Rebirth Series of all the characters (plus the Flash) you mentioned:
Aquaman
Batman
Green Arrow
Flash
Superman
As for the best place to buy comics I recommend Amazon and Barnes & Noble as they are generally pretty cheap and run good sales fairly often (especially Barnes & Noble).
Now for some of my personal recommendations:
Batman New 52 Vol. 1 Court of Owls, it's Batman at his best investigating an old Gotham conspiracy.
Hawkeye Vol. 1 My Life as a Weapon, it's about what Hawkeye does when he's not an Avenger. It has some really amazing art.
Hope this was helpful! Feel free to message me with any questions you might have!
Flash TP Vol 1 (Rebirth) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/140126784X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pxcWCbV1RAHCS
Flash TP Vol 2 (Rebirth) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401268935/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WzcWCbS273EE9
Flash TP Vol 3 Rogues Reloaded (Rebirth) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/140127157X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lAcWCbSSED210
The Flash Vol. 4 (Rebirth) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401274625/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_zAcWCbK4Y2RGR
The Flash Vol. 5: Negative https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401277276/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RAcWCbJKCCSQ9
The Flash Vol. 6 Cold Day In Hell https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401280781/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.AcWCbVXS55GA
The Flash Vol. 7 Perfect Storm https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401284523/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_sBcWCbG6KMW8N
The Flash Volume 8: Flash War (The Flash: Flash War) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401283500/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UBcWCbRX1R2CR
The Flash Vol. 9: Reckoning of the Forces https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1401288553/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_cCcWCbMPZJM6R
This is the start of the most current run, the other rebirth you mentioned is another great story i forgot to mention, it is the re introduction of barry allen as the flash, it was released a little while ago like maybe 2009 ish, whereas the current run started in 2016
https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Vol-Lightning-Strikes-Rebirth/dp/140126784X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1496736060&sr=8-2&keywords=flash+rebirth
https://www.amazon.com/Flash-Rebirth-Deluxe-Book/dp/1401271588/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1496736060&sr=8-7&keywords=flash+rebirth
OK Great! Here are some starting points for you.
​
Mark Waid Flash - Wally West
Morrison And Millar Flash - Wally West
Geoff Johns Flash - Wally West
Geoff Johns Flash - Barry Allen
Manapul And Buccellato Flash - Barry Allen
Williamson Flash - Barry Allen
This one?
The current (Rebirth) Flash series is pretty good. It just released issue #22. Here's the first volume.
Swampy unfortunately does not have his own series at the moment, but he is set to appear in the upcoming Batman arc (The Brave and the Mold). Aside from that, I recommend going back and reading Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing and New 52 Swamp Thing.
Anyother characters you're interested in, look for their Rebirth series.
>As the new 52 has given way to the rebirth, are the story lines in 52 still worth going through?
Yes, definitely. While the New 52 as a whole wasn't very well-received by a lot of fans because of it "starting over" and removing the old continuity, it is a great jumping on point for new readers: so I think it's a good idea to start there.
I don't read Batman, but as far as I know, New 52 Batman was the one series that was consistently well-received by fans, so I think you will enjoy New 52 Batman.
As for The Flash, he has a great New 52 run over the course of 4 volumes: "Move Forward," "Rogues Revolution," "Gorilla Warfare," and "Reverse." These four books serve as a great introduction to the character and his adventures, and I'm told Volume 5 is okay to read too - however, don't continue it after Volume 5, because it drops off in quality there. These stories focus on Barry Allen in a manner that's a bit reminiscent of the TV show, so if you enjoy the show you should enjoy these.
> if they end up unfinished somehow or really underwhelming, I'll just jump to rebirth.
Rebirth is an excellent jumping-on point, just like the New 52. It's of course still ongoing at the moment, so if you want to read it right now, you read it through single issues! If you want to catch up with the stories that are happening right now, these are the issues that are out.
THE FLASH:
BATMAN:
A new issue comes out every 2 weeks for Flash and for Batman. It's been awesome so far!
If you want to follow Wally West instead of Barry, you can follow Titans, which comes out every month:
If you can't/don't want to go through the hassle of buying single issues of comics, wait it out until January! Then you can just get a trade paperback that will have all the comics you need to read the whole story all at once. You can preorder the paperbacks at Amazon: Flash, Batman, Titans.