Must Have: The Flash

by | Feb 13, 2016 | 0 comments

Today’s graphic literature fans are enjoying a golden age of television undreamed of. Whether you’re a fan of superheroics, spy-thrillers, or horror, there’s something for virtually everyone. But what happens when someone goes looking for the books that inspired their favorite shows? More often than not they get confused,.

It’s fairly simple to track down The Walking Dead books. iZombie and Preacher (soon to be a series on AMC) have been collected into neat little volumes. Even the various volumes of Hellblazer aren’t too difficult to navigate for those proud Constantine fans still hoping for a revival on The CW Network. But where do you send the little girls who want to see more Supergirl? The tweens who want to read about The Flash? The teens who want more Green Arrow?

Face Front, True Believers! We’ve got the reading lists to help you save the day!

1The Flash: Season Zero

Written by various
Art by various

The Flash: Season Zero Vol. 1 (9781401257712)
The Flash: Season Zero Vol. 2 (due out 07/05/16 ) – (9781401263386)

Set in the reality of the television series and written by writers on the show’s writing staff, this series is a must-have. All of your favorite characters are here and every issue reads like an episode of the show. You can find No Flying No Tights’ full review of this title here.

 

 

 

2New 52: The Flash

Written by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Robert Venditti, and Van Jensen
Art by Francis Manapul, Patrick Zircher, and Brett Booth

The Flash: Vol 1 – Move Forward (9781401235536)
The Flash: Vol 2 – Rogues’ Revolution (9781401240318)
The Flash: Vol 3 – Gorilla Warfare (9781401242749)
The Flash: Vol 4 – Reverse (9781401247133)
The Flash: Vol 5 – History Lessons (9781401249502)
The Flash: Vol 6 – Out Of Time (9781401254278)
The Flash: Vol 7 – Savage World (due out 01/19/16) – (9781401258757)

Unlike a lot of The New 52 comics, The Flash has been consistently well-written and easily accessible to new readers. The artwork has proven equally amazing. This is another must-have for your teen collection.

 

The Flash by Geoff Johns

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by various

The Flash by Geoff Johns: Book 1 (9781401258733)
The Flash by Geoff Johns: Book 2 (due out 05/24/16) – (9781401261016)

Johns was the definitive Flash writer throughout the 2000s and he’s co-written several episodes of The Flash TV series in addition to being an Executive Producer.

The Flash: Rebirth (9781401230012)

While it may have set the land-speed record for going out of continuity (the New 52 reboot occurred just months after this TPB hit the stands), Geoff Johns’ story detailing Barry Allen’s adjusting to life in the modern DCU after coming back from the dead is still a good crash-course in the history of all the heroes to call themselves The Flash.

4Crisis On Infinite Earths

Written by Marv Wolfman
Art by George Pérez

Crisis On Infinite Earths: Deluxe Edition (9781401258412)

Not the first Crisis story, but it is the one that set the standard by which all crossovers are measured. It appears that The Flash TV series may be building toward this point, at least based on the quick glimpses we’ve seen of future newspapers. Even so, this story is worth having in your collection regardless of it revealing the final fate of Barry Allen… at least until The Flash: Rebirth.

 

 

 

5The Flash by Mark Waid

Written by Mark Waid
Art by various

The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen (9781563892684)
The Flash: Terminal Velocity (9781563892493)
The Flash: Dead Heat (9781563896231)
The Flash: Race Against Time (9781563897214)

Despite being considered by many to be the definitive Flash writer, surprisingly little of Mark Waid’s run from the 1990s has been collected.  These four volumes are worth a look, though they’re focused upon the third Flash, Wally West.

 


The Flash by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar

Written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar
Art by Paul Ryan, John Nyberg, and Ron Wagner

The Flash by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar (9781401261023) (due out 04/19/16)

At the time of this partnership, Morrison was just barely getting his feet wet on JLA and was still better known for his Vertigo work than for redefining superheroes for the modern age. And Mark Millar was a relative unknown compared to the heights of fame he would later find for his independent work and on various titles set in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate universe. Definitely worth a look to see these two legendary creators working together.

 

  • Matt

    Reviewer

    Librarian | He/Him

    A librarian with over 10 years experience in public and academic settings, Matthew Morrison has been blogging about comic books for nearly as long as they’ve had a word for it.  Over the past two decades, he has written regular columns, commentary, parodies and reviews for such websites and blogs as Fanzing, 411 Mania, Screen Rant and Comics Nexus.  He has served as an Expert in Residence for a seminar on Graphic Novels and Comics for Youth and Adults at the University of North Texas and has given several lectures on the history of comics, manga and cosplay culture at libraries and comic conventions around the country. In addition to his work for No Flying No Tights, he is the Contributing Editor of Kabooooom.com and maintains a personal blog at MyGeekyGeekyWays.com.

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