Written by Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo
Art by Ken Lashley; KWL Studio; Norm Rapmund; Marlo Alquiza; Jay Leisten; Pat Brosseau; & Carrie Strachan
Cover Art by Andy Kubert & Joe Kubert
SUMMARY:
Published by DC Comics for August 2006, this standard-length opener is entitled “Lightning in a Bottle, Part One: Flashback.” After his relatively successful Impulse solo series, as well as stints in Young Justice and Teen Titans, Bart Allen is the next Flash up (fourth-generation and counting) in this short-lived franchise reboot. In the wake of Wally West’s disappearance during Infinite Crisis, the elderly Jay Garrick is back as a full-time Flash.
Having mysteriously aged from a sixteen-year old to a twenty-year old, a seemingly powerless Bart Allen (Silver Age Flash Barry Allen’s grandson) is laying low in Keystone City adjusting to his instant adulthood. Yet, an intrusive S.T.A.R. Labs technician named Valerie Perez and some explosive sabotage at Bart’s new workplace forces him to cope with his unstable link to the Speed Force.
Note: This same writing team helped create 1990’s Flash live-action TV series starring John Wesley Shipp.
REVIEW:
Including its high-octane cover image, this issue’s visuals are dynamite. As to the new storyline, Bart Allen’s post-Impulse/Kid Flash makeover seems reminiscent to how Conner Kent’s Superboy mellowed from his original brash malcontent persona. If DC Comics meant to give Bart Allen a serious tryout as a DC front-liner, at least this experiment starts off well with a far more subdued Bart.
It’s hard not to notice how this version of Bart is humbly following in his legendary grandfather’s tracks, as well as his cousin Wally West’s. However, due to the repeated sexual innuendoes that Bart’s new college-age roommate eggs him on about, this issue’s audience should best preclude pre-teens.
Just an observation: if one goes by the cover, the Flash looks like Wally West rather than Bart. It’s a suspicion only, but it seems that DC is pulling a bait-and-switch re: which Flash this series actually belongs to.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Dan DiDio’s “DC Nation” column includes thumbnail cover reveals for Detective Comics # 820; 52 # 5; (a post-Infinite Crisis) Wonder Woman #1; and The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive # 2.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
