Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Heroes never stay dead, at least not in the world of fiction and certainly not in the world of the graphic novel. Merchandise, fan pressure, the thought of a new riveting story in which to place a much loved character in, all can play their part in bringing back to existence a hero who gave up life willingly in the fight against evil. Even a true villain never stays dead for long. So that should be the case with Barry Allen, arguably the finest incarnation of D.C.’s speedy hero that ran against the wind.
The Flash: Rebirth takes the idea of the death of a hero and…well runs with it. Head writer Geoff Johns though changes the convention slightly with having the hero wrestle with the idea of not wanting to be back in a land he has left behind, the anarchy of having The Flash suddenly placed within a realm in which other people have taken up the mantle or having the same destructive power placed within them. Death shall have no dominion as Dylan Thomas once wrote but in the world of the graphic novel, Death it seems can have a huge overbearing set of repercussions in which to deal with.
As with his work on other D.C. titles, Geoff Johns really gets beneath what makes his characters tick. Like Todd McFarlane during his tenure as one of the most keenly appreciated artists working for Marvel, Geoff Johns is a man who can bring life, the spark of mad brilliance to the previously unsatisfactory or even the sub-standard. Whether on the much maligned Aqua Man, who Geoff Johns practically turned into one of the finest creations in the D.C. roster, or indeed on The Flash, the quality of the writing shines through.
What could be a hard sell for the six shot episode is that for the uninitiated there is a distinct lack of acceptable back story that takes place. The disappearance of Barry Allen is well handled but for the casual observer of the comic the sudden appearance of many different Flash’s roaming the world. Of course this in a way is designed to make the reader go back to the comic and piece together the past, however it can be off putting.
The Flash: Rebirth is a lush affair in the same vein as the likes of the very best that D.C. has too offer and the artistry of Ethan Van Scriver is exquisite, especially when portraying the death knell that comes with the coming of the Reverse Flash or the skeletal destruction that comes with The Black Flash. It is the combination of the two men that makes The Flash: Rebirth such a great read.
The Flash: Rebirth is available to purchase from Worlds Apart, Liverpool.
Ian D. Hall