NEWSARAMA on FLASH: REBIRTH #1: "Johns knows what makes Barry Allen tick"

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FLASH: REBIRTH #1 has been out a little over a day and the reviews are beginning to pour in. David Pepose, over at NEWSARAMA, had this to say in his "Best Shots" review of the issue:

Johns' main strength in Flash is the same he had with Green Lantern: he knows what makes Barry Allen tick. While Hal is a study in recklessness and charismatic defiance, Barry is a little more down to earth. "This man refused to believe the line between good and evil blurred like the scarlet and gold he wore." Methinks this might be a theme, one that may even be as resonant as overcoming fear. Of course, it remains to be seen if Johns can make this more laid-back character into as engrossing a protagonist as Green Lantern: it is true that the scenes where Barry mopes are a little on the slow side... even for a man who is perpetually late.

The art in this is pretty fantastic. Ethan Van Sciver proves that you can't rush quality -- while some of his crowd scenes are a little too busy for my liking, he more than makes up for it with the simplistic beauty of a Flash in high speed. The scene of Barry and Hal walking through the Flash Museum, passing by a larger than life statue of them both that screams "The Brave and the Bold" while subtly showing Wally West's Rogues' Gallery is a stroke of genius on both creators' part. Also -- Van Sciver's cartoony statue of Impulse is a great Easter Egg for fans of the original run.

FLASH: REBIRTH #1 is on sale now. You can find a preview right here.

Tags: 
Ethan Van Sciver, Flash, Flash: Rebirth, Geoff Johns, Newsarama, reviews

THE COLORADO SPRINGS-GAZETTE on FLASH: REBIRTH

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Bill Radford, over at THE COLORADO SPRINGS-GAZETTE talks to writer Geoff Johns about FLASH: REBIRTH and the return of Barry Allen. Here's a sampling:

For five years, Johns wrote the adventures of another scarlet speedster: Barry's nephew, Wally West, who became the Flash after Barry's death. Throughout those years, Johns said, "it was always about Wally filling the boots of his uncle. It wasn't about speed. I can make a Flash book now about speed, and I don't think that's been done in a long time."

The Flash is Johns' favorite character in comics - and that need for speed is why.

"There's something about being able to move that quickly," he said. "Especially today, I think this speaks to the theme of everyone wanting things to move faster, everyone wanting more time for things."

But "The Flash: Rebirth" isn't just about the power of speed. It's also about Barry wrestling with some basic questions after his return from the dead.

"He's very much in the moment of ‘why am I back?'" Johns said. "‘Why now? Why am I needed? Am I needed?'"

FLASH: REBIRTH #1 hits 4/1 from Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver.

Tags: 
colorado springs-gazette, Ethan Van Sciver, Flash, Flash: Rebirth, Geoff Johns

Get a first look at FLASH: REBIRTH #1

In case you couldn't make the trip to New York Comic-Con and see a hard copy of the 2009 convention booklet, we've got a sneak peek at five pages from Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver's FLASH: REBIRTH #1, hitting stores in April.

Barry Allen, back in the land of the living after the events of FINAL CRISIS #2, is a man out of time. Why is he back? How can he fit into a world that's moved on without him? And, more importantly, who brought back the greatest Scarlet Speedster?

Check out these pages. FLASH: REBIRTH #1 goes on sale April 1.

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Tags: 
Ethan Van Sciver, Flash, Flash: Rebirth, Geoff Johns, new york comic-con

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