Having wowed audiences with its debut year, The CW’s Flash finds itself the focus of this DC Comics trade paperback, collecting the twelve-issue digital run that began earlier in the year. Picking things up with Barry Allen at various points that coincide with the show’s first season, we get to take a look at the Scarlet Speedster getting accustomed to his powers as he tackles some familiar DC rogues whilst delving deeper into the mystery of who killed his mother.
First off, this comic book tale will instantly grab the attention for its lighter tone and approach to The Flash and his supporting characters. Sure, the TV show that it’s based on is quite often vibrant and elaborate, but the funny book format allows for things to become more outlandish in the sense of what villains are incorporated and just how said villains look. By that, we mean that the characters on show here look as if, yes, they’ve been pulled straight from a comic book, which deviates the story just enough from The CW’s show that it gives the book a sense of its own identity whilst also keeping the fun of the Grant Gustin-starring series.
As Barry is finding his feet as a hero, we get to see him tangle with the newly-created Mr. Bliss and his tormented, twisted circus, not to mention DC mainstays such as King Shark and the Suicide Squad, plus there’s the teaming up with certain old friends. With the fluid, casual art style incorporated, the story flows perfectly and brings a different side to the character and world that we’ve enjoyed so much on our television screens.
Sure, there may not be anything of great consequence in this outing, but it’s just like its televisual accompaniment: enjoyable. The colours, elaborate costumes and cheesy dialogue all work as both a great standalone read and as an enjoyable side dish to The CW’s Flash show. If there’s any slight gripe, it’s the mish-mash of a timeline that seems to set the book at jumbled, varying times throughout the show’s first season. But still, this is only a minor issue in an otherwise vastly fun read.
THE FLASH SEASON ZERO / WRITER: BROOKE EIKMEIER, KATHERINE WALCZAK / ARTIST: PHIL HESTER, ERIC GAPSTUR / PUBLISHER: DC COMICS / RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 1ST
