Over the past decade, The Flash as a character has had a rough go of it. Seemingly the only positives that have come out of the scarlet speedster’s history have been Flashpoint written by Geoff Johns in 2011, and the Flash television series that ran for 9 years on the CW. Im happy to say that this Absolute Flash series, is one more positive bit of entertainment from DC. Written by Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), and illustrated by Nick Robles and A.L. Kaplan, Absolute Flash tells a fun, if not relatively familiar tale, opting to put Wally West in as this Flash rather than Barry Allen. Like Absolute Green Lantern, the previous mantle holders are in the series and play important roles, just not as the leads. The decision to put Wally West in the suit is one I believe fans will be on board with, not only given his fictional history, but the fact that in most comic series and every version of the character on screen has been Barry Allen, so to see another speedster is refreshing.

This series definitely has some of the brightest, flashiest art in this Absolute universe, giving the Flash a unique look that feels accurate to the character. One of the biggest changes to this version of the character is the decision to make Grodd an ally as opposed to one of Flash’s greatest Rogues. I love this change, and feel it gives this series a sort of buddy cop feel to it, that actually seems pretty consistent throughout all the Absolute series. We also in this series get introduced to some of the Flash’s famous Rogues such as Captains Cold and Boomerang, and the Trickster. Unfortunately at least in this volume, these characters seem more or less the same from the original DC Comics universe, but theres a promise of them becoming more interesting counters to the character in the future. I for one would like to see these characters go in a slightly different direction, given their mostly stagnant history.

Absolute Flash has some very fun writing as well as amazing art, that puts us in the mind and shoes of a speedster, articulating how fast Wally can move and even think. These page layouts make for some epic and heartbreaking story beats that keep this series feeling very fast paced, even for The Flash. Whereas this series was not my favorite in this Absolute run of stories, I did enjoy it and appreciate how accessible Lemire was able to make the character, while also reinventing him for a new universe. I look forward to more with this Flash and hope to see the character go into more uncharted territory in this world that just seems to keep growing.

8/10.