COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Here we are, once again, going into the historical comic rack, to find yet another treasure to discuss, and we've been going through the various books of the Monarch of Motion:  The Flash.  As we celebrate 80 years of The Fastest Man Alive, we've covered the original - Jay Garrick - to perhaps the most NOTABLE man to be called Flash:  Barry Allen.  Last week, we discussed the beginning of Wally West's run as the Scarlet Speedster, and THIS week...we introduce ONE more major character to the Flash Mythos:  Bart Allen.  

FLASH #92

COVER ART: Mike Wieringo

WRITER: Mark Waid

ARTIST: Mike Wieringo

INKS: Jose Marzan, Jr.

LETTERS: Gasper Saladino

COLORS: Gina Going

EDITOR: Ruben Diaz, Bryan Augustyn

COVER DATE: July 1994

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINE: There's a new KID in town....and he'll RUN YOU DOWN!

STORY TITLE: "Reckless Youth, Chapter One:  Speed Kills"

Flash #92 introduces us to the newest member of the Flash Family in Bart Allen.  Bart comes from the future, and is the grandson of Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen.  Bart grew up in VR, and has no real concept of the real world, and has incredible super speed powers, but he can't control them.  Iris brings him to Wally in the hopes that Wally can train him to control his powers before he possibly dies from them.  Wally isn't really ready to be a mentor, since not long ago, he managed to put the ghost of Barry Allen in the rearview mirror, got his speed back, and had really established himself as The Flash.  And because Bart is so quick to everything...because it's new to him, and he's just getting a taste of actual reality, he's extremely impulsive, which drives Wally nuts.  Thus, Bart ends up taking the name "Impulse".  Impulse would earn his stripes a bit...while tripping a long the way...to being a big part of this "Team Flash" they have with Jessie Quick, Max Mercury, and Jay Garrick.  Bart would eventually get his own series, where he was trained by Max Mercury in the use of his speed, and eventually wound up living with The Garricks in Colorado.  His story eventually takes place in the pages of his book, Impulse.

THE STORY: Linda Park is working on a story about a cult, and Wally inquires about it, until he sees something blur past him.  Racing home, he finds his Aunt Iris from the future, telling him about her grandson, Bart, who has superspeed, but is lost in the time stream, and his speed powers are out of control and aging him.  Wally goes in search of Bart around the world, and when he does find him, Bart attacks.  Meanwhile, the criminal organization KOBRA, is keeping tabs on Linda.

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This issue was really good, as Waid had definitely been in a serious groove writing for Wally.  Waid's love for the Flash was felt on every page he wrote, and introducing Bart to the mythos set up for the future, and it also kickstarted a major storyline of what would be called "Terminal Velocity", as the Flash would end up battling KOBRA and trying to save Linda's life before he ends up "seeing" his future where he's absorbed into the Speed Force.  Bart is raw here, and out of control, and we know immediately he's going to be a handful for Wally...and he was.  But Bart became a great addition to the Flash Family, and has been served pretty well over the years.  He's become a major player in books like Young Justice, Teen Titans, and a book we'll discuss next week.  

NEXT WEEK:  A new man fills the golden running boots of The Flash