Out of all the DC Rebirth titles (so far) The Flash is the book that ties in with the Rebirth special the most. In my opinion it takes from the comics past and present as well as the very popular television series. The book begins with Barry Allen investigating a crime scene very similar to his mother’s crime scene from when he was a child. While trying convince his superiors that he wasn’t emotionally compromised to work the case he is struck by visions in which he sees Wally West, Zoom, God Speed and some events with the Justice League. Back at home he talks to his father about all the stuff on his mind, and he is advised to “slow down” and not to worry too much. The Flash goes off and this is the same scene we see in the DC Rebirth Special where the Flash pulls out Wally West from the speed force and learns about the beings that have been watching them. This leads Barry to visit Batman, who is already investigating the pin that he found behind his father’s letter from Flashpoint (the Comedian’s pin). After a lengthy conversation Batman and Barry decide that for now it is best to keep it to themselves as they investigate further. Meanwhile, back in Central City it looks like something big is about to happen that as we learned during the Wondercon press conference is going to change the lives of many people.

   I really enjoyed how this issue ties in with the Rebirth special, something that I haven’t seen from any of the other titles so far. I especially thought that the Batman book was going to address what he found in the Batcave a bit more. My one issue with this book is the artwork. Maybe it’s because of the amazing team that The Flash had during the New 52 run, but I really did not like the artwork in this book. Therough pencils are distracting to the point that it takes away from the story a bit. Other than that it was a decent start for the Scarlet Speedster who once again finds himself in the center of what is going to be one of the biggest story arcs in comic books today. I cannot wait to see how the story with Dr. Manhattan develops within all these books. Could that be DC’s next big event? Or will they let it simmer in the back for some time until they feel the time is right.  But for now let’s enjoy this current Flash storyline where Central City is about to get a lot speedsters.

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Joshua Williamson

Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico

Colorist: Ivan Plascencia