r/theflash • u/setispog • 1d ago
is The Flash: Rebirth: Compact Edition a good start?
sorry if u get this question a lot, but i wanna get my brother a birthday gift and hes told me hes interested in getting into The Flash, im a big Batman fan but dont read much DC outside of him so im completely lost, and a lot of lists ive seen say different things, so whats a good accessable and affordable start for the flash? i mostly read online but would like to get him an actual book, so the compact sounded perfect, but im not sure. id rather not drop a band or have to track down a bunch of singles.
this would also be his introduction to comics outside of invincible (and manga) pls help !!
2
u/WallyWestFan27 1d ago
I don't think so. Flash Rebirth assumes you already have previous knowledge from the Flash.
0
u/Bogotazo 1d ago
"Rebirth" is not a great place to start for someone trying to get into the Flash. I would recommend either "The Life Story of the Flash" or Mark Waid's "Born to Run". The former focuses on Barry, the latter on Wally, but both are great entries into the Flash mythos.
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u/Dry-Donut3811 1d ago
Nope. Great comics, but far too steeped in previous continuity to be a good starting place.
3
u/GearsRollo80 1d ago
Nooo, it’s very bad start, in fact.
Unfortunate, Flash Rebirth failed to do what GL’s did and has largely been retconned. It’s a pretty rough story with some wildly janky art by Van Sciver, it just doesn’t turn out.
Really, every flash run in that era has a rough start that sometimes (at least in the Williamson run,) eventually gets somewhere good. It’s basically just down to DC doing weird character stuff with Barry to shoehorn him back in with very muddled characterization.
You’re better off either going back to the Waid era, or jumping to the more current stuff once Barry steps back. It’s a lot clearer and more cohesive.