Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

I'm trying to get more immersed with the DC universe. I haven't read a lot of them, except for Superman: Earth One, Hush, and the Watchmen. I've recently discovered The Flash tv show and I'm really enjoying it. All the science stuff and time travel really hooked me. So now I'm trying to find all the relevant comic books for The Flash. I want to know everything about this guy. I get that Barry Allen isn't the only Flash, but I want to know everything I can about this characters.

I have started reading The Flash: Rebirth and I felt that it was a bad place to have started reading about him. The story seem to be okay, but I think it would be better if I at least knew more about his backstory. I would read Crisis on Infinite Earths, but probably not know.

Do you guys know any other Flash stories that I can start with? Thanks in advance.

I enjoyed the Flash back in the 1970s, but those probably feel passe these days. I *can* say you should stay away from the new guy doing the book. He's terrible.

Trike wrote: "I enjoyed the Flash back in the 1970s, but those probably feel passe these days. I *can* say you should stay away from the new guy doing the book. He's terrible."

Are you talking about Geoff Johns? I'm so new to it, I barely have any idea who's doing what. Haha.

Which ones from the older ones do you think I should go for? It doesn't matter to me if its really old, I actually really enjoyed the original run of the Uncanny Xmen. The illustrations were outdated, the dialogue a bit cheesy, but I still loved them.

Francis Manapul. He's a really good artist but a dreadful writer.

I never really cared for the Flash because he was always so overpowered, but after reading recent Flash books, I have a better appreciation for the Silver Age stuff. They were silly but not stupid. I don't know what the collections are called, but the stuff from the 1970s should be fairly easy to find, as there was only one Flash book back then.

He's the Flash after Barry Allen disappeared right or something? I know there were quite a number of Flashes aside from Barry. There's also Jay Garrick (not sure if I got the name right), and he's the first of them. Right?

I'll look for it too! Thanks! Oh and do you have the specific name of the John's run with Wally? :) I'll probably get them in TPBs or single issues if they're available so I can stop reading it, if I don't end up liking it. Thanks again!

Thank you! This is great! I just added it to my already long list of TBRs. :)

The Flash Vol 1 Move Forward (first book in the New 52) might be a good and easy place to start for new Barry Allen. Even Flashpoint might be fun to read; even though it gets a little convoluted, it's still pretty exciting.

I thought Flash Vol. 1 Move Forward was pretty good, and I agree that it would be a good place to start reading about the Flash without too much knowledge of the character's history. However, I didn't like the next volume in the series very much.

I read a lot of Geoff Johns run on the Flash back in the early to mid 00's. I enjoyed it quite a bit at the time and felt it held up pretty well when I read it again a decade later. It is Wally West though as mentioned above.

Johns and Manapul had a run that followed Flash Rebirth that I thought was pretty new reader friendly. The Mark Waid run featured Wally West but but everything I've read from that is great.
An outside-the-box suggestion would be Darwyn Cooke's DC: the New Frontier. It obviously features more than just the Flash but I really liked Cooke's depiction of Barry in that story, and if you're wanting to read more DC, I can't recommend that book highly enough.

@norman and @andrew: I'd definitely give Move Forward a go! I'll have to scout for a copy and see if BD has it. Our bookstores here sucks so bad, I often just get the electronic version of stuff. I have the Flashpoint ones, but I haven't touched it yet because my friend, who i don't talk to anymore, said it's sort of the reboot or something. He didn't really clarify about it too much though.

@kyle: i have to check that then. i'm trying to finish the Flash Rebith since I already started it and it would be a waste to start with another one again. Oh great! I'm actually not just looking at the Flash, but the entire DC universe. I usually just read Marvel books - because I just can't get enough of X-men. I'm looking at it now!

Thanks for the Rec guys! :)

I've read a lot of DC comics over the years and if you are looking recommendations outside of the Flash, I'd suggest trying to get your hands on a copy of Across the Universe: The DC Comics of Alan Moore. I think they might have renamed it and added more material, so it might be published under another name now. Anyway, it has a lot of great short stories from the 80's which cover a lot of the major DC characters as well as some of the second tier and lesser known heroes and villains. It doesn't require a lot of foreknowledge of the characters, and it includes a lot of good storytelling by Alan Moore. Overall I think it works well as a brief introduction to the DC universe.

Andrew wrote: "I've read a lot of DC comics over the years and if you are looking recommendations outside of the Flash, I'd suggest trying to get your hands on a copy of Across the Universe: The DC Comics of Alan..."

Alan Moore seem to be a really popular DC writer. I've only read Watchmen which I sort of have a love and hate relationship with it. I did love the movie though. I think I saw that one somewhere when I added the New Frontier. It came up as a recommended book on here.