Reviews: All Flash #1

Wally West and family are back! And so is Mark Waid, who has written his first story for the scarlet speedster since bringing an end to his legendary run on the series seven years ago. All Flash #1, a single-issue special, presents a narrative designed to link the end of the previous Flash series with a continuation of Wally West's series. There's plenty of nasty unfinished business for characters and readers alike after the events of The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, in which Bart Allen was brutally killed by the Rogues. Here, Waid forces Wally to avenge his protege's death and prepares to move on. The celebrated writer is accompanied by a bevy of artists including Karl Kerschl, Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund, Manuel Garcia, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, and Daniel Acuna. But is All Flash #1 the all-out event it's been billed as? Here's what folks are saying about the one-shot...

• iF Magazine's Tony Whitt notes that the timing of this planned event works to negate some of its intended impact. "I think I’d be a bit more thrilled about Wally’s return and all that if I’d had more time to miss him, just as I’d have been far more wrecked about Bart Allen’s death if I’d had more time to get to like him as much as the editors at DC appear to want me to have done." The issue is awarded a B- grade.
• Adam Chapman of ComiXtreme grants the issue three and a half exclamation points out of five, noting that there's intrigue in the fact that our hero finds himself in a unique position. "The big point of this issue is to put Wally West back inside the Flash costume and establish his new status quo. Wally is now unique in that both his predecessor and his successor have died, and he's once again taking up the legacy of the Flash."
• Rokk Krinn, writing at Comic Book Revolution, commends Waid's ability to capture the emotions of the characters. His comments also acknowledge the way in which Waid has brought further dimension to what has come before. "All Flash #1 is a rather emotional read. Waid does a fine job tapping into the pain and anger inside of Wally’s heart due to the brutal murder of Bart. Waid pays further tribute to Bart by really building up the heroic nature of Bart and how he had truly evolved and grown into an impressive man."
• Johannah Draper Carlson, one of the Savage Critics, wasn't impressed with the issue, despite Mark Waid's celebrated return. "I'm apparently part of the target audience--I remember Waid's first run fondly, I understand the appeal of the nostalgic hints--but there's nothing in this issue to bring me back for more." Then again, Carlson can appreciate the book's simple reason for being. "On the positive side, this doesn't seem necessary for those interested in trying the new Flash series. It gets the hero from where he was to where the writer wants him to be going forward. If you don't care how he got there, skip it and try the first issue of the relaunch."
• Brian Cronin of Comics Should Be Good writes that All Flash #1 "is just about as triumphant as one would expect from a comic that is designed to bridge the gap between the end of the previous Flash series and the re-starting of the Wally West Flash series--which is not much." He ends the review by filing the issue under "Not Recommended."