I grew up pretty much a Marvel kid. I dabbled in DC, but like most casual DC fans, my choices usually boiled down to either Batman or Superman. Other DC heroes were touched upon from time to time, but they were more passing fancies than anything I really grabbed onto. It wasn’t until my late teens where I found a book that made me legitimately interested about the greater DCU. I had read a few stories with this character and really enjoyed them, but never had I connected with a DC writer or character on this sort of level before. The writer was Geoff Johns and the character was Wally West, the Flash. Through Wally I got to know the Titans (both teen and otherwise) and the extended DCU.
So you can imagine my jubilation (along with many other Flash fans) when I heard that finally Wally West is coming back to the DCU! Wally has been MIA since the whole “New 52” fiasco… erm, I mean event of 2011, but will return on the tail end of April of this year in The Flash Annual No. 3. This return is being handled by the new creative team of Robert Venditti and Van Jensen with artist Brett Booth who take over the book that same month. That’s right folks, within the first month of taking over the book, the new guys will bring Wally back! Talk about your ballsy starts!
Now before we bust out the cervezas and have a fiesta let’s get a few things straight. For one thing, just because Wally is coming back doesn’t mean he’ll be the Flash again. In fact it seems Barry Allen isn’t going anywhere, so whatever role Mr. West will have to play in the scheme of things remains unknown. Secondly, although Wally is returning, the fate of his wife Linda as well as their children (if they even still exist post “52”) remains unknown. Lastly, Wally’s return doesn’t mean the book will be good again either. Despite the brilliance in terms of the art from the soon to be departing team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato, the duo as a writing pair left so very much to be desired. The departing team’s next gig will be to go make Detective Comics extremely pretty yet boring and pointless to read.
In terms of the Flash, at least, this new team brings hope, not just for Wally West, but the entire Flash franchise as a whole. I really want the book to be great again, and whatever role Wally plays in Flash or possibly in his own title, I want to be there to enjoy one of my favorite characters once more.
So are you guys excited to be getting Wally back? Who is your favorite Flash and why? Let your feeling be known in the comments below!
Via USA Today