Superman maybe faster than a speeding bullet, but he is not faster than The Flash. The Scarlet Speedster returns in Flash #1 as part of DC’s “New 52.”

“The Flash #1” is written by Francis Manapul who also does the art along with Brian Buccelato. Manapul has done the art for The Flash series previous to the “New 52” reboot with Geoff Johns. When the series was announced there was some confusion over who was going to be The Flash in the comic. Prior to the reboot, The Flash has been portrayed by three artists.

Jay Garrick, the first Flash, was created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lambert and appeared in “Flash Comics #1,” which was released in January 1940. In 1956, Robert Kanigher, John Broome and Carmine Infantino created another Flash, Barry Allen, and was first shown in Showcase #4. When Allen was killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths, his sidekick, Wally West, took the role of The Flash. However, in the 2008 event, Final Crisis, Allen found a way back to life.

Allen among comic book readers is the most popular depiction of The Flash and was called by Johns as “the greatest hero.” What makes Allen such a great character is he is genuine. Even though he moves at lightning-like speed, he takes his time in his work and spends each time getting to know everyone that he meets. However he takes what he does very seriously.

This is evident in the issue when he stops a group of men from stealing a Genome Re-Coder during a technological exhibition. One individual The Flash killed by threwing him into a window turns out to be an old friend of Allen’s.

Another thing that fans will notice in this issue is that Allen and his wife, Iris, are not married anymore. Allen is dating someone else and Iris is a reporter who wants to use him to get the story about the man who was “killed” by The Flash. This is a little like what DC is doing in the new Superman books where they do not have Lois and Clark back together. This may discourage some fans.

What really works in this issue is the fact that the reader does not need to be a fan or even know the history of The Flash in order to like this. It is a good launchpad for new readers to climb aboard. The art is good, especially when Allen turns into The Flash. I would recommend this issue for anyone who likes The Flash and does not know where to start because this does exactly what the “New 52” is supposed to do: bring in new readers.