The Flash: 5 comic book stories to read while waiting for season 7
By Scott Brown
The Flash by Geoff Johns
In a bit of a departure from the previous entry, we now come to The Flash by Geoff Johns. This run is relatively extensive and carries over to several different series, but what this entry will focus on is his time with Wally West, which ran in The Flash Vol. 2, No. 164-225, as well as The Flash: Iron Heights and The Flash: Our Worlds at War one-shots.
This may be coming from the fact that Johns is a personal favorite writer, but this run of The Flash is one of the best runs on the character of all-time. Originally starting with relatively self-contained stories, it quickly transforms into a sprawling epic with lasting consequences to the mythos in the best way possible. It makes villains such as Captain Cold and Reverse-Flash or, in this case, Zoom, sympathetic characters with believable motivations beyond “being evil.” Johns treats each character as a person, whether it be Wally West or Leonard Snart, which is what makes every issue a joy to read.
In a broader sense, much of this series has also served as a general basis for The Flash show. Much of Barry’s personality in that show is carried over from Wally here, as well as taking inspiration from several storylines present in this run.