Despite not being out until April, DC are obviously wanting to capitalise on the recent release of Rebirth #6, and have posted a preview of the first issue of the ongoing monthly up on the DCU blog.

Despite feeling a little unsure about the Flash in the DCU at the moment, with both Rebirth and Blackest Night: Flash not quite ticking the boxes for me, this preview’s really got me excited again.  While I’ll miss the Wally backup, I’m loving the opening to this story.  The cover really grabs you with a great action pose, and the opening scene likewise is exciting.  I love how Barry texts Iris back almost instantly and Manapul’s art looks great.  It probably wouldn’t have suited a story like Blackest Night: Flash, but here it really makes everything look bright and fun, which I think the franchise needs a little of after the last year or so.

The fact that its the Trickster Barry’s chasing in the opening is a great touch.  Axel is the newest of the Rogues, and previously Barry’s only fought the original Trickster, so straight away Johns is setting us up for Barry’s reaction to how the Rogues have developed since he died.  Something I’m really looking forward to, especially given Captain Cold’s concern over Barry’s return, and how that’s going to dramatically change things for the Rogues.

Despite the rocky start, and the fact that Wally’s home in the DCU is still a bit uncertain (at least with Kyle we knew about GLC: Recharge and then Rann/Thanagar War) I’ve still got a lot of hope for the Flash franchise, and these opening pages add to that.  The idea of Barry being back may be controversial, but playing him as a by-the-book forensic cop has legs (especially compared to Hal’s rule-breaking space-cop over in GL), and the idea of CSI: DCU (for want of a better term) could be really interesting if Geoff properly explores it (I’m thinking here about how much of Hal’s civilian life and job have been shelved in favour of cosmic adventures over the last few years, and I hope we don’t see something similar with the Flash.  We know that The Flash is great, but its Barry Allen who needs to be presented as the interesting character here).

Between this preview and the teases in Rebirth #6 I think there’s a lot to be excited about for the Flash over the next few years.   I just really hope that this series finally pulls off what so many relaunches have failed to do since Infinite Crisis and reinvigorates the franchise.