The Flash Vol 1 – Blood Will Run

What Happens to Those Whose Lives are Saved by a Superhero?

Jan 10, 2010
Lydia Ballard

The Flash Vol 1: Blood Will Run Cover - DC Comics

Wally West, alias the Flash, has his hands full when a crazed cult starts hunting down and killing all the people he's ever saved.

The Flash Vol. 1: Blood Will Run
239 Pages (Collects The Flash #170-176, plus The Flash: Iron Heights)
Published by DC Comics
Originally Published 2008 (Original Issues 2001)
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Scott Kolins and Ethan Van Sciver
Inkers: Doug Hazlewood, Prentis Rollins and Jose Marzan Jr.
Colorists: James Sinclair, Chris Chuckry and Tom McCraw
Letterers: John Costanza, Gaspar Saladino and Kurt Hathaway

In comparison to flagship characters such as Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman, the Flash is relatively obscure outside of comic book fan circles. Indeed, the Flash is far from being part of the general pop-culture consciousness and the closest he's ever gotten to mainstream attention is a short-lived television series from the early nineties (featuring Mark Hamill as his arch nemesis, The Trickster) and appearances in animation, such as Justice League and Justice League Unlimited (where he was voced by Smallville alum Michael Rosenbaum).

Still, the Flash is a fascinating character, with a wonderful rogues gallery and a rich history that spans close to three quarters of a century's worth of comic books. The trouble with a character so deeply entrenched in DC Comics lore, though, is that he's hardly easily accessible to new readers.

In Flash Vol. 1: Blood Will Run, writer Geoff Johns seeks to change that by giving new readers an 'easy in'

Johns, one of DC Comics foremost superhero scribes, tackles the Scarlet Speedster in this action packed tale, which collects The Flash #170-176 and serves as a great point for new readers to jump in and learn everything they ever needed to know about the Flash.

What's the Scoop?

While the graphic novel's title suggests that all the issues collected within its pages are one story, it's fairer to say that it's a story and a half. The first four chapters collect the titular tale Blood Will Run, while the last four are a story arc that, while not actually a part of the first tale, grow out of it none-the-less.

When a series of gruesome murders spreads like wildfire across Keystone City, the Flash discovers that they're linked: through him. The victims are all people Wally West has saved during his career as the fastest man alive and someone is systematically wiping them out. Among the victims, a former love interest of Wally's--Officer Julie Jackam--whose infant son Josh may actually be his offspring.

At fault for the murders is the sinister villain Cicada (an invention of Johns'), the leader of a Flash worshipping cult. It's up to the Flash to set things right and see that justice is served.

The second half of the volume is dedicated to the question "Is Josh Jackam the son of the Flash?", as well as a one-shot The Flash: Iron Heights, which introduces new villains as well as old.

Technical Specs

A problem that tends to spring from graphic novels that seek to make a character easily accessible to new readers is an overabundance of exposition. Introducing 'newb' readers to a character they are unfamiliar with can bring out the worst in even some of the best comic book writers, because they seem to feel that they need to tell the whole back story in one huge chunk.

This is a problem that, surprisingly, doesn't plague Geoff Johns' writing in the least. Rather than cramming pages and pages of history down your throat, he elects to tell a story and, through the telling, let you get better acquainted with the characters at a manageable pace. Your head won't spin with seventy years worth of continuity bombarding your brain from all sides; instead, it's like a friendly meet-and-greet. You get to shake hands with Wally West and the world he lives in, without feeling pressure to know everything all at once.

Johns also has a superb handle on the interpersonal relationships in the Flash's universe. From the interactions with his wife Linda Park-West--truly some of the most realistic and believable in comics--to his relationship with the police force in Keystone City, everything Johns does here serves to deepen and expand the environment our hero lives in, making it more real for the reader.

The art of Blood Will Run, though done at the hands of two different artists, is consistently engaging, bringing Keystone to life and enhancing Johns' dialogue and character-crafting skills, making the characters jump off the page with vitality.

Final Verdict

Though far from perfect, Blood Will Run is a (fittingly) fast paced, solid story that holds a reader's interest, even if they've never heard of the Flash before. If you've ever been curious about the fastest man alive as a character--maybe even if you haven't--this volume is a great place to start.

Lydia Ballard - A writer who got her start in the perilous world of fan fiction, Lydia Ballard is an aspiring comic book writer and self proclaimed lover ...