Wally West comics

Iitsricky·7/4/2021 in Questions

Hey! I’m just getting into comic books, so I thought I would come here with my questions. My problem is there’s so many comic books, that I just don’t know where to start. I’m a big fan of Wally West’s Flash, could anyone recommend some good comic books for me to read? Thanks in advance!

Wally West Flash Kid Flash

Fatebuoy·7/4/2021

@TFF2! ? 😁

I'm not much of a Flash fan myself, but JLA: New World Order featuring Wally West sticks out

It's reprinted many times, so hopefully acquiring a copy isn't hard

(Edited by Fatebuoy)

N8THGR852·7/4/2021

I’ve read the entirety of Wally’s run as Flash after he filled in Barry’s shoes following Crisis on Infinite Earths. I’m the type who finds silver linings in all comics I read, so I can appreciate every writers’ runs on that series. But, objectively, Mark Waid’s run on the character is the highest rated, and for good reason. The way he starts his run is perfectly suited for new readers to just jump into his run on the character without needing to read prior comics, for the most part.

Thus, if you haven’t yet, I recommend you read Mark Waid’s run on the series. Here’s the link to the first trade. If you read up all of Waid’s run, which has just finished being reprinted into eight trades as of this last week, you can always read the other runs of the Wally-Flash series. Geoff Johns’ runs are probably the second most-praised of the series, so you could dive into those trades as well. Waif excelled at expanding the Flash mythos by creating the Speed Force and introducing a number of speedsters and new villains. Johns, meanwhile, focused more on expanding on the previously established villains, the Rogues, with some new Rogues added to the mix. Based on what sparks your interest the most, go for it. But know that Waid’s run begins with a “Year One” retelling of Wally’s origin story, which is why I think it is suited for new readers.

Amazon.com: The Flash by Mark Waid Book One (9781401267353): Waid, Mark: Bookswww.amazon.com

Iitsricky·7/4/2021

@Fatebuoy Thanks, I’ll check it out!

Iitsricky·7/4/2021

@N8THGR852 Thanks, this was super helpful! I may buy both Mark Waid and Geoff John’s runs, they both seem great.

N8THGR852·7/4/2021

Sure, just understand that Waid’s run comes first in the timeline. So, Waid’s run has Wally and Linda officially start their relationship. Meanwhile, Wally and Linda are already married in Johns’ run. To read how their relationship builds up to their marriage (and Wally’s relationship with Linda is probably the most important element of Wally’s life, honestly), you’ll want to focus on Waid’s run.

TFF2!·7/4/2021

Actually the start of the timeline would really be Mike Baron and William Messner-Loebs, and there is a recently new TP of Flash (Vol 2) that starts with Wally becoming the Flash after COIE called The Flash: Savage Velocity. If you want a starting point I'd recommend there, but DC are lazy and didn't reprint the ones after, so your choices are to buy them for cheap single-issue or skip them.

If you want to read the best ones, I'd recommend going straight to Waid. Baron might be your kind of thing, but Waid is more widely praised. There's another writer between Waid and Johns called Mark Millar who worked with Grant Morrison, so I'd recommend buying their storyline to understand Johns' better. It's only one TP and quite good in my opinion.

If you're more interested in the newer Wally West, I'd start with Titans: The Return of Wally West, as that reintroduces him in Rebirth. I'd then recommend moving on to The Flash (Vol 5) #9, and while that's collected in The Flash: Speed of Darkness it's the only appearance of Wally West in that book. In that comic Wally meets the newer Wallace and becomes a mentor. Then you'll want to move on to the bigger storylines like Flash War, Heroes in Crisis and Flash Forward, and then start reading the current Flash title from #768 onwards (The current Flash title is at #768 because DC changed the numbering and counted all of the comics from each seperate series and then continued on from the 1960's series which hadn't had any new comics for decades).

Just a warning: things can get complicated. There are two Wallys. Wally West was introduced in The Flash (Vol 1) as Kid Flash, and when Barry died and Wally took over in COIE he became The Flash. Wallace West was later introduced in the New 52 as a new Kid Flash and everyone started calling him Wally. Wally West was then reintroduced in Titans as the Flash and so we now have Wally West as the Flash, Wallace West as Kid Flash, and a bunch of other confusing moniker conundrums that I'm not getting into here.

Thanks for @'ing me, Fate.

(Edited by TFF2!)

What do you think?