STILL PLAYING CATCH UP

It's been almost a week since Flash #1 came out, and I'm still trying to catch my breath. It's been an amazing time filled with flattery, pride, satisfaction, validation... and even a wee bit of vindication. I almost can't believe how overwhelmingly positive the response has been to our book. I say almost, because Francis and I put SO much work into the darn thing that I knew in my heart that it was something to be proud of.

Yeah, we've gotten a handful of so-so and stinker reviews, but for every one of those we got 8-10 super positive ones (which is fitting for this super professional blogger). And it seemed like every one was more flattering than the next. And even more importantly, most of the reviewers REALLY got what we were going for.

They noticed many of the layers we put into the story. Some subtle, some fairly obvious... but they noticed. I think my favorite excerpt was in Newsarama's "Best Shots" review where David Pepose picked up on the subtle difference with our treatment of Barry's mother, Nora.

"Whereas recent depictions of the character have made Barry seem like a sad sack, always talking about his dead mother, Manapul and Buccellato make Barry's mom a bit more of an inspiration, a bit more of a foundation for metaphor than an emotional anchor around all of our necks."

Now I personally enjoyed the previous run of FLASH, and the character arc that Geoff Johns painstakingly laid out for Barry. This foundation is what Francis and I were able to build OUR story upon AND have it not be weighed down by unresolved backstory. When Nora tells Barry to "keep moving forward, even if the path isn't lit", she is really telling ALL of us to forge ahead (albeit, for our own reasons). And by all, I mean Barry, Flash fans, and even Francis & myself. I don't claim that this is the most clever piece of writing on earth -- it is fairly literal -- but I am nonetheless REALLY proud of the end narration that Francis and I wrote.

Anyway, I have to get back to working on Flash #6... but I just wanted to take a few moments to share my thoughts and THANK THE WORLD (or at least our small corner of it) for embracing our take on Barry Allen. It feels pretty effin great.

And for anyone that hasn't weighed in with their opinion on Flash #1, the invitation to leave your comments is still open.