The FLASH; Back in the UK

Another day, another new British comic, although admittedly this one is full of American reprint. Nevertheless, it's 'new' for those of us who haven't read those stories. Today, Titan Comics have launched The Flash in his own ongoing comic, to be published every 4 weeks. 

Presumably, The Flash Special that Titan published in the summer has proven to have legs, so let's hope this regular comic will run and run.

It's full title is actually DC Super Heroes: The Flash, presumably so that Titan can change the star feature if The Flash's popularity slows down. Not much chance of that at present however, with the first season of The Flash TV series released on DVD and Blu-Ray last week and the second season just starting on TV. (This last week I've watched all 23 episodes of season one and thought it was excellent. A superhero TV series that embraces its comics heritage whilst still appealing to the mainstream viewer.) 

The UK Flash comic has 76 pages, containing stories from the US Flash Nos.6 and 7 and Harley Quinn No.0, all from recent years. Yes, Harley Quinn is the back up strip. I'm afraid all I knew about the character is that she was the annoying one in Bruce Timm's excellent Batman The Animated Series and that she's an insanely popular choice of twenty-something cosplayers. The latter makes her an ideal character to feature as a co-star in this comic. There's also a Harley Quinn pull-out pin-up for every teenager's bedroom wall. 

It's interesting to see Titan expanding their DC Comics line to compete with Panini's Marvel comics, although the shelves are getting pretty crowded in WH Smith now. In two weeks there'll be another addition, as Titan make another attempt at an Arrow comic. (The previous one, a couple of years ago, only lasted a few issues, perhaps because its A4 size had Smiths place it with the junior and nursery comics!) Presumably the new Arrow No.1 will be the same size as Titan and Panini's other superhero titles so it can properly reach its target audience. Find out on October 29th.

The Flash No.1 is out now, priced £3.50.