After "one year later" readers finally get a glimpse of what's happening to the Flashes in the DC Universe with the new title, "Flash: Fastest Man Alive."

The first issue is pretty easy to sum up:

With the speedforce gone, Bart Allen, the speedster once known as Kid Flash, has settled down into montonous work inside a factory when an explosion set off by a shadowy figure seems to reactivate his powers.

But the good thing is that there's a lot more going on here than just the basic plot:

The book is also about three Flashes:  Jay Garrick, the original Flash, Barry Allen, the most well-known Flash, and Bart, the kid that seems destined to take on the role next.

The book is also about Bart's struggle with his newfound adulthood: In the most compelling scenes of the new book, Bart gets lessons from his new roommate, an obnoxious twentysomething named Griffin, about "old people versus young people" and how to pick up chicks. Griffin is all about having fun and finding it as soon as possible. Bart is more reflective and insightful. At the same time, Bart is desperate for guidance, much like he had with Max Mercury and Jay Garrick. The question is whether Griffin should be the one to give it.

The book is about Barry Allen watching over Bart: Barry Allen has been dead for twenty years now, but for a dead guy, he sure appears in comics a lot. In one sequence, we see Barry's perspective as he sorts out his feelings about Bart. Barry's only wish: That Bart not be trapped living in Barry's shadow forever.

Without all that subtext,  this book is only so-so (blame the "blah" art and slightly muddy storytelling) — but when you pile some of that subtext on to the basic plot  — along with a good "origin story recap" — it makes a mediocre comic into something worth checking back on.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive No. 1
DC Comics
"Lightning in a Bottle"
Written by: Danny Bilson & Paul Demeo 
Art by: Ken Lashley 
$2.99 
Three Stars out of Four (It barely made it to three stars though).