Barry Allen....the Flash...The Fasted Man Alive...?

Don't know him?

Sheesh, deduct 50 geek points.

When one of the greatest DC Superhero's returned from 20 years of death I was standing in a crowded tube carriage on my way home after my weekly pilgramage to 'Forbidden Planet' to stock up on comic goodness.

An equally valid question would be, where were you when Barry Allen died?

I was sitting on the top deck of the X31 bus that ran from Birmingham city centre to Cannock.

I was still at school and I made this journey every day, we had moved from Birmingham to Cannock but I had been allowed to continue to go to the same school.

The time between the end of school and catching the bus was (mis?)spent in the geeky embrace of 'Nostalgia and Comics', browsing or buying .

My comic habit was at all time high, I couldn't get enough of them.

I followed lots of titles - Alpha Flight, Uncanny X-men,Justice League, Justice Society, The Shadow,All Star Squadron,Swamp Thing,Booster Gold, Ambusg Bug, 'Mazing Man,Captain Atom,Blue Beetle....to name a few.

And I would not only read them, but reread them, keep nice and protected in plastic bags..

I had been following a series called 'Crisis On Infinite Earth's' - it was 12 part epic tale that involved every DC character and would realign the continuity form a multitude of parallet earths into one cohesive universe for the hero's to exist in.

It was written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Perez - the team that had done excellent work on the monthly 'Teen Titans' series - and even know I think that George Perez is one of the best comic artist's around.

I will buy a comic on the basis that he is drawing it, in fact I recently did with the new 'Brave and Bold' series. The story isn't up to much, but his pencils are kick ass.

(If you want to check out some really good perez work, go find his run on the early Wonder Woman series...very ,very good).

'Hero's will live and hero's will die' was the tag line of 'Crisis', and they weren't kidding.

In issue seven the whole DC universe mourned the loss of Supergirl as she bravely gave her life fighting the Anti Monitor who was destroying all the multiverse.

And then in issue eight Barry Allen dies, literally running himself to death.

I remember being shocked.

I used to collect the Flash every month, I never quite liked the Carmine Infantino art but I liked the character a lot.

He seemed a bit more vulnerable than the likes of Superman and not as dark as Batman.

When I read those final panels as his body began to lose all physical cohesion I was shocked.

And the cover! The Flash holding the unconcious body of the Psycho Pirate, who had been fucking with his emotions for months, looking up at the Anti Monitor, flames raging behind him and the whole cover soaked in blood red.

Shit, I must have read that issue a gazillion times.

Since his demise, his nephew Wally West had carried the mantle of Flash in his honour.

So when I read issue two of 'Final Crisis' and how comes back at the end, I was shocked again as DC had stated, twenty years ago that the changes to the DC Universe were permanent.

Apparently not.

And I'm kinda glad.

One of my heroes is back and I am intrigued to read how this is going to play out.

I wonder where I'll be when-or indeed if- Barry Allen dies again?