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The Flash Reading Order (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen)

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The Flash has one of the coolest powers in the DC Universe. He is sometimes known as the Fastest Man Alive or the Scarlet Speedster because of his superhuman speed. When you think of superspeed, you naturally think of The Flash running extremely fast. However, thanks to his connection to the Speed Force — a mysterious cosmic force that pushes time and space itself forward — he can do more than just run. The Flash also has superhuman reflexes and agility, as well as superhuman mental processing speed. Being The Flash is pretty cool, when you’re not running to save the DC Universe from a crisis, that is!

Created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert, the original Flash was college athlete Jay Garrick, who gained his speed-enhancing abilities by inhaling heavy water vapour during a laboratory experiment. He was the first to use the name, but not the last. Others have also gained the power of the “Speed Force” and taken on the mantle since then, including forensic scientist Barry Allen and his nephew Wally West.

The Flash is one of the most celebrated and important heroes in the DC Universe, often playing a major role in world-altering events over the years. It is no surprise, then, that he has also been adapted for various media, appearing in films, video games, animated series, and live-action television shows.

Where to start with the Flash Comics?

The first Flash comic was published in 1940, more than 85 years ago, and several characters have used the mantle since. If you don’t know where or with whom to start, DC Comics has put out a glossy collection of stories that record the evolution of The Flash from the first issue to the Flashpoint event, in their The Flash: A Celebration of 75 Years. It can be a good way to become familiar with the character’s history in a flash!

For a modern, accessible, and affordable entry point, look no further than DC’s new ‘Compact Comics’ line, which recently added the title The Flash: Rebirth. Written by Geoff Johns, this now-classic Flash story officially brought back Barry Allen from the dead into the DC Universe and tells how he must reclaim his legacy and outrun a deadly conspiracy

If you are interested in knowing more about Wally West, you won’t find a better starting point than Born to Run (The Flash v.2 #62-65), and the rest of Mark Waid’s classic run on the character.

Navigating through the Flash Reading Guide

For those ready to experience the full journey issue by issue, our Flash Reading Order below covers very crazy run, world-shattering event, and passing of the mantle, and the best way to read them, thanks to the collected editions.

  1. The Flash Omnibus Collection: The Flash story in Big-sized books 
  2. Introducing Jay Garrick: The Golden Age Flash by Gardner Fox (1940-1951)
  3. The Silver/Bronze Age Flash: Barry Allen is The Fastest Man Alive (1956-1985)
  4. The Post-Crisis Flash: The Wally West Classic Years by Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and more (1987-2006)
  5. From One Year Later to Flashpoint: Bart Allen, Wally West and Barry Allen (2006-2011)
  6. The Flash New 52: Moving Forward with Barry Allen (2011-2016)
  7. Rebirth Flash: More Flashes than ever with Joshua Williamson (2016-2021)
  8. The Flash in the Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC: Wally West Returns (2021-2024)
  9. The Flash All In: Absolute Speed with Wally West (2024-Present) [New]
⚡ PICTURE NEWS

The Flash Omnibus Collection

The Complete Flash Reading Order

Introducing Jay Garrick: The Golden Age Flash by Gardner Fox (1940-1951)

Jay Garrick is the first “Fastest Man Alive”. Created by editor Sheldon Mayer, writer Gardner Fox, and artist Harry Lampert, he first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in 1940. After accidentally inhaling hard water fumes, college student Jay Garrick gained the ability to run at superhuman speed and dedicated his life to fighting crime.

His superhero career soon expanded to include All-Star Comics, the official magazine of the Justice Society of America. He was then selected to receive another title, All-Flash Quarterly (later shortened to All-Flash), for more solo adventures. However, there was a catch: after a few issues, Jay was made an “honorary member” of the JSA to avoid overexposure.

This did not stop him from becoming a regular in yet another title, Comic Cavalcade, which was launched in 1943. He even returned to the JSA’s active roster at the end of All-Star Comics #24 (Spring 1945) until the title was cancelled.

At the moment, DC Comics has not yet started re-printing those stories in the DC Finest Collection. You’ll have to track down all old hardcover volumes from the DC Archives line to read Jay’s solo adventures during the Golden Age. 

If you’re fast enough, you can also catch Jay as a founding member of the JSA in the following All-Star Comics books: 

All-Star Comics was resurrected in 1976 to tell the adventures of the Earth 2 Justice Society of America, featuring Jay Garrick. You can find those stories in Showcase Presents: All-Star Comics.

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

The Silver/Bronze Age Flash: Barry Allen is The Fastest Man Alive (1956-1985)

The Flash comics were discontinued and Jay Garrick retired. Superhero comic books didn’t sell as well in the 1950s as they had in the 1940s. However, things were about to change with the arrival of a bolt of lightning named Barry Allen! Created by writer Robert Kanigher and penciler Carmine Infantino, the new fastest man alive was introduced in Showcase #4 and transformed the whole comic book industry, launching us into the Silver Age era.  

Barry Allen was a forensic chemist who was known for being slow. After being struck by lightning, he discovered that he could run at superhuman speeds and that his reflexes, senses and healing abilities had also been amplified. He named himself the Flash after his childhood comic book hero, Jay Garrick, and became Central City’s resident costumed crime fighter and protector. He also co-founded the Justice League and became close friends with Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

⚡After his first appearances in the Showcase anthology, the ongoing title The Flash was relaunched with Barry Allen, continuing the previous numbering which had stopped at #104 in 1949. The title ran until issue #305.

 
 
 
 

Silver Age: The Flash – Other TPBs Collections.

You can also get those issues in TPBs with The Flash Silver Age Vol. 1 to 4 (collects the same issues as the first two omnibuses) and The Flash Archives Vol. 1 to 6 (collects the Showcase issues and The Flash #105-150.) and the black and white extra-length Showcase editions, Showcase Presents: The Flash Vol. 1 to Vol. 4.

What about issues 200-350? We are in the Bronze Age, and this period is not well-collected at all for The Flash. Still, two major storylines have been released in trade paperbacks: 

Created by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by George Pérez, Crisis on Infinite Earths marked the end of the Pre-Crisis era and the DC Universe as we knew it. It is an important event for The Flash, with Barry Allen saving the universe at great personal cost.

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

more Silver Age/Bronze Age stories

While the Scarlet Speedster shines brightest in his own book, the Flash family can be found in other comic books during those years:

  • Barry Allen: He was a co-founder of the Justice League and had many adventures with his teammates in Justice League of America Vol. 1 (1960–1985). 
  • Jay Garrick: Featured as a member of the Justice Society in All Star Comics (1976–1978) and All-Star Squadron (1981–1987).
  • Wally West (Kid Flash): Co-founded the Teen Titans in The Brave and the Bold #54 (July 1964), and naturally was a big part of the Teen Titans Vol. 1 (1966–1977) and the classic The New Teen Titans Vol. 1 (1980–1984). For more, check out our Teen Titans reading order.

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

The Post-Crisis Flash: The Wally West Classic Years by Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and more (1987-2006)

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, Wally West was first introduced as the original Kid Flash in The Flash #110. More than 25 years later, he took on The Flash mantle for the first time in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 and became the fastest man alive for the following decades. 

The nephew of Iris West, Wally West was also the victim of a freak accident that gave him the same powers as the Flash during a visit to the Central City police laboratory. He became Barry’s sidekick, a founding member of the Teen Titans, and sometimes the lone superhero in his hometown, Blue Valley, Nebraska. After the death of his uncle-by-marriage, Wally took on the role of the Flash, became a fixture on various Justice League teams, and, naturally, was present during the DC events that occurred during his tenure.

Although he was less powerful than Barry, Wally was clearly lucky during Mike Baron’s 14-issue run, when he won the lottery. His superhero exploits and finances were explored further in the following run by William Messner-Loebs, which lasted until issue #61. This particular era has not been completely reprinted yet, but it is available digitally.

The Mark Waid Era. Starting at issue #62, Mark Waid became The Flash’s main writer and created one of the most celebrated runs in Flash’s history. The writer – with editor and co-writer Brian Augustyn – expanded and redefined the character’s powers by introducing the Speed Force, co-created speedster Bart Allen, rebooted obscure speedster Max Mercury to make him a mentor, and developed Wally’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Linda Park.

While Mark Waid’s run is a great starting point for new readers, you can actually read a few other stories before jumping into Wally’s story. During this era, Waid has written a few tales, revisiting and re-imagining tales of the Silver Age for the Post-Crisis era: 

It’s now time for Wally West to run faster than anyone else as your young speedster must follow in the footsteps of his mentor and become a Flash in his own right!

Interlude. As Mark Waid took a break from writing The Flash, Grant Morrison and Mark Millar filled in. It is a largely self-contained story filled with Silver Age callbacks, as one would expect from Silver Age aficionado Morrison. It is generally well-loved (especially Morrison’s part) and quite accessible for new readers.

Wally West by Geoff Johns. Famously known for his Green Lantern saga and JSA’s run, Johns is also the man who brought back Barry to life and made Flashpoint. However, he also wrote a popular run on Wally West.

Infinite Crisis Logo Reading Order

Another major Crisis for the DC Universe with the return of long-lost heroes from the past to make things right in the universe… at any cost. Written by Geoff Johns, Infinite Crisis had an impact on Wally West’s family and Bart Allen. 

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

more Post-Crisis STORIES

  • Wally West: A real team player, Wally was also going on many missions as part of the Justice League Europe/International (1989–1994), the Justice League America (1994–1996), the JLA (1996–2006), and finally The Titans vol.1 #1–20 (1999–2000).
  • Jay Garrick: The JSA made his return to the DC Universe in the short (uncollected) JSA vol. 2, before Zero Hour happened. The team disbanded during this event. After that, Jay could be found in the Flash series. Then, Geoff John’s modern run on the JSA (1999-2006) put the team back on the map! This is a must-read book.
  • Bart Allen: As already stated above, Bart had his own ongoing series at the time, written by Waid himself. He also became a founding member of the Young Justice! 

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

From One Year Later to Flashpoint: Bart Allen, Wally West and Barry Allen (2006-2011)

There’s a new Flash in town! A year has passed since the conclusion of Infinite Crisis (check out 52 to learn what happened during this famous missing year), and Bart Allen took on the Flash mantle for a very short time. 

Yes, we are talking about Bartholomew Henry “Bart” Allen II, better known as Impulse, who later became the second Kid Flash. Created by writer Mark Waid and artist Mike Wieringo in 1994, Bart Allen comes from the future. He was born in the 30th century to Meloni Thawne and Don Allen, and is part of a complex family tree of superheroes and supervillains, from whom he has inherited his super-speed. 

In the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, Bart Allen found himself becoming the fastest man alive in the unpopular comic Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, written by Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo and Marc Guggenheim. As the reactions were mostly negative, Bart’s run as the Fourth Flash didn’t last long.

The All-Flash one-shot served as a finale for the Fastest Man Alive, reinstating Wally West as the main Flash. He was recently brought back to Earth with his family at the end of the Lightning Saga (Justice League of America Vol. 2 #10) and now has to raise two super-powered twins while trying to keep a job and facing the distrust of the League. This short Wally West era (#231-247) was written by Mark Waid (#231–236), Keith Champagne (#237), Tom Peyer (#238-243),  and Alan Burnett (#244-247).

The Road to Flashpoint with The Return of Barry Allen. Darkseid has made his return and has initiated a plan to dominate all sentient life by using the Anti-Life Equation, a metaphysical formula that eradicates free will. This is Final Crisis, Grant Morrison’s 2008 event that is not the last DC Crisis, but one that had an impact on several DC superheroes, including the Flash! This is during this event that Barry Allen made his comeback. 

The creative team of Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver then reintroduces Barry Allen properly into DC’s Modern Age in the now classic The Flash: Rebirth miniseries, which also serves as a great starting point into the world of The Flash: Barry Allen. The series explores and explains what happened to Barry and how he returned as the race towards Flashpoint began.

  • Final Crisis
    Collects DC Universe #0, Final Crisis #1-7, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2, Final Crisis: Submit #1, Batman #682-683.
  • The Flash by Geoff Johns Book Six
    Collects Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1–3, The Flash: Rebirth #1–6, Blackest Night: The Flash #1–3

 
 
 
 

Barry Allen in Blackest Night

Barry Allen is present in the main Blackest Night event. Here’s a simple reading order: 
Blackest Night #0-1 | Green Lantern #44 | Blackest Night #2-6 | Blackest Night: The Flash #1 -3 | Blackest Night #7-8

The world as we knew it came to an end once more! Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Andy Kubert, Flashpoint radically altered the status quo by ending the New Earth continuity and leading to the relaunch of the New 52 and Barry Allen played a major part in this event. When he woke up in an altered DC Universe in which he seemed to be the only one aware of significant differences between the regular timeline and the altered one. And soon enough, Barry could run out of time before his memories of the old universe are erased forever… 

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

The Justice SOCIETY LIVES AGAIN

Only Jay Garrick! Determined to rebuild the Justice Society, founding members Green Lantern, Flash and Wildcat initiate an unprecedented recruitment program, tracking the bloodlines of heroes across the world and bringing in the new Starman, Damage, Liberty Belle, and more! This is the third volume of Justice Society of America (2007-2011), with Geoff Johns still the main writer on the title until issue #26. He was followed by Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges, James Robinson, and Marc Guggenheim.

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

The Flash New 52: Moving Forward with Barry Allen (2011-2016)

In the aftermath of Flashpoint, the DC Universe was rebooted, and a new continuity was launched with the New 52, with Barry Allen as the Fastest Man Alive. And mostly, the only memorable Flash of this era.

The goal was to start from scratch, meaning there were really only Barry running around Central City, with the creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato reintroducing all the Flash elements in this new continuity. Manapul left the title after issue #25 and Buccellato after issue #29. Writers Robert Venditti and Van Jensen took over the title (first with Brett Booth as artist) and will go on until the cancellation — and the end of New 52

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

MORE NEW 52 STORIES

  • Barry Allen was also a regular in Justice League (2011-2016) and made some appearances in the Justice League of America during that period.
  • The classic Jay Garrick was absent from this continuity and the character was completely reimagined as a 21-year-old college graduate on the parallel world Earth-2.
  • Bart Allen was also nowhere to be found during this period. Instead, DC introduced a new character called Bar Torr in Teen Titans, who was based on Bart but was quite different! In the end, this version will be simply erased from the timeline. 
  • Wally West has also disappeared from this timeline! A new interpretation of the character was introduced in The Flash Vol. 4 Annual #3. Inspired by the television series The Flash, this new Wally West was introduced as the biracial son of Rudy West (the brother of Iris West). His family history will be later retconned, and the character was renamed Wallace West to avoid confusion with the original Wally West.
 
 
 
 

The Flash in Convergence

Close to the end of New 52 was the Convergence event, a Multiversal event (sort of similar to Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars) that existed only to give DC time to move offices from NY to Burbank. You’ll find: 

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

Rebirth Flash: More Flash than ever with Joshua Williamson (2016-2021)

As the New 52 was not the huge success that DC Comics had planned for, the publisher started to make some changes towards the end of the era, before simply going for a new serious relaunch called DC Rebirth. It restored the DC Universe to a form similar to that prior to the 2011 Flashpoint event while still incorporating many elements of The New 52. Simply put, it was a combination of the best of both worlds! 

While Barry Allen was still the main Flash and the star of his own book by writer Joshua Williamson, the other Flashes were all reintroduced to the continuity, starting with favorite Wally West, whose return was at the center of this relaunch! It wasn’t the only one to make his comeback after a few years as Bart Allen was brought back later, while Jay Garrick reappeared during the Button, but made his official return only at the end of this era. And that’s not all, as a new Flash named Avery Ho is introduced. 

Watchmen Button

Batman/The Flash: The Button. The road to Doomsday Clock begins here. As Batman and the Flash uncover a mystery that threatens to tear the DC Universe apart, one thing is clear: The end is here.

Heroes In Crisis! Wally West is at the Sanctuary, an ultra-secret hospital for superheroes and reformed supervillains, when tragedy strikes in this poorly executed event written by Tom King and penciled by Clay Mann.

 
 
 
 

The Flash in Future State

Spanning from the events of Death Metal was the possible future of Future State with a Flash story starring Wally West in Future State: The Flash #1-2, collected in Future State: Justice League. You can totally skip it! 

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

MORE REBIRTH STORIES

  • Barry Allen continues to be a member of the Justice League (Vol. 3 and Vol. 4)
  • Wally West is reunited with his friends in Titans vol.3 #1-21 (2016-2018).
  • Wallace West (Kid Flash) became a member of Damian Wayne’s Teen Titans team (Vol. 6).
  • Bart Allen makes his comeback in The Flash #50 and goes on to live his own adventures in the revival of the Young Justice team.

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

The Flash in the Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC: Wally West Returns (2021-2024)

The DC Universe has expanded into an enormous Omniverse, a multiverse of multiverses in the Infinite Frontier era. There are new adventures to live on, although Wally West wants to call it quits. The former Kid Flash is ready to walk away from the superhero life. However, Barry Allen needs his former partner now more than ever. Wally West returns as the main Flash under Jeremy Adams supervision. 

This is Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths! The Justice League is dead. Can a new generation of heroes save the Multiverse? Find the answer in an event less eventful than announced, but with several Flash entangled in it (it’s a crisis after all, and there’s always a Flash present in a crisis!). 

After the Dark Crisis, the pre-Crisis infinite Multiverse was restored and the Justice League was disbanded. This launched us into the Dawn of DC Era with Wally West still our main Flash, but now under the creative team of Simon Spurrier and Mike Deodato.

At that point, Amanda Waller made her coup to eliminate all the metahumans in the Absolute Power event that concludes this era.

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

MORE Dawn of DC STORIES

  • Avery Ho appeared in the Short story “8 Seconds of Still Force” in the tie-in Dark Fate #1, part of the The Lazarus Planet event.
  • Wally West is part of the Titans as they briefly became the DC Universe’s main superhero team (during Tom Taylor’s run on the title).
  • In parallel to his own limited series, Jay Garrick is part of the New Golden Age of the JSA (vol. 4).

The Flash Vol 2 Icon Reading Order

The Flash All In: Absolute Speed With Wally West (2024–Present)

Everybody is All In! Or almost, we would say. In the aftermath of Absolute Power, Barry Allen was left depowered. He has taken a temporary retirement from his role as The Flash and used his newly free time to write New History of the DC Universe. Wally West is operating as the primary Flash and chose to leave the Titans to focus on his activites with the Justice League Unlimited when he’s not running around in his own title, of course, still written by Si Spurrier.

Then, the Earth is transformed into an arena for a tournament in which heroes and villains fight for the Heart of Apokolips and the chance to defeat Darkseid. This is DC K.O., the first major event in DC All In. This is mostly a Superman event, and you don’t really need to read it for The Flash. While Jay Garrick finds himself battling Green Lantern Guy Gardner in the tournament, Impulse is convinced that he can stop the havoc of DC K.O., but this decision simply puts him and Wally in a race through time before everything is wiped out!

  • DC K.O.: The Flash [2026]
    The Flash #26-30. Written by Mark Waid and Christopher Cantwell. 

In the wake of the hard-hitting events of DC K.O., Wally can finally relax and live his best life. Or can he? Something sinister is happening behind the scenes…and Wally is right in the crosshairs as the new creative team of writer Ryan North and artist Gavin Guidry starts their run.

 
 
 
 

Absolute Flash

A new alternate reality has recently emerged in the DC Universe. This is the Absolute Universe,  featuring new versions of DC’s iconic superheroes, including an Absolute Flash by Jeff Lemire, Nick Robles, and Adriano Lucas. This is the story of a young Wally West without his mentor, without his family, without the Speed Force…

 

⚡ Beyond the Main Title ⚡

MORE ALL IN STORIES

  • Wally West has left the Titans to focus on being a member of the Justice League.
  • Jay Garrick and Jesse Quick are back on the JSA, by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui.

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