The Flash #48 (DC Comics)

Runners Up: Mister Miracle #9 (DC Comics), Hawkman #1 (DC Comics)

Flash War continues in the latest issue of The Flash, brought to you by Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter. At this point, I think it’s proper to refer to Howard Porter as a DC Comics’ legend. Porter has, at one time or another, drawn all of the big guns in the DCU, perhaps none more notably than The Flash. Oh, and when I say The Flash, I mean Wally West. This subtle, but I can’t imagine unintentional, connection really enhances Williamson’s reflective narrative. There is a big moment in this issue, one that creates a unique tension between the two most beloved possessors the mantle of The Flash.

I won’t get into it, but I will say this:

Problems ignored since Flashpoint are becoming the center of this title, while it continues to build on all of Williamson’s run. If you are a longtime Flash fan, or a fan who lost touch with the DCU during The New 52, this is your book. It doesn’t just answer questions about the timeline, it confronts the changes of The New 52 with the emotional blow they took not only on the characters, but the fans. Flash War is developing a meta-narrative that asks the question “Who SHOULD be The Flash?”

Tom King makes his weekly appearance on the list, along with Mitch Gerads, with the latest issue of Mister Miracle. This Maxi-Series (woah, does anyone ever say that anymore) has maintained a tone unique in the industry, presenting a grueling tale of the psychological impact of war. As the war has developed, some of the more familiars roles for The New Gods have shifted around. Mister Miracle can be confusing at times, but only as much as reality. This book also features Kalibak in a diplomatic capacity, which I feel like all of comics have been building to since the inception of The Fourth World.

Hawkman flies into a new era (because he’s a hawk man) with a little help from Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch. Not unlike The Flash, Hawkman channels some of the best runs of years past, while setting the hero on a new path. Hawkman’s history has long been convoluted and instead of denying this, the book embraces that as its concept. The likes of Johns & Robinson and Gray & Palmiotti did a great job of giving audience of what Hawkman’s life was in the past, this new series asks the question of why has he lived so many lives.