Which DC writers got/get the character of Barry Allen?

[Frontier]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Darwyn Cooke...

[Tony]

John Broome for me, loved the Archives, wish the trades had finished the run, I'm not big on Omniboos anymore.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

I haven't read much Silver Age and even less Bronze Age Barry Allen but in terms of more modern writers, the only two to have really impressed me are Mark Waid and Darwyn Cooke. Williamson wrote some good Flash (and some not so good Flash) but I never really liked his Barry. Geoff Johns can't write Barry to save his life and Manapul/ Buccelatto were notable mainly for their art, not for their stories or characterization.

[Frontier]

I haven't read much Silver Age and even less Bronze Age Barry Allen but in terms of more modern writers, the only two to have really impressed me are Mark Waid and Darwyn Cooke. Williamson wrote some good Flash (and some not so good Flash) but I never really liked his Barry. Geoff Johns can't write Barry to save his life and Manapul/ Buccelatto were notable mainly for their art, not for their stories or characterization.

What makes you say that?

[Buried Alien]

I haven't read much Silver Age and even less Bronze Age Barry Allen...

What are you waiting for, man? A review by Trey and Shawn (Ilan gets the reference)?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Ilan Preskovsky]

What makes you say that?

His Barry in Rebirth and the Flash series he wrote was a total drag.

What are you waiting for, man? A review by Trey and Shawn (Ilan gets the reference)?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Hahaha. That I do.

I do struggle a bit with older comics, especially from the Silver Age. Even though the Flash has been easiest by far.

[Frontier]

His Barry in Rebirth and the Flash series he wrote was a total drag.

He had good reason to be, though, considering some of the circumstances and I think it set up what separated him from Wally. He was more upbeat in the actual Flash book and even in Blackest Night in my opinion.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

He had good reason to be, though, considering some of the circumstances and I think it set up what separated him from Wally. He was more upbeat in the actual Flash book and even in Blackest Night in my opinion.

Yeah, I just don't see it that way. His mopiness became a character trait going forward because of Rebirth and it wasn't offset with an actual personality. He was bland at very best. And that's before getting into Johns' imbecilic retcons (Barry created the Speed force??? His mom is now dead????) that so missed the point of the character and the franchise, I barely know where to begin.

[Frontier]

Yeah, I just don't see it that way. His mopiness became a character trait going forward because of Rebirth and it wasn't offset with an actual personality. He was bland at very best. And that's before getting into Johns' imbecilic retcons (Barry created the Speed force??? His mom is now dead????) that so missed the point of the character and the franchise, I barely know where to begin.

To me he had a fairly present personality as a clinical, introverted, straight man with an unending sense of hope and spirit that has carried across since his return, but I agree that he's been far too mopey because of the dead mom/imprisoned father stuff.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

To me he had a fairly present personality as a clinical, introverted, straight man with an unending sense of hope and spirit that has carried across since his return, but I agree that he's been far too mopey because of the dead mom/imprisoned father stuff.

See, I wish I could agree but it just never struck me that way. Williams writes a good Flash on almost every level but I hated his Barry too - so Johns is hardly alone in this.

[Frontier]

See, I wish I could agree but it just never struck me that way. Williams writes a good Flash on almost every level but I hated his Barry too - so Johns is hardly alone in this.

I think Williamson writes a Barry very similar to Johns, just more upbeat, so maybe that's why you disliked it but for me it helped me differentiate Barry from Wally and made me think of what Barry is like as The Flash.

[MajorHoy]

Definitely Cary Bates would be up there for me, especially since Bates was The Flash writer when I started reading DC superhero comic books regularly.

I'd throw in Len Wein as well, who was the writer on Justice League of America when I first started collecting DC superhero comic books.

And Geoff Johns would have to be my ANTI-Barry writer for his change to Barry's backstory!

[Jim Kelly]

John Broome, Bob Kanigher, Gardner Fox, Len Wein, Cary Bates.

[Zero Hunter]

I think Tom Peyer could do him justice. He wrote Wally in a few things, though not the main title (unless I'm mistaken). What ever happened to him? He was like REALLY GOOD under-the-radar.

I always liked Peyer too. He had a long run on the Legion in the 90's during the first reboot along side Tom McGraw, Mark Waid, and Roger Stern. He is 67 now so he might be semi-retired.

[Captain Nostalgia]

I was a tad too young for Cary Bates final run, and on a comic hiatus when Geoff Johns brought him back, so....

Joshua Williamson, by default. Only run I've read with Barry Allen in full.....and it was awesome!