The Flash Fastest Man Alive: Lightning in a Bottle Written by Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo Art by: Karl Kershl & Ken Lashley

Lightning in a Bottle was one of the trade paperbacks that I took with me on the train to New York for BEA.  I bought 4 of my Flash books with me just to keep my eyes from getting tired from reading on my Kindle and because I really need to finish reading the trades I have left to read on my Flash shelf.  I was really excited to get the chance to sit down and read Lightning in a Bottle because it focused on Bart Allen and his part of the Flash Legacy after the Infinite Crisis event.  I love Bart to no end.  I have nearly every one of his Impulse comics and at least five or so of them are signed.  I have almost his entire run with the Teen Titans on my trades shelf.  I have all of the issues of Young Justice that he did with Robin and Superboy back in the day.  I follow the current Teen Titans because he's in them and I have plans to get his special story in the DC Presents book that will be out later this summer.  Bart Allen is one of my favorite comic characters of all time so to see him finally become the Flash?  So exciting.  Here's the Goodreads blurb:

Through the decades, several men have harnessed the power of the Speed Force and defended Keystone City as the red-garbed hero, The Flash. Most recently, that role was filled by Wally West -- but in the wake of Infinite Crisis, there's a new Flash in town In this landmark collection written by Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson -- creators of the groundbreaking TV series The Flash -- one of the biggest questions of 2006 is answered: Who will be the new Flash? The Earth-shattering event known as Infinite Crisis aimed a mortal blow at the Fastest Man Alive -- but now the Flash is back.

This trade paperback collects the first six issues of the Flash: Fastest Man Alive series.  It includes the origin of the Flash and how the Flash legacy led up to the present day where Bart finds himself a 16 year old in a 24 year old's body, a speedster without the Speed Force.  Or so Bart wants us to believe.  Bart actually has absorbed the speed force and it's making it hard for him to keep to his plan for a normal life.  He lives with an obnoxious roommate, Griffin, and they work together at the Keystone Motors.  This entire series... the art is so beautiful but the story breaks my heart every time.  Wally is gone.  Bart doesn't want to be a speedster anymore, forget being The Flash.  He's lost Conner and now he's physically older than most of his friends in the Teen Titans.  The thing that I loved about Bart was his innocence and how totally GOOD he is.  He's so much like Barry that it's uncanny sometimes.  He doesn't go through the selfish years that Wally does.  Bart doesn't want to be the Flash because he can't stand to lose anyone else.  All the speed force has done is taken people and time from him.  You have to read this short series to get what comes next and so that you really FEEL the emotions running rampant after Infinite Crisis.  There is so much going on in this series and it's so good but I just wish that Bart's run as Flash could have happened differently.

This one earns 3 Fairies because every Flash fan SHOULD read it but be prepared for an emotional ride.