Reddit mentions of The Flash Vol. 5: History Lessons (The New 52)

For those of you interested, Manapul and Buccaletto (the creative team behind this page) did an excellent arc for The Flash from New 52 #1 through #29. These are collected in Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol 3, Vol 4, and Vol 5. I highly recommend reading them if you're interested in the comics, as they are a great introduction to the character of Barry Allen.

Check out The Flash: Rebirth. Next, read the series by Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, and Scott Kolins (2010-2011). It's collected in two volumes. After that, read Flashpoint, and then read the New 52 series.

Here's a breakdown:

• Flash: Rebirth
  
  
• Flash: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues
  
  
• Flash: The Road to Flashpoint
  
  
• Flashpoint
  
  
• Flash Vol.1: Move Forward
  
  
• Flash Vol.2: Rogues Revolution
  
  
• Flash Vol.3: Gorilla Warfare
  
  
• Flash Vol.4: Reverse
  
  
• Flash Vol.5: History Lessons
  
  
• Flash Vol.6: Out of Time
  
  In addition to these, you can check out a list of some more recommended Barry Allen reads here.
  
  EDIT: Don't be discouraged if you find The Flash: Rebirth very continuity-heavy - it is. This was one of the first non-Batman comics that I read when I was getting back into comics, and I had no clue what was going on. The thing is, that frustration only encouraged me to dig deeper and understand more about this world. I hope you (or anyone for that matter) takes that approach when something comes along that doesn't seem to make sense.

I'm not sure where you got the idea of Flash as a snob or jerk. I'd recommend the Buccellato / Manapul run from the beginning of the New 52. It's a fun, lighthearted-but-not-goofy superhero book. (I haven't read any of the Jensen/Venditti run that follows, so I can't speak to that.)

• The Flash, Vol. 1 Move Forward
  
• The Flash, Vol. 2 Rogues Revolution
  
• The Flash, Vol. 3 Gorilla Warfare
  
• The Flash, Vol. 4 Reverse
  
• Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion
  
• The Flash, Vol. 5 History Lessions

I've just read the first Futures End trade (#0-17) and have some questions regarding that.

• There's a war with Earth 2 mentioned. Do I need to read Earth 2: World's End? (I couldn't find a spoiler-free synopsis that actually says something about the setting of the story)
  
  
• How do the Futures End one-shots fit into this? Are they necessary to read? (I'm asking because it seems that not all of them will be collected in each series' trade, according to Amazon. Looks like most of them will only be available in the Futures End – Five Years Later hardcover)
  
  And something completely different regarding the New 52 The Flash trades:
  
  I was wondering if anyone knows whether The Flash still gets collected in hardcover editions. DC solicited The Flash Vol. 5 only as softcover/paperback back in September and it's been listed as such on several online shops, including Amazon. (I've started a thread about it back then) But now it seems to be available as hardcover again, the same goes for Vol. 6.
  
  So what is it? Hardcover or softcover? I've started collecting The Flash in hardcover books so it would be nice if they'd continue to publish it in hardcover editions. I don't want to switch to softcover books halfway through.

Here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Flash-Vol-History-Lessons/dp/1401249507