DC's NEW 52-THE FLASH

Barry Allen is and always will be the Silver Age Flash. Sure, he died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths and was replaced by a host of speedsters including his nephew Wally West. But Barry was always the benchmark every other speedster was compared to. During FLASHPOINT, Barry ended up in a twisted reality/alternate timeline. At the end of the mini-series, he restores the timeline(complete with a mysterious hooded woman making a major cameo appearance). 

Following the mini-series, THE FLASH gets rebooted  with a back story that eliminates his history. A cornerstone character and the man who should remember the alternate timeline, this should be a shining star in the NEW 52.
 
Too bad it's just another superhero title.
 
Issue #1 begins with Barry Allen and longtime co-worker Patty Spivot attending a "tech symposium" when the bad guys show up to steal some of the technology. Just like that, all hell breaks loose and The Flash arrives to stop them. He succeeds and we get to meet Iris West, who is no longer Barry's girlfriend or wife. She's a reporter for the Central City Citizen.
 
Upon further investigation, we discover that one of the criminals is an old friend of Barry's.
Barry and Patty end up back at the Police Station and the investigation continues. Later in the night, Barry is visited by his dead friend and gives chase. The chase ends up with The Flash facing hundreds of the dead man.
 
Yawn!
 
Really? That's the whole book? There is NOTHING here. The entire story can be told in about 10 pages. Is this a backup story from somewhere? Why does The Flash have a new history? If history has changed, how did he get his powers? In the old continuity, Barry Allen was struck by lightning which we eventually learned was actually Barry moving through time via the Speed Force. We know via the brief recap early on that he was struck by lightning, but was that lightning Allen? Is that now all gone?
 
Francis Manapul's story is threadbare to say the least. I could hope that plot elements are being hidden to be revealed later. But give us at least something to chew on until then. Brian Buccellato's art is okay, just not my style for this book.
 

I won't be reading future issues because I really don't care.
 
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman who played such a key role in the final pages of FLASHPOINT, is in a crowd scene in the final panel of page 12.