The
Masked Bookwyrm's Graphic Novel (& TPB) Reviews
The Flash (Page 2)
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for other Flash appearances see Justice League of America, Justice Society of America, Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC The New Frontier, Flashpoint, and others
Flash, vol. 1: Move Forward (2012) 170 pagwes
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato. Illustrated by Francis Manapul.
Colours: Brian Buccellato, with Ian Herring. Letters: various.
Reprinting: The Flash (2011 series) #1-8
Additional notes: covers; storyboards.
Rating: * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
Reviewed: May 2024
Published by DC Comics
I've written before that it's often hard to figure out how/where to jump in when it comes to modern comics, as series are constantly getting cancelled and re-started from issue #1 presumably just to boost sales (or to herald a new creative team) rather than because the hero is really getting a re-start. And TPBs are often part of sequential collections as opposed to a single volume that represents a run of issues that are being collected because they necessarily form a stand out story.
Case in point is this Flash series which starts from #1 but mostly feels to be continuing an on-going series. The Flash/Barry Allen is well-ensconced in his career as both superhero and forensics scientist, and supporting characters/relationships are given no introduction implying the reader is already supposed to be familiar with them (including Iris West, of course, but other characters I didn't know, such as Patty, Barry's co-worker and...girlfriend; here Iris seems more a casual friend than the girlfriend/wife of traditional Flash lore).
Still, it is a new creative team, and in that sense provides a decent jumping on point. (Well -- sort of new. I think Manapul had already been drawing The Flash but now takes over as co-writer with Brian Buccellato).
Indeed, the new series kicks off with something kind of unusual in this age of endless continuity references and recycling tropes and old foes -- an original plot with a brand-spanking-new foe!
And co-writers Manapul & Buccellato bring something else to the table: a pleasantly wild imagination. The first chapter (of a five-part opening story arc) has the Flash getting into a fight with a gang of masked mercenaries -- a fight that leaves one of the mercs dead. And when he is unmasked, it turns out he used to be Barry's best friend (in a hitherto unreferenced bit of retconning). So not only do we get a mystery, but a bit of a human drama/character undercurrent. Except then the friend turns up alive again -- and the crazy twists ensue. There's also a mysterious electro magnetic pulse that plunges the city into a black-out for the next few issues, as if the writers wanted to do a less-catastrophic version of the Batman: No Man's Land arc.
(Or possibly because they were influenced by the TV series -- which has a reactor explosion in the first episode which reverberates throughout the series. There's other ways the TV series feels like an influence, from the way the characters are portrayed to the Flash gaining a scientist confidante and a big lab to race around in).
So for the next few issues there's lots of running (super speed-style), with the action scenes as often about Flash rescuing people (such as saving a plane that falls from the sky due to the aforementioned EMP) as they are about fighting the bad guys, and there are time-travel paradoxes and some emotional and moral dilemmas.
In short, the writers seem to have a good sense of what makes (or should make) a Flash story. By that I mean that in the Silver Age/Bronze Age the Flash was never the most sophisticated or progressive of comics, staying steadfastly Old School while other comics evolved and grew around it. But what it did have going for it often was a whimsical sense of imagination, both in terms of the story ideas (I mean, the Flash counted among his arch foes a telepathic talking gorilla!) and scenes where the idea of taking a super fast guy and coming up with nifty permutations on that power (beyond just slugging bad guys) was the point.
And in that sense they deliver an opening arc that rushes breathlessly along and burns through ideas like they're worried the ideas'll pass their expiration date if they don't unwrap them and put them on the table now.
Once that story's over, the comic maybe starts to fall back on familiar tropes, with arch foe Captain Cold occupying a couple of issues, then segueing into a story about the speed force (the other-dimensional power Barry taps into). And they begin foreshadowing the return of Gorilla Grodd (the aforementioned telepathic gorilla foe). And that's mostly okay. By beginning with an original antagonist, the creators kind of buy the right to start dragging out the old toys and dusting them off.
The Captain Cold story sort of put me off at first, in that it seemed to be falling into the modern cliche of taking an old foe and then just making him meaner and more vicious (with even the Flash remarking that in their previous encounters Cold hadn't been a deliberate killer). But they redeem that by making it part of this particular story (and what's motivating Cold this time), rather than necessarily setting this up as the new status quo for the character going forward. (I'm kind of bored with comics which up the violence and brutality of the villains simply because they can't think of anything more creative to do).
In fact in a pleasant move, they seem to make the determined effort to emphasize Barry as comicdoms "nice guy" hero. More than a few times in this collection villains will be trying to kill the Flash, and he'll still offer to help them in the end.
(I mean, there's still a bit of grisliness here and there that maybe clashes with the otherwise Old School charm; in the opening arc Barry's ex-friend has a rejuvenation power ala Wolverine which kind of allows people to do nasty things to him that he can recover from).
Manapul's art is energetic and he clearly enjoys indulging in a bit of creative experimentation here and there in terms of panel lay-outs and nicely eye-catching title pages (and title logos). Perhaps an unusual aspect is that I wonder if the art is reproduced directly from Manapul's pencils sans ink -- certainly there's a softness to the line-work, an occasional sketchiness to the backgrounds. And given co-writer Buccellato is the main colourist, it maybe allows the colourist to shoulder more of the responsibility for the visuals. Manapul's moved his way to the upper levels of comic artists (at least I assume, based on some of the A-list characters he's worked on -- I first saw his work on a Legion of Super-Heroes run a few years ago). And as a Canadian, I can't help but applaud the Filipino-Canadian's success. But I guess I do have a bit of an Old School quibble, which is that Manapul's style is very modern in that it's a bit cartoony/slightly manga-influenced, which I do find bleeds a bit of the realism and gravitas from the scenes -- the characters a bit big-eyed and cartoony, making them seem a bit juvenile (you could easily imagine Manapul drawing a run of Archie comics).
And Buccellatto's colours are kind of drab and monchromatic, like the entire series takes place on smoggy, overcast days. It saps some of the energy, the verve, from the scenes -- ironic given the Flash as a character, and with his bright red suit, is often seen as a "colourful" character. Honestly, the colours combined with the soft, pencil-like line work actually can strain the eyes at time.
And this maybe relates to the character/emotional stuff overall. As mentioned they do a good job of making the stories fast-paced, buoyed by Flash-style stunts and quirky plot twists. But the character/emotional stuff (y'know, the things that make you care about the action and plot twists) isn't as effective. The relationship between the characters isn't always well portrayed. As mentioned, Iris is around -- but doesn't seem to be a romantic interest at this point. Barry has a female co-worker, Patty, with whom his relationship seems fairly light and casual -- but then they are declaring how much they love each other, and I just didn't really feel that evolution was conveyed in the scenes. As well, there's something a bit aloof about Barry -- despite some clearly emotional threads such as the opening arc involving his dead/not dead old friend; or a new worry that his use of the speed force is posing a danger to others.
I didn't come away from the issues feeling Barry himself was that compelling (which may relate to my point about the art style).
And another problem with this collection is that it's, of course, part of an on going series. Which, depending on how you read/collect TPBs may or may not be an issue. The main plots mostly resolve, and there's even a story thread (involving that mysterious EMP) that is introduced, teased out, then explained by the final issue in this collection. But the collection still ends on something of a cliff hanger and with threads left dangling. So if you don't mind, or were planning on collecting the next TPB in the series it might not matter. But if you were looking for a collection to pick up and read for itself (which is how I often try to review TPBs) it doesn't exactly resolve tidily. And since there are only three storylines, it's not like it's a smorgasbord of adventures either.
The end result? Briskly-paced with an opening story arc that avoids the generic with some twists and turns, followed by some stories relying on comfortably familiar stand-bys. But it doesn't quite satisfy on an emotional level, and leaves threads dangling.
The next volume in this run is Rogues Revolution
Flash: The Return of Barry Allen 1996 (SC TPB) 192 pagwes
Written
by Mark Waid. Pencils by Greg LaRocque. Inks by Roy Richardson.
Colours: Matt Hollingsworth. Letters: Tim Harkins. Editor: Brian Augustyn.
Reprinting: The Flash (2nd series) #74-79 (plus a couple of pages from #73 as a prologue) - 1993
Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)
Number of readings: 2
Re-reviewed: Oct. 4, 2009
Published by DC Comics
Additional notes: introduction; cover gallery.
At the time this was published, the current Flash was Wally West -- formerly Kid Flash. And the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, was still hanging about in a mentorly capacity.
But Wally's uncle, the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, was long dead, having died during the Crisis
on Infinite Earths. So imagine Wally and everyone's surprise when Barry shows up
on his doorstep, alive and well, albeit slightly amnesiac when it comes
to how he's been resurrected. Wally is initially overjoyed by the return
of his uncle, Barry, as are some of Barry's old colleagues -- the Golden
Age Flash, Jay Garrick, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
Of course, going into this saga years after it was first
published, the reader knows one thing -- this story didn't return Barry to
continuity (that wouldn't happen until many years later!) So however it ends, one knows it isn't "happily ever after".
Certainly not when Barry starts acting oddly, seeming obsessively possessive
of his identity -- which can create problems given that Wally has basically
usurped it.
This is a well regarded saga, and it starts well. Writer
Mark Waid peppers the thing with introspective captions, and the first
few issues (once everyone gets used to the idea that Barry's back) with
the many Flashes tackling a new mob in town, is entertaining, in a comfortable,
old fashioned way, evoking 1960s Flash-Kid Flash team ups (particularly
the first chapter, involving the two Flashes trying to prevent a mob hit
at an amusement park). And for all that Barry's been dismissed by some commentators over the
years as too bland, seeing him back in action reminds you how much you
missed him -- particularly older readers who might actually prefer the
adventures of a level-headed thirtysomething to the cocky, arrested adolescents
that are passed off as mature super heroes these days (just a thought).
But all is not well in Mudville. And the second chapter closes on a particularly
effective denouement.
For the first three issues, it's cruising along fine --
laying the groundwork, distracting us with the sub-plot involving the new
mob. Along the way other DC speedsters are thrown in -- not just the Golden
Age Flash, but other oldies like Johnny Quick, and the more obscure, and
apparently multi-named, Max Mercury (a.k.a. Bluestreak a.k.a. Quicksilver
-- not the Marvel character). Unfortunately, Waid kicks the story into
high gear...before it's really had time to build up sufficient speed. When
Barry goes bad, the super speed action goes into overdrive. And you know
what? Seeing a bunch of super speedsters fighting each other isn't nearly
as fun as you might think. Rather, it is fun...for a bit, as they
must utilize strategy against the rogue Barry who is, apparently, faster,
and more powerful, than any of them. But it wears when such fight scenes
dominate the page count.
One even suspects the revelation behind it all won't be
that big a surprise to fans of the character, familiar with his rogues
gallery. Though there was some clever twists relating to motive -- though I can't go into
detail. At least, they're sort of clever...and sort of muddled. I mean when the rogue Barry goes from being a seeming good guy (fighting crime) except psychotically possessive of his name and identity to someone who's just trashing the city like any old villain, it feels like we're missing out on a more interesting story. There are even technical questions, relating to the physical appearance of the returned Barry.
The saga is spread over six issues, but the final is 54
pages -- meaning it's closer to an eight issue epic. If Waid had dragged
his heels a bit more, let the Barry stuff percolate as a sub-plot, it might
have been more effective. Admittedly, that can be the problem with reading
stories as collections: stories that maybe benefited from a gradual sense
of unfolding inherent in a monthly schedule can lose that edge (the Barry
Allen stuff originally took a few months to come to a head). Which might
explain Jay appearing to have figured out something was wrong...without
the reader seeing what made him suspicious.
The story seems a tad thin. There's not a lot else going
on besides the Barry-Wally drama. The mob plot is dropped quickly. Wally's
wife isn't mulling over a job offer or anything; there's nothing to act
as a grounding beyond the super heroics. Which isn't altogether bad. I
initially enjoyed the simple super hero adventure of the thing. But it
does mean there's not a lot else to round out the characters.
What Waid really wants to do is focus in on Wally, his
mixed emotions toward Barry's returns -- joy, unease, and a feeling of
inadequacy next to his mentor. Ironically, that's where the story stumbles
a bit. Waid's so intent on dissecting his protagonist according to his
vision, that he threatens plausibility. When Barry's behaviour is at odds with the
man Wally remembered, it leads to some soul searching as Wally is devastated by this bringing down of his
idol. But, come on! Surely in a super hero reality, Wally's first reaction
would be: if he's not acting like the Barry who Wally remembered (a Barry who, after all, is supposed to be dead)
doesn't it seem likely he's not Barry? Or, at least, wouldn't he assume
Barry's mentally ill? Instead, Wally acts as if this must be the true Barry and Barry's
a real stinker. Later, when Wally decides he must confront the rogue Barry,
he tells the other speedsters, and Green Lantern (in a bit part), that
this is his fight. O.K., I recognize that's a convention of adventure stories,
but by this point Barry has gone on a destructive crime spree -- it's not
just about Wally's wounded ego anymore! Realistically GL should've said:
"No, we stop him any way we can, and you can work out your issues on your
own time. Period." (Speaking of GL -- this saga crossed over with Green Lantern
#40, but that's not included here. Sure, you can still follow the plot -- the GL issue itself was just a rather long action piece --
but it might've been nice to include it).
Greg LaRocque's art is a little problematic and apparently
his tenure on the title was a bit controversial. On one hand, he's one
of those artists who's certainly got a grip on anatomy (muscles are drawn
where they're supposed to be) but his figures are often stiff and ungainly,
and facial expressions not always the most expressive (Waid's captions
describing an emotion that LaRocque's pencils fail to convey). I sort of
liked the art at first, clunkiness included, precisely for its old fashioned,
Bronze Age feel. It's not garish or self-indulgent or cluttered. But even
the action scenes can be a bit muddy at times (though that may well be
a fault of Waid's script, not always giving LaRocque enough direction as
to what miraculous feat of super speed the Flashes are supposed to be engaged
in).
This features an introduction, supposedly transcribing
a conversation between Waid and editor Brian Augustyn. O.K., I realize
it's mainly a joke conversation -- I don't suppose anyone really kept track
at the time. I don't know who even wrote it. But it kind of rubbed me the
wrong way. For one thing, they talk about how fans continue to ask "when's
Barry coming back" -- and mock such expectations, deriding rival Marvel
Comics for its "revolving door" policy of bringing characters back from
the dead. But, uh, DC's just as guilty as Marvel -- even moreso. And it becomes even more ironic, fifteen years later, now that DC really has brought back Barry! And such petty company rivalry
just seems childish. As well, I used to agree that death should be death,
like in the real world, but I've softened my position. Maybe there's nothing
wrong with an escapist, fictional reality where even death is little more
than an inconvenience (particularly as characters are often killed off
for no more valid a reason than simply as a marketing stunt -- like Barry
was). Finally, I think there's something unkind about creators knowing
the fans have been clamouring for a beloved character's return, only to
then exploit that affection by "returning" him in a story which is bound
to disappoint them.
The bottom line with The Return of Barry Allen is that
it starts out well, and is moderately enjoyable (and doesn't actually besmirch
the character of Barry Allen the way the "rogue Barry" premise might imply).
But it fails to quite become more than that.
Flash, vol. 2: Rogues Revolution (2013) 158 pagwes
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato. Illustrated by Francis Manapul, Marcus To, Ray McCarthy, others.
Colours: Brian Buccellato, Ian Herring, others. Letters: various.
Reprintng: The Flash (2011-2016 series) #9-12, 0, The Flash Annual #1 (2012-2013)
Additional notes: covers; page layouts, behind-the-scenes sketches.
Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Reviewed: May 2024
Published by DC Comics
Additional notes: introduction; cover gallery.
FYI: The preceeding volume in this run is Move Forward
As I've said before: the way modern comics re-start and re-boot series at the drop of a hat actually makes continuity harder to follow, not easier, and makes number systems (this is Vol. 2 -- of this particular era) problematic for a casual reader.
Anyway, this is the second volume collecting this run of the Flash spearheaded by collaborators Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato. But even though this is a "new" series I'm not sure how much this is just a continuation from a previous run and how much it's part of DC's periodic re-boots (The Flash "first" meets one of his signature foes, a re-imagined Gorilla Grodd, in these issues but the rest of his rogues gallery are already well established; Barry Allen acts fairly young and naive yet we are told he's been active as the Flash for at least five years by this point).
The collection picks up from where the last collection left off (though there's no "previously" recap) finding himself in Africa and a city of talking apes. But soon he's back to Central City (or I guess a hub of cities called the Gem cities of which Central is one) and we get into the main arc of this collection, involving a collection of his arch foes -- the so-called Rogues -- who are fighting amongst themselves, which climaxes in the Annual. Then we also get a #0 issue which acts as a handy primer on the Flash's background (which might have been better to put at the start -- or even in the previous volume).
To be honest I finished the previous volume with some ambivalence -- not by any stretch finding it "bad" but not really getting "in" to it, either. I pressed on into this volume to see if it would settle my opinion. But I'm still kind of ambivalent -- which I guess tilts me toward nay.
There's a lot to like and enjoy here -- but it rubs shoulders with more frustrating aspects. We can start with the art (since the writers also serve as the chief penciller and main colourist respectively). Manapul really goes to town on imaginative and innovative layouts and is a fine artist -- but he has a kind of cartoony style that I struggle to connect with (though I have liked elsewhere -- such as a run he did on the Legion of Super-Heroes: Enemy Rising and Enemy Manifest). While Buccellato's colouring is weirdly sombre and oppressive. Artist Marcus To (inked by Ray McCarthy) pitches in for a couple of issues and I actually found myself connecting a little more with those issues.
The Annual has different artists drawing different chapters -- To (with McCarthy); Scott Kolins; Diogenes Neves (with Oclair Albert); Marcio Takara; Wes Craig -- and Craig has a bit of a Carmine Infantino vibe, which I'm not sure if it was intended or not (Infantino being an iconic Silver Age/Bronze Age Flash artist).
Then there's the writing. As I suggest up front, I just find a lot of it hard to get a grip on because I'm not sure where we stand: how much history and lore has occurred and built up and how much is being re-booted (like the Grodd stuff). And that makes it confusing.
The Flash's rogues gallery evince different abilities than usual -- but that's actually part of the plot here, as we eventually get flashbacks explaining how and why, and how it ties into other threads. There's another plot thread where Barry's girlfriend, fellow forensics detective Patty, is investigating a cold case -- but it's unclear if that began before this series or not. Because if not, it's not well developed here.
That's a problem I kept finding: potentially interesting ideas that weren't being effectively developed. Such as a scientist character who was introduced in the previous collection as a friend/ally to the Flash, but here is revealed to have a hidden agenda. The problem is that Manapul & Buccellato aren't really taking the time to fully develop the character/human drama side of things.
But again: how much some of this is new to their run and how much built on recently established lore, I'm not sure. But regardless, it's still their job to get new readers up to speed. So the former villain, the Pied Piper, is apparently reformed and the gay lover of one of Barry's police colleagues. Iris West -- Barry's traditional girl friend -- here just seems to be a friend (or maybe an ex-girlfriend? Again: it's unclear). But she gets sucked into a time vortex (in a thread carried over from the previous collection) and then Barry just seems to forget about her.
The #0 issue does a good job of establishing some of Barry's backstory (and the whole modern lore: his dad was convicted of the murder of his mom when he was a kid, but Barry hopes to prove his innocence; which has been re-booted/re-told a few times in the last few years, and served as the premise for the TV series). There's a cop named Frye who seems to be akin to the Joe West character from the TV series...but even though (I think) his name had cropped up in some of the regular issues, he hadn't really appeared as a character until the #0 issue. Which relates to my point about a problem with allotting time to the character/soap opera stuff.
I guess what I'm kind of getting at is that I often review these books by how well they read for the casual fan: and on that metric, I'd say not that great.
There is a story arc that plays out over these issues with the rogues and all (even if it began in the previous collection) but the collection begins picking up where the previous volume left off and ends "to be continued" into the next one. And with other threads and character stuff dangling.
It also has some muddled tones/themes. The creators clearly want to lean into the idea of Barry as an Old School, Silver Age superhero (ala Superman) -- a nice guy hero who wants to help even the bad guys. And it makes the point that his rogues aren't the common psycho villains of modern comics but are mostly just crooks, more in it for the score than the mayhem. But the reason I say it's muddled is because the rogues actually are acting more violent and nasty than usual. And the Silver Age niceness clashes with modern grittiness (Gorilla Grodd eating brains; Heatwave horribly scarred).
It's often been said that the Flash has one of the best gallery of foes in comicdom -- but in recent years it can feel like creators lean on that too heavily. Not just trotting out all the foes regularly, but even making them a supervillain team. Plus the decision to re-design and re-conceptualize them seems counter-intuitive. Part of what made them memorable was their visual designs (courtesy of Carmine Infantino all those years ago) and how their powers worked. Arguably only Captain Cold has a re-designed new look almost as good as his old one (funnily, Mirror Master is the one character they re-designed the least, and he always had the most traditional-looking costume).
Arguably arch foes can be neater if they are used more sparingly.
Still, I liked the way they leaned into giving the villains (a bit) of nuance -- especially Captain Cold.
Ultimately, I finish this second collection still ambivalent. I don't dispute the talent involved. This is probably more a "It's me, not you" thing. But I just struggled to get drawn into the events and the character beats. And the storytelling (and character/relationship development) can feel a bit erratic. Given Manapul & Buccellato come from the visual side of the aisle, I might suggest they're still figuring out how to juggle the storytelling with the dynamic visuals.
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