Blackest Night: Flash #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Michael Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: The Flash’s rogue gallery is breaking into prison and face off against an array of those dead members of the gallery who preceded them. On another front, Barry Allen, now a Blue Lantern, is fighting the dearly departed of his past.

What’s Good: Johns did two things in this issue that I really liked. First, the decision in Blackest Night #6 to deputize more lanterns of all colors really bears fruit here, because now, DC can take a well-loved, well-known hero and look at what it is like to be a blue lantern. I can’t see any other way they could have explored all the other lanterns (they’re looking at star sapphires in Blackest Night: Wonder Woman and red lanterns in Green Lantern Corps) because to show a really different worldview, you usually need an intermediary for the reader (think hobbits in LOTRs). And it is fun. I don’t know how many of you have read the silver age of DC, but for about 6 years, DC ruled the sense of wonder category of the comic industry. Johns is tapping into that and I feel young when I catch myself saying “Wow, the Flash is a blue lantern!” Well done, Geoff Johns.

Secondly, we got to see the current rogue’s gallery under some pretty painful stressors: loved ones coming back, twisting the truth, manipulating and digging at old pains. Watching how they reacted revealed their characters way better than reading about a hundred of their little schemes. Good writing reveals character. Johns revealed character.

Blackest Night: The Flash #1 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Michael Atiyeh (colors)

The Story: This story begins between Blackest Night #3 and #4, when Barry Allen, the Flash, starts assembling the force of superheroes that will converge on Coast City to fight the Black Lanterns collected around their battery. It covers history of the Flash, as well as the history of the Reverse-Flash, who is resurrected by the Blackest Night. In the meantime, the living rogue’s gallery (the collection of villains who fight the Flash) are arming themselves for the expected attack from the black lantern rogues. Barry also seeks help from the Gorilla City.

What’s Good: I am not a Flash virgin, but I haven’t really followed Barry since his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. This issue is perfect for me to get back on board. Johns’ writing is clear and the exposition is very natural. He’s chosen to go text-box heavy, which may slow down some experienced Flash fans, but given that the texts are all in either Flash’s or Reverse-Flash’s voice, they’re a fun read on their own. I also like Johns’ pacing. In a first issue like this, he has to make it accessible, but he’s found a way to keep the tension up, while setting up all the pieces that have to go boom in the next two issues.

I also really like Barry’s torments. I know it isn’t new to this issue, but the whole angst that Barry suffers, first not feeling, then feeling, then facing a black lantern apocalypse that feeds on emotion, makes for a difficult run for Barry. This gives him some great lines like “Keep your heart standing still, and run as fast as you can,” and “Stop. Don’t hope. He’s dead….You mourn later.” There’s a lot of character in Johns’ writing.

Other interesting touches that have me guessing now (and hopefully for the next two issues, possibly for Johns’ run on the Flash in 2010) are: (a) the diagram of the speed force that Barry finds in Gorilla city, (b) the entangled origins of Flash and Reverse-Flash and (c) the weird time paradoxes that Johns is sure to exploit.

What’s Not So Good: The motivation for the villains in this situation wasn’t clear to me, nor did I understand why the black lantern rogues would be out to get the living ones. It could be a meta-human thing in general, but that isn’t something that the main Blackest Night title has made clear yet.

More importantly, I find Kolins’ art rough and unattractive, without having any stylistic benefits to justify the lack of draftsmanship. In other reviews, I’ve pointed out my preference for more realistic art, but I still respond to grittier, scratchier styles, like those used effectively in Detective Comics by Williams or in Amazing Spider-Man by Azaceta. The faces produced by Kolins communicate, but they just seem grossly proportioned and dominated by thick, unappealing lines. Reverse-Flash’s teeth look a lot more like Solomon Grundy’s (from the recent mini that Kolins penciled) than the teeth of any regular human or any other black lantern drawn by any other artist. Kolins’ work on background and the villain Tar Pit were clearer and more attractive.

Conclusion: The story makes this issue worth picking up, especially at $2.99. The art held the book back, though.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault