Young Justice S02E06 – Review

By: Peter David (story)

The Story: It’s like Back to the Future, except without the awkward mom-and-son sexual tension.

The Review: Every time David comes on board as a guest writer, he ends up incorporating some aspect of his Young Justice run into the series—which is fine by me, as that can only boost its credibility in my eyes.  Besides introducing Harm and Secret, he put in probably the biggest effort to develop Artemis’ character (which I suspect is his way of writing an Arrowette story without actually having Arrowette in existence) and Red Tornado’s, both staples of his run.

In this episode, David gets the chance to use yet another staple of his Young Justice run, the incorrigible Bart Allen, better known as Impulse (and the current comics-version of Kid Flash).  Although he matured a great deal in DC’s previous continuity of things, at one point becoming a literal adult, from the moment he appears in the YJers lives here, he’s every bit the hyperactive, enthusiastic, and happy-go-lucky lad his character was originally conceived to be—which means you’re just as inclined to be as exasperated by him as you are fond of him.

Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #3 – Review

By: Sterling Gates (writer), Oliver Nome, Scott Kolins, Trevor Scott (artists), Brian Buccellato (colorist)

The Story: Run, Flash, run!  And bring back some fries while you’re at it.

The Review: Some people see it as a burden, but I rather like that DC has a bunch of legacy heroes, those who’ve taken up the name, mantle, and mission of those who came before.  But all of us have our favorite “version” of the character, and it can get a little awkward when the current writer’s favorite doesn’t match ours.  Like most comic readers from my generation, I’ve always been a Wally West fan, while Barry Allen remained a respected, but distant name to me.

Barry’s return and resumption to being the primary Flash didn’t bother me at first, but now I find his idolization pretty tiresome, especially when it relegates every other speedster in the DCU to sidemen.  So please forgive my cynicism when I confess that I was unmoved this issue, seeing every member of the Flash family quite literally give themselves up to help Barry Allen be the great rescuer of the universe for—what is this now?—the third time.

By itself, this plotline already bears a lot of problematic implications for the story and for the future of the Flash mythos in general, but it also reminds you that even in a title where he’s the star, Kid Flash remains a sidekick.  Having gone through life-and-death to regain his powers and prevent the hellish future he landed in from becoming reality, Bart ends up a pawn for the Speed Force, a glorified courier whose sole purpose is to pass the torch of attention to his grandfather.

The Flash #12 – Review

By: Geoff Johns & Scott Kolins (storytellers), Francis Manapul (artist), Michael Atieyh and Brian Buccellato (colorists)

The Story: What will Iris do when she walks in on the Flash—with another woman?

The Review: There was some risk that this “last” issue of The Flash would come off feeling rushed and inconclusive, what with Flashpoint coming right on its heels.  Johns spent a pretty good chunk of the last couple issues playing up the emotional dramatics among the Flash family, all of which would’ve been a waste if he resolved them too quickly just to get a move on with his sprawling, crossover storyline.

So it’s a relief to see Johns taking some care to tie up the series’ loose ends before putting his focus on bigger things.  Barry’s encounter with Zoom not only forces him to confront the grisly truth about his mother’s death, but since Bart comes along for the ride, the bad air between them gets cleared up as well.  With his internal conflict out in the open, that frees him up to have that much needed heart-to-heart with Iris, and all is well once more.

On the other hand, the ease with which all these tensions have been loosened up kind of show how needless all these melodramatics really were.  It feels Johns created that whole plot wrinkle just to sell this new, sudden revelation that Barry’s a closet ice-man, emotionally.  In fact, both Iris and Patty Spivot spend a good chunk of this issue harping on that point, even though Johns hasn’t shown it all that well.

You have to take into context that Barry was trying to deal with the knowledge that his mother died at the hands of—spoiler alert—Zoom, a man who became a villain “because” of him.  It seems very natural he’d need some private time to process this, a fact he tried to communicate to his family multiple times (see Flash #9 and #10).  But his family still overreacted to what they perceived as distancing himself from them, which was topped by last issue’s ridiculous intervention.

The Flash #11 – Review

By: Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins (storytellers), Michael Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: Barry, can’t you see we’re trying to stop you because you can’t stop yourself?!

The Review: Juggling two A-stories in a comic can be tricky, especially when one is the ongoing tale and the other is an invasive crossover plot.  But really, Johns should actually have an easier time of it, considering he’s the mastermind of the crossover in question.  And indeed, Flashpoint seems to be integrating pretty well into Barry’s investigation of an age-changing murderer, what with all the time-space wonkiness going on in both stories.

In contrast to Action Comics #900, where Reign of Doomsday clearly distracts from the main events of that title, it’s clear Johns is turning this series into a vehicle for introducing Flashpoint.  This has the strange effect of making the non-crossover related material out of place in its own title, although the still fairly recent drop in page count affected the long-term execution of plotlines that probably would’ve had more opportunity to float with some extra space.

The Flash’s “intervention” definitely feels like it needed more time to build itself to this drastic scene, because it comes across incredibly staged—and futile, since none of Barry’s loved ones make it clear exactly what the problem is.  Jay Garrick and Wally West spend the majority of the time waxing poetic on how much Barry means to them—more of an exercise in nostalgia than doing anything useful to address whatever Barry’s issues are.

The whole thing looks like it gets set up just because “Bart said you didn’t come to the picnic because of him.”  Besides being an utterly laughable overreaction to what should be normal for Barry, given his history of flakiness, it also makes Bart seem angsty, temperamental and high-strung.  This would work if Johns was writing just another fictional teenager, but none of those qualities fit in Bart’s current personality—which Johns kind of established.

So maybe it’s a good thing Bart’s getting the timeout from Barry’s life for a while, although it happens in an underwhelming way.  Hot Pursuit doesn’t exactly do himself a lot of credit by glomming onto Kid Flash as the crux of the timeline problem, without even considering other possible suspects.  As a cop with access to information across parallel universes, you’d think he’d be more thorough in his investigation.

Young Justice Episode 8 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (writer)

The Story: They say lost Atlantis holds many secrets.  No one says anything about Starros.

The Review: When the producers of Young Justice let on their show takes place on a parallel Earth, they opened up literally a whole new world of story possibilities.  They have the double-benefit of using DC canon for their source material, but molding it to their imagination.  It’s been fun exploring this universe little by little through the team’s missions, but the more you see, the more eager you get to really tramp about its locales to see what’s familiar and what’s all-new.

Aqualad’s sabbatical to Atlantis could not be a more ideal locale for seeing just how much creativity the writers will put into their world-building.  Hopps gives us everything you expect in Atlantis: the exotic, almost extraterrestrial marine life, the neo-classical architecture, the melding of ancient magic and advanced science, even its own Tolkienish language—the show’s brilliant animation brings it all to life, jumping an even higher bar of quality than it already has.

The reimagining of the Aqua-family is also stellar.  Some people wondered at the choice of Kaldur’ahm as Aqualad, but Hopps cleverly shows both Garth and Tula having chosen the Atlantean conservatory of magic as their vocations.  Guest stars include Aquaman’s wife Mera, half-brother Orm (kudos for making him actually look Inupiat), and royal science advisor Vulko.  Even Lagoon Boy and Letifos make cameos.  If you’re an Aqua-fan, this episode is practically catered to you.

Easter egg fun aside, Hopps writes an altogether sound episode, opening right in the middle of a mission gone awry, and Batman chalking it to Kaldur’s homesickness.  It’s not great we don’t see how Kaldur is supposedly responsible for the whole deal, but the scene itself works (note Bruce Greenwood’s excellent voice work as Batman) and the trade-off is we get to Atlantis that much sooner.  Kaldur’s interactions with his ocean friends and family give him some much needed personality, but I think we all just have to accept he’s the strong-and-silent type of the team.

Hopps also brings plenty of underwater action with Black Manta and his forces facing off against the Atlanteans and the Aqua-family (minus Arthur).  The melding of blaster guns, hydro-kinesis, and spell-slinging makes for visually and physically spectacular fight sequences.  It’s also good to see that writers are really embracing the tough broad Mera that’s popularized in Brightest Day. Manta comes off smart and formidable sparring versus both Aqualads, and his quest for Starro is marred only by the fact that we don’t get to see the alien starfish in action—not yet, anyway.

The Flash #9 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellatto (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: Barry Allen finds himself assigned to a very unusual homicide case as Hot Pursuit runs amok in Central City.

What’s Good: For the second month in a row, Geoff Johns hits it out of the park on the Flash.  However, what makes it more important this time around is that while last month was a one-shot of sorts, this is a prelude to the coming months of Flash and Flashpoint.  In other words, this issue being as good as it is a very good sign for the future.

That said, I’ll admit that I’m biased.  I’m a huge, huge fan of Brian Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s Powers series.  The idea of homicide detectives investigating superhero murders will never stop being awesome.  This month sees Johns send Barry into just such a task.  There’s a mysteriously dead “cape,” pre-naturally aged, found dead under mysterious circumstances.  It felt like Johns had basically taken Barry Allen and thrown him into a Powers comic, and the resulting mash-up of superhero noir and classic DC comic was an absolute pleasure to read.  It’s a plot I’m really looking forward to seeing more of, as Johns sets this up perfectly as a superhero-related detective/police drama.  It’s very, very cool.

Johns also does a very good job this month of highlighting Barry’s faults as a human being.  Barry’s presented as a man tied to his job, but not in the traditional, clichéd sense.  He’s tied to his job because he’s utterly bound to doing what’s right and doing as much public good as possible.  The tension and loss that this creates in his private sphere is obvious, however.  It’s a familiar, but really effective clash that Johns puts forth, that between doing the public good and the private, with Barry seemingly unaware of the latter.  This also leads to yet more fantastic writing when it comes to the Barry/Iris dynamic, which Johns has been doing so well with.  Iris is understanding and forgiving beyond belief, but she’s also clearly aware of Barry’s failings and isn’t immune to disappointment, however patient she may be.

Art-wise, this the best looking Flash comic in months.  The reason for this has been colorist Brian Buccellatto’s major adjustments.  While Manapul’s artwork is always really awesome and likable, I’d found that Buccellatto’s colors were getting increasingly brown and muddy to the point where they were starting to mute and detract from Manapul’s great work.  This month, Buccellato completely reverses on that.  Things are lighter and crisper, augmenting Manapul and allowing him to shine.  What results is crisper, cleaner, and much more impressive.  I also have to mention that both men did really well depicting Hot Pursuit’s motorcycle in action, which was a treat to watch.

The Flash #5 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: The Flash and Top try to stop the Rogues from unleashing the Mirror Lords while the Rogues and Renegades to battle.

What’s Good: Despite my feelings to the contrary during the first couple of issues, I’m really starting to warm up to this whole Rogues/Renegades plot.  The involvement of Captain Boomerang, Top, and the Mirror Lords have imbued the story with a needed life.

Top in particular continues to be an asset this month.  He gives the otherwise bland Renegades personality, giving us an individual character to latch onto.  There’s also something rather cool about seeing Barry Allen team up with a Rogue lookalike.  While I can’t go into things too much for fear of spoiling the issue, Top is most definitely a star this month and is just as much fun to read as he is to see in action.

And really, between the giant Mirror, the Rogues, the Renegades, and Captain Boomerang, there’s a lot of action this month.  There’s a feeling of total mayhem that lends the issue quite a bit of excitement, truly making it feel like the penultimate issue of a story arc.  There are explosions and desperation aplenty, and as a result, this ends up being a pretty fun ride.

Of course, Francis Manapul again deserves his due on this end, as his art really defines this new volume of the Flash and is a good chunk of why it’s as much fun as it is.  Manapul’s action scenes and his depictions of speed are fantastic, and his illustrations of the Rogues’ powers in action are no different.  Seeing the Weather Wizard conjure a cyclone is magnificent and when it combats a spinning Top, it’s all the better.

Speaking of Weather Wizard, I liked how Johns gave him a moment to shine this month.  It’s these little moments that show how great Johns is when it comes to dealing with the Rogues.  While the rest of them don’t have big moments like Weather Wizard does, each of them maintains a distinct and uniquely villainous voice.

The Flash #4 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: The Flash battles Captain Boomerang in downtown Central City and learns the secrets behind his future murder of Mirror Monarch.

What’s Good: I think part of what marks out this issue is the sense of wonder that is present in the depictions of the Flash’s powers.  It shows Johns’ love for the character and it’s creative in a way that evidences that Johns has thought quite a lot about the Flash’s super-speed.  Johns and Manapul, together, are masters at depicting the Flash’s powers, putting Barry in positions that allow for cool feats and ridiculously awesome demonstrations of his speed.  The result is truly awe-inspiring, at one point resulting in a double-page spread that got an audible “holy shit” from me.

The battle between Captain Boomerang and the Flash feels every bit like the classic duel between old foes that it is.  Johns is doing a great job at building the character back up.  I also enjoyed Boomerang’s feeling out of sync with current events, always trying to catch up after being out of the loop; this only makes him a more appropriate nemesis for Barry, given Barry’s own recent struggles.

The Flash #2 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: The Flash runs from the Renegades and begins his quest to figure out who really killed the Mirror Monarch.

What’s Good: The fun and vitality that had me raving about the first issue is still present.

This is best evidenced this month by a gag that sees Barry save everyone from a collapsing building, before rebuilding said building better than it ever was before.  This sequence is easily the highlight of the issue and it’s guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all but the most stone-hearted.  It’s ridiculous, sure, but that’s why it’s amusing, sunny comedy.  All told, this is the sort of stuff that just oozes the love Johns has for the character and it continues to be infectious.  The scene is representative of a sort of bright cheeriness and niceness that runs throughout the comic and makes it perfect for Brightest Day.

Barry’s office politics are also fairly enjoyable.  You knew he was going to butt heads with Singh and the coldness of the new department sooner or later.  The scene quickly demonstrates Barry’s dogged idealism and it was welcome, with Barry feeling appropriate out of place.  Judging from the strength of this scene, as well as Barry’s warm dynamic with Iris, the Barry Allen portions of this series are just as strong as those focusing on the Flash, despite their more mundane nature.

The Flash #1 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Francis Manapul (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Nick J. Napolitano (letters)

The Story: Barry Allen gets his first job back at the Central City Police Department, as one of the Rogues turns up dead.

What’s Good: As a first issue, I can’t imagine a better outing for the Flash.  This is everything a #1 should be.  It feels fresh, fun, accessible, and new.  There is absolutely nothing in here remotely related to Rebirth in subject or tone, nor any significant Flash continuity.  There isn’t even a single mention of the Speed Force, nor is there any reference to any speedster other than Barry himself.  The result of all this is refreshing and so different, and so much livelier than Johns’ oft debated miniseries.  All told, this issue feels like a legitimately new start for the Flash.

Working in this environment also seems to make for a more free Geoff Johns.  It’s clear that Johns absolutely adores the Flash and his corner of the DCU, and that joy permeates every page here and is certainly very infectious.  For instance, the book opens with an extended action scene that is awesome in a quintessentially “Flash” sort of way.  It’s as though Johns is saying “this is what the Flash is about.” It’s grand, touching, iconic, and all sorts of fun.

That being said, this sense of fun extends to the little points of characterization as well.  Iris Allen and Barry’s new/old co-workers come off great, with Barry’s dynamic with his wife being especially enjoyable.  I guarantee that Iris and Barry will put a smile on your face more than once.

After Blackest Night, it’s great to see that Johns is still capable of writing something so light-hearted and simple.  And I mean “simple” in a good way, as in, “the opposite of convoluted.”  This book feels honest and truly alive and is the sort of comic that’s gurantees to brighten up your day, all while remaining completely and totally open and accessible to those not steeped in continuity mythos.

All of this would be impossible without Francis Manapul.  This comic is only as warm and inviting as it is because Manapul makes it so.  His renditions of Iris and Barry only make them all the more lovable, and his bright, cheery renditions of Central City make for the kind of bright escapism that superhero comics should be capable of delivering.  Furthermore, while Johns writes a Flash comic that feels completely new, Manapul’s art makes it look accordingly.  Between his and Buccellato’s efforts, we have a comic that looks like it could only have been produced in 2010.  There are no hints of the 90s or past renditions of the Flash.  This lends a sense of complete freshness, while Manapul’s natural abilities nonetheless make for a style that fully captures the fast and dynamic feel of a Flash comic. It’s a good, honest superhero story that hits all the right notes without falling into the mediocrity of cliches.  It’s also a bright, happy book that never feels sappy or artificial.

The Flash: Secret Files & Origins 2010 #1 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Scott Kolins & Francis Manapul (art), Michael Atiyeh & Brian Buccellato (colors), and Rob Clark Jr. (letters)

The Story: A primer serving as an introduction to the Flashes’ universe, preceded by a short story where Barry grapples with his past.

What’s Good: If you’re a reader unfamiliar or only slightly familiar with Flash lore and are looking forward to get into April’s relaunched Flash monthly, it doesn’t get any better than this.  In a little less than 40 pages, this book gives you everything you need to know about the major heroes, villains, and locations in the Flash’s corner of the DCU.  As a reference work, this book is a lot of fun for new readers.  The encyclopedic entries are written in about as lively a style as is possible and are matched with absolutely beautiful full-page illustrations.  If you know nothing about the Flash’s world, you will leave feeling 100% comfortable heading into the ongoing and with your Flash knowledge in general.

The short story that precedes this primer is also some pretty outstanding stuff, touching on many of themes Johns clearly views as important in a Flash comic, while also ominously setting up for things to come, directly leading into Johns’ first arc.  All told, the story touches upon family, the camaraderie of DC’s speedsters, Barry’s battles with his past, and what the Rogues are up to, while also making really great use of time as only a Flash comic can.  As a first taste of Johns’ upcoming run, this is really solid stuff and an enjoyable, at times surprisingly emotional, read.  It gives a good sense of the tone Johns will be writing in.

I also have to reiterate just how awesome the art is throughout this double-sized book.  There really isn’t a single page here that isn’t a total blast.  Both Manapul and Kolins, though very different from each other, are perfect for the Flash, both artists emanating the sort warmth and energy that perfectly suits the books tone and atmosphere.  If the art on the ongoing can live up to this standard, we are in for something special.