The Flash #7 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Scott Kolins (art), Brian Buccellato (colors), and Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: As Captain Boomerang has a meeting with the Reverse Flash, his back-story is explored.

What’s Good: At the very least, Geoff Johns gets an A for effort on this one, as he works his butt off to put as much emotion, heartbreak, and hatred into this retelling of Captain Boomerang’s origins.  There’s a sense of trauma and a building up of seething anger that works quite well.  This issue does wonders in making the reader actually care about Digger, which is crucial given his position in Brightest Day.  It brings the reader close to Digger, and that’s certainly a good thing.

Johns does a decent job of making Digger’s life follow the track of a boomerang; that being that everything comes back or comes full circle, often violently.  It’s a nice way to structure the issue and plot Digger’s emotional trajectory.  That said, Johns plays it fast and loose with this structure, which means that it’s only ever a subtext and never becomes overbearing.

The end result is a character that is still most certainly a bad guy, no questions asked.  That said, he’s the sort of bad guy that’s comprehensible and human, even if there aren’t many shades of grey.

Moreover, Johns, through focusing on Digger, manages to write a Brightest Day tie-in where the Brightest Day stuff doesn’t feel out of place and doesn’t detract from the comic or distract from its actual story.  Instead, Brightest Day fits well here, forcing an otherwise small-fry villain in Captain Boomerang to look at the bigger picture.

Johns also does a fantastic job of writing the Reverse Flash, who is nothing short of pure evil.  It’s nothing particularly overt or detailed in his dialogue, only its tone.  While Thawne may be a bad guy like Digger, he’s far less human and clearly functions on a different level.  Praise is also due to Scott Kolins, who does an absolutely fantastic job illustrating the Reverse Flash, making him seem downright demonic, which really went well with Johns’ dialogue.

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 #3 – Review

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

The Story: Captain Boomerang makes a break for it after getting a mysterious upgrade; the Renegades continue their quest to apprehend the Flash.

What’s Good: Atmosphere and tone continue to be the strongest thing going for Johns’ new Flash ongoing.  This remains a warm, honest, and positive book that lives up to the current Brightest Day aesthetic more than any other book in DC’s line-up.  This month, part of this easy-going feel is evidenced by just how fast this issue flies by.  Normally this would be a bad thing for a comic, but for the Flash, it feels natural, appropriate, and a testament to its energy.

I’m also happy to see Johns’ building up of Captain Boomerang.  It’s clear that in Boomerang, Johns is crafting a real nemesis for Barry Allen.  Captain Boomerang comes across as a badass, especially in his willingness to go for the throat, even when outnumbered, injured, and without powers.  It’s a time-tested strategy for garnering respect for a villain:  have him beat down a group of despicable, faceless goons that are even bigger jackasses than he is.  I also liked Captain Boomerang’s power upgrade.  It’s a great way to bring Blackest Night’s legacy into the Flash, without it feeling jarring or unnatural in the series’ positive environment.

Barry and Iris’ relationship continues to be a highlight for me as well.  There’s a loving familiarity and joviality that’s imbued into every last of dialogue shared between them.  They actually feel like a happily married couple in that its clear that they know each other better than anybody.  Their conversations continue to be an absolute pleasure to read.

Manapul’s art continues to be lush and inviting.  I especially liked his work on Iris and Barry’s faces; their expressions make them instantly likable and really convey the intimacy of their relationship more than any dialogue could.  Under Manapul’s hand, Barry and Iris lovable characters.

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.