Flashpoint: Reverse Flash – Review

By: Scott Kolins (writer), Joel Gomez (artist), Brian Buccellato (colorist)

The Story: No, no, Reverse Flash—don’t hold back.  Tell us how you really feel.

The Review: After the shudder-inducing debut issue that was Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1, I had but one hope: to not have to read another Kolins-penned title for a good long time, at least until after he’d gotten to hone his writing chops some more.  So much for wishful thinking.  Before we’ve had enough time to recover comes yet another Flashpoint tie-in written by Kolins, right on the heels of the last.

Immediately red flags pop up from the opening pages.  Kolins has a very direct, almost simple-minded approach to character work and writing in general, and it shows in the very title for this story: “My Revenge”, which suggests Hitler’s Mein Kampf, but without the sociopathic ingenuity.  Reverse Flash is simply a disturbed sociopath, and Kolins makes no effort to portray him with any more depth than that.

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa does a science experiment proving her hamster learns faster than Bart?  There’s a scene where he tries to touch an electrically-noded cupcake and repeatedly, even determinedly, shocks himself.  Reverse Flash channels much the same attitude, trying again and again to exact pain on the Flash (often using the same tactic multiple times in a row) and consistently failing.  It’s the most perversely fascinating example of AA’s definition of insanity.

Even more problematic with the sheer repetitiveness of all this is the fact that it’s also all redundant.  Kolins essentially briefs you on the most significant Reverse Flash storylines ever written, but he does so with little to no craft.  With the Flashpoint stamp all over the issue, you’d think Kolins would spend some time giving light to what Reverse Flash’s role in the overall plot will be, but you get none of that.  A waste, to say the least.

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #4 – Review

By Hans Rodionoff (writer), Joel Gomez (pencils), Don Ho (inker), Gabe Eltaeb, Randy Mayor (colors)

The best inside joke in all of comics comes to its conclusion with this issue. Luckily, the story will continue in Lost Boys: The Tribe which I assume is an adaptation of the movie. Hans Rodionoff answers a lot of questions that has been lingering since issue #1 while doing an excellent job of setting up several more to keep you interested in the next arc. Still, I’m left to wonder: why is the Emerson family so damn important to the vampires of this town?

Rodionoff’s writing continues to shine and his respect of the source material is admirable. The coolest moments of the series have been Edgar’s stories. Whether it’s political vampires or receiving an award from The President, his account of what happens is great. To find out that most of it is embellished for this kid is a big letdown. I get that we need to see Edgar hasn’t changed. If he had, none of the coming events would seem like a challenge. Still, with such a cool setup it’s a bit of a letdown coming back to the truth.

My gripe with the art still hasn’t changed. Characters like Grandpa, David, and the Leatherface Vamp are easy to tell apart since they have very specific features. Gramps has his grey hair, Leatherface has his, well, leather face, and David has his mullet. Sadly, every human looks like Edgar Frog! Edgar and Alan are brothers, but I could only tell them apart when Alan was turning, since I knew Edgar was still alive. Even the kid Edgar’s talking to looks like him and as far as I know he doesn’t have any kids. Still, the images on the page do a great job of conveying the story. The best is when David’s half-brother (it’s complicated) kills some sharks in the water. It’s a few quick panels which show the frantic pace of the fight. Besides, how often do you see a shark get killed on its own turf?

Lost Boys has been one of the most enjoyable arcs I’ve read in a while. The respect to the source material is unmatched by any tie-in I’ve seen and that’s a relief. I’ve said it before: if you’re a fan of The Lost Boys mythos buy this book, you won’t be disappointed. (Grade: B-)

– Ben Berger

Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #2 (of 4) – Review

By: Hans Rodionoff, Joel Gomez (pencils), Don Ho (inks), Randy Mayor, and Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the original Lost Boys movie. In this comic series, the story turns and focuses on the Frog Brothers and their lives post-Lost Boys. Basically, these two have stayed in the fictitious city of Santa Carla and continue fighting the good fight. Along the way they find out that they didn’t actually kill the head vamp in the events of the movie, so they now need to act fast if their home town is to be saved.

The writing in this book is top notch. The dialogue remains in tune with the movie right down to the terminology. It’s funny, and at times scary, with good twists and turns – the biggest of which is the reveal of the true head-vamp. I won’t say who it is, but fans of the movie will be floored when they read it. Having seen the movie (many times) it didn’t make sense right away, but a little inconsistency is forgivable since every vampire story has its own take on the mythos.

The art here is a little confusing. There isn’t a lot of detail in the character’s faces so it’s hard to tell a lot of them apart. The vampire, David (played by Kiefer Sutherland in the movie), still has that ridiculous spikey-haired mullet, which is a great throw back to the 1980s. Unfortunately, the rest of the art isn’t as detailed or stylized as the cover, which depending on your taste, can be a bad thing. Throughout the book Joel Gomez uses the visual tool of a red silhouette over a black background to great effect – this I liked. It highlights both the action and gore as well.

Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs is a great read for anyone who liked the movie. It has the same cult, classic feel that made the movie so much fun. One thing I really enjoyed is the fact that the paper feels like old school newsprint – not the glossy pages we’re now accustomed to. It may have been a budget thing, or a style choice, but it’s fun either way. If you liked the movie, buy this comic! (Grade: B)

-Ben Berger