The Flash #12 – Review

By: Francis Manapul (writer & artist), Brian Buccellato (writer & colorist), and Wes Abbott (letters)

The Story:  Glider is crowns herself the new leader of the Rogues as Central City is torn apart by a Rogue civil war.

The Review:  While I think Marcus To is an excellent artist, I can’t overstate how happy I am to see Manapul and Buccellato back on art for this title.  They really have visually defined how best to draw a Flash comic in 2012 and, next to a JH Williams III illustrated Batwoman, I feel their Flash is the best looking book of the new 52.   We get fantastic action sequences, great lay-outs, naturally likable characters, and a wonderful sense of speed and motion.  All of this is, of course, covered by the lush, painted colors of Buccellato.  The action sequences this month are particularly enjoyable in their creativity, their tremendous awareness of space and setting, and their basic flow; once again, I feel that in the Flash‘s action scenes, you really do feel the benefit of the same guy(s) being behind both the writing and the art.  I also love their take on Glider: she’s a burst of peachy pastel colours, ethereal and constantly flowing with a sense of weightlessness.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Picks

Best of past week: Saga #6 – Reading Saga is kinda like watching TV shows like Breaking Bad or Mad Men (or Homeland or The Wire) in that Saga is so good that it makes other comics that you would normally enjoy seem mediocre.  Suddenly, the little flaws in The Walking Dead or Amazing Spider-Man aren’t so easy to ignore any more because you know it can be BETTER.  It’s hard to even describe, but Brian K. Vaughn’s scripts just flow better than most other writers.  The only other two writers in that same class right now are Scott Snyder and Alan Moore.  And, Fiona Staples’ art is simply splendid.  I love her economical lines.  If you haven’t been reading this, the first trade is coming out for $9.99 and there’s really no reason to miss it.

Most anticipated this week: 1). Scalped #60 – Good bye old friend!  I can’t really suggest this too much for folks who haven’t been following the series because it probably won’t make much sense to you, but for fans of the series…..I’d be surprised if any of us reads another book first on Wednesday.  Who will die?  Who will live on with the reservation?  And….what will Jason Aaron do for his next creator-owned project?

2). The Unwritten #40 – I recently went to the beach for a few days and reread the first issue of The Unwritten.  I’d encourage everyone who enjoys the series, but has felt a little left behind by this Australia story to do the same.  There are a LOT of nuggets in the first issue that shed light on recent events in the series.  It’s kinda amazing how well plotted this series has been with that first issue in mind.

3). Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom #1 – Mark Waid and Chris Samnee doing a Rocketeer miniseries?  Whoa!  That should be cool!

4). Planetoid #3 – I love alien world-building.  That was the great thing about Prophet before it descended into a big, fat pile of “Get On With It!!!”.  If you’re similarly frustrated by Prophet, check out Planetoid which has a very similar vibe to those first few issues of Prophet that everyone was so gaga about.

5). Rachel Rising #10 – This series was probably getting close to that “Get On With It!!!” point before last issue which offered up a LOT of explanations.

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Alex’s Picks

Pick of the Week: Fatale #7 – It’s really, really tempting to pick Saga again, but I’ll buck the trend and go with Fatale this week.  I’m loving this new cast of characters and Brubaker’s seedy, true-crim 1970s Hollywood.  It’s a really creepy period piece that has Brubaker and Phillips at their A-games.  Without a doubt, Fatale is among the very best books in comics right now.

Most Anticipated:  Scalped #60 – This is truly the end of an era.  Jason Aaron has set up all the dominoes perfectly, but it’s still going to be very sad saying goodbye to these characters and this world.  I remember chewing through the first four trades during a heatwave in a shitty apartment in England and I could literally feel the heat and dust of the Prairie Rose reservation.  I have fond memories of this book and I really do think it’s one of the best comics of all time.

The Punisher #14 – Unfortunately, not every series can be as lucky as Scalped and end on its own terms.  Greg Rucka’s Punisher has been my favourite non-MAX Punisher book of all time with a great supporting cast and a very unique use of Frank as a storytelling device.  On the plus side, it looks like Rucka and co. are going out with a bang.

Invincible Iron Man #523 – Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s definitive is not winding down to its close so much as winding up to it.  Every issue is a gripping read loaded with big moments and great character-work and this series, several years in, remains one of Marvel’s best books.

Justice League Dark #12 – Man, what a difference Jeff Lemire has made to this book.  Suddenly, JLD is everything I hoped it to be and is living up to its potential.  I love the use of the old Vertigo magic stuff like the Books of Magic.  Under Lemire, JLD has become the magic/mystic DC book you’ve been wanting.

The Flash #12 – One of the new 52’s biggest surprises remains consistently good fun.  It’s really a classic superhero book and one that revels in that fact.  I continue to enjoy the rapid-fire establishment of the Rogues in the new 52.  This issue is also solicited as being drawn by Francis Manapul.  I really hope this is the case as, no disrespect to Marcus To who is very good himself, but Manapul’s work is some of the best at DC.

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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man Free Comic Book Day issue – I had a TON of books last week and many were “good” or “fine”, but I was honestly a little perplexed about which comic would get the dog bone this week until reading Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos’ FCBD entry.  It’s a must read for Spidey-fans as this wholly new story focuses on Spidey’s loss of his spider-sense and a key martial skill that he needs to learn to compensate.  Very cool and Ramos’ art is incredible (again).  Runner-up: Moon Knight #1

Most Anticipated: Amazing Spider-Man #660 – I loved #659 featuring a clever and funny script by Fred Van Lente as we saw Spidey and the FF teaming up to fight zombie pirates in the Caribbean.  But, everything got very “real” at the end of the issue when the bad guys and the FF kids showed up.  This should be a really cool issue.

Other Picks: The Unwritten #25, Elephantmen #31, FF #3, X-Men #11, Netherworld #1

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Secret Six #33 – In a week of giants like Fear Itself and the first issue of the Bendis/Maleev Moon Knight, it’s Secret Six, ever the “little title that could,” that takes the prize, and with surprising ease at that.  This issue showcased just why Gail Simone’s dastardly book is among the very best team books on the shelves, if not the best.  A strong team dynamic blends with strong character-work and surprising comedy to make this the big one for me.

Most Anticipated: Flashpoint #1 – Forgive me for my lack of creativity. Honestly, I’m not actually that pumped for Flashpoint.  At least, not in the traditional sense.  I’m merely incredibly curious as to what the hell Flashpoint is.  I know it’s an elseworlds thing that involves, erm, a “time anomaly” and I think the Reverse Flash is at the heart of it…but…yeah.  I have no idea what this is or what it’s about, particularly since those “Road to Flashpoint” issues of the Flash have been delayed significantly.  So yeah, I’m just looking forward to finding out what Flashpoint actually is.

It’s kind of unfair really, given just how amazing Journey into Mystery and PunisherMAX are looking, but them’s the breaks.

Other Picks: New Avengers #12, Birds of Prey #12, FF #3, The Flash #12, Journey into Mystery #623, PunisherMAX #13, Amazing Spider-Man #660