The Flash #4 – Review

By: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato (writers and artists)

The Story: If you can’t find Multiplicity playing on cable, this is the next best thing!

The Review: Today, let’s talk about a fictional tactic I like to call the After School Special (or “ASS”, and please—let’s try to be mature about this acronym).  You know how all those kiddie movies and TV shows always seem to have a pivotal moment where the characters address the big lesson they’re meant to learn, and how annoying that gets when you’re older?  Well, it pops up pretty often in grown-up works too, where it’s equally as annoying.

ASS usually appears in one of two forms.  The first is when the characters have a confrontation, during which they self-righteously proclaim to each other the important takeaway of the story.  In this case, we have Patty wailing into Manuel for leaving Barry behind with Mob Rule.  Her ire would’ve gotten across sufficiently had Manapul-Buccellato stuck strictly to passive-aggressive remarks, like, “I don’t run away at the first sign of trouble.  I’m not a coward.”

Patty can’t leave her disgust at just that, however.  She then launches into a yelling fit which, after a while, just becomes repetitive and overly preachy: “Nobody means anything to you!  You don’t give a damn about anything but yourself.”  It’s not that she doesn’t have good reason for this outburst, but it just seems like a very blunt, overwritten way to get the point across.  I’ll leave it to you, however, to decide if it works or not.  ASS scenes can go either way.

The second form of ASS is when a character, by him or herself, stands and delivers a long speech summing up what he or she has learned about him or herself.  These bits go for less melodrama, but more of the cornball.  In #1, I called Barry out on doing this, and here he’s guilty of it again, breaking into a winding monologue about what kind of duties he intends to use his powers for.  Besides its eye-rolling smarminess, the problem with the scene is it doesn’t actually reflect a change in the character or a revelatory insight; it just reiterates what Barry already stands for: “It’s my job to protect the Gem Cities.  To protect my friends.  No matter what price I have to pay.  I won’t stop running.  I’m the Flash…this is what I do.”

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – What a nice change of pace this issue was!  It featured an injured Matt Murdock stranded in a snowstorm with a bunch of blind kids.  You have to take some leaps of faith on the story (i.e. Why how has DD thrived in NYC all these years if snow is his mortal enemy?), but it was touching and uplifting to see Matt/DD doing something very out of the norm for a superhero.  The art was also incredible.  As much as everyone is talking about “Mark Waid’s Daredevil run…”, they should really be giving at least as much credit to Paolo Rivera and the now departed Marcos Martin.  They’ve had just as much to do with the new, lighter tone of the book.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #22 – After a three-issue flashback story arc that some reviewers didn’t love (but I thought was quite good), we go back to “normal” with a story arc set in the 1950’s.  Rafael Albuquerque is back on art!  Yay!  And I can’t wait to see how Scott Snyder is using he batch of characters from the WWII arcs.  Will it be the same vampires we’ve come to know and love?  Will the humans be old by now?  What’ll be new in the world of vampires?  Can’t wait!

Other Picks: Spaceman #3, The Unwritten #32.5, Witch Doctor: Resuscitation One-Shot, Secret Avengers #20, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – I have to say I quite enjoyed Waid’s interludish Daredevil #7 of the blind leading the blind pulling the blind. Well worth checking out.

Most Anticipated: Warlord of Mars #14 – I’d been hoping for a Barsoom book last week, but I guess I was just impatient. This week, we’re into the second installment of the Gods of Mars in Warlord of Mars #14. Carter and Tars Tarkas together in the valley of death!

Other Picks: Captain America and Bucky #625, Captain America #6, The Mighty Thor #9, Uncanny X-Men #3, X-Men Legacy #260, Captain Victory #2

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: PunisherMAX #20 – While it was tempting to give the title to this week’s issue of Invincible Iron Man, PunisherMAX was ultimately just the better comic.  A gripping read throughout with disturbing and psychological character-work mesh with brutal and amazingly choreographed action.

Most Anticipated: Spaceman #3 – Normally I trade-wait when it comes to minis, but last week I caved on Spaceman and picked up the first couple of issues.  While it certainly will appeal more to some readers than others, I truly love this book.  Azzarello and Risso have grafted a fantastic world here, a dirty, dystopian future that has a distinctively “European comics” feel.  A fantastic book and one where writer and artist carry equal loads.

Other Picks: I, Vampire #4, Uncanny X-Men #3,  The Flash #4, Captain America #5, Captain America #6, American Vampire #22, FF #13, Aquaman #4, Mighty Thor #9

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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: The Walking Dead #75 – This was a really good issue that shows the pressure of leadership finally getting to Rick, plus it had the whacky, cool, back-up story.  You could also consider this a bit of a lifetime achievement award for a creator-owned comic that has never (by my reckoning) had a poor issue.

Most Anticipated: Uncanny X-Men #526 – I really enjoyed Second Coming,  so I’m excited to see the new direction for the X-Men.  My world is just happier when the X-books are good, and they’ve all been pretty sharp recently.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #5, Haunt #8, Wolverine Weapon X #15, PunisherMax #9, Incorruptible #8

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Avengers #2 – A dose of old-school fun that genuinely surprised me.  It’s nothing complex, nor is it the best for overall narrative progression, but it’s a rippingly enjoyable read and often that counts for quite a lot.

Most Anticipated: Wonder Woman #601 – In an absolutely, ridiculously stacked week that is guaranteed to make the wallet bleed, I decided to go for the unknown.  Where is JMS going with this?  The fact that I have no idea what to expect from this issue, outside of high quality, has me intrigued.

Other Picks: American Vampire #5, Secret Avengers #3, Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #4, Fantastic Four #581, The Flash #4, Green Lantern #56, Madame Xanadu #25, Punishermax #9, Action Comics #891, Thor #612, Unknown Soldier #22, Wolverine: Weapon X #15

Joe’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour GN – Bryan Lee O’Malley brought to a close his wonderful pop culture romance in a way that pleased me to no end.  6 years in the making, and even with all of that build-up, I was still satisfied with how the creator wrapped up the many plot-lines and relationships that he set into motion so long ago.  And it was all a heck of a lot of fun!

Most Anticipated: Uncanny X-Men #526 – I’m still riding off of the high of Second Coming, so I’m eager to see where the franchise goes from here.  The fact that Allan Heinberg and  Olivier Coipel have a bonus back-up that connects to Avengers: The Children’s Crusade is the cherry on top.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #5, Flash #4, Green Lantern #56, Secret Avengers #3, Punisher Max #9, Wolverine Weapon X #15, X-Men Legacy #238