Vibe #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns & Andrew Kreisberg (story), Pete Woods (art), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Sean Parsons & Bit (inks), Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: Vibe fails to stop Agent Gunn from killing the messenger.

The Review: More than ever, I realize that Johns has a special gift of endearing characters to readers.  He does his best work with characters who seem a little overwhelmed, hapless, or out of their element, and trying to navigate the obstacles and responsibilities placed on them in the best way they can.  No wonder that Johns resonates most with the superheroes who are new to the game and have something to prove.  He likes getting you to root for the underdog.

Vibe certainly qualifies in that respect, not just from his publication history.  Of all the various characters Johns has taken in hand, Vibe has the deepest self-doubt problem.  This is something that won’t go away in just one or two issues, and probably not even after a whole arc.  But wishy-washiness isn’t exactly a trait one admires in a hero.  If Johns-Kreisberg expect us to stick by Cisco in the long run, we need to see qualities that surpass his crisis of confidence.