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 #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.