Flash (vol.5) #9 (December, 2016)
"Kid Flash of Two Worlds!"
Writer - Joshua Williamson
Art - Jorge Corona
Colors - Ivan Plascencia
Letters - Steve Wands
Assistant Editors - Amedeo Turturro & Diego Lopez
Editor - Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $2.99
Hey there's an interesting cover... looks like we'll be crossing one off my "Rebirth Wish List" here, the meeting of the Wally's. As we have learn from the post-Rebirth pay-offs... we probably shouldn't get all that excited, eh?
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We open, and it's Halloween in Central City. This ain't going to be all that Halloweeny... but there is a pumpkin! Anyhoo, Iris has been getting mysterious bouquets of flowers for a little while now... which makes Barry a little uncomfortable, ya know, considering they're not from him. Before she and the guys can do the Halloween horror movie thing, she is called away to a situation on the Keystone Bridge. Flash and Kid Flash decide to unknowingly tag along to help out.
The narration is Wallace's, and he talks about "meeting your heroes". He's met his... it's the Flash. Only one thing though, the Flash won't share his secret identity with him just yet. After diffusing the bridge sitch, the two speedsters are joined by a third... the real Wally West. He taps into the Speed Force to stop an explosion, which leaves the younger Wallace a bit bamboozled.
As the dust has settled, the trio of speedsters get acquainted. When Barry goes to shake Wally's hand, however... a bit of an odd reaction occurs, giving Barry some strange visions... and a heinously ugly full-page spread.
Then... dude snaps! He starts (verbally) laying into the Wally's... refers to their both being abandoned by their parents. Heck, even mentions nu-Wally's dad going so far as to pretend to be his uncle! This is all new information to nu-Wally, by the by.
Real-Wally explains that the Speed Force must be trying to absorb Barry... which, I mean, that concept is getting pre-tty, pre-tty old by now, ain't it? Speaking of overstayed/overused concepts, there's Zoom! Anyhoo, the Wally's gotta nyoink him outta the lurch.
And they do... and it's apologies all around. Unfortunately, nu-Wally heard some things he can't un-hear, and so he throws a tantrum... which has gone on to become his defining character trait, unfortunately.
We jump ahead to a Halloween Party where nu-Wally and Chester P. Runk are supposed to be hanging out. Still not sure there was any point to de-aging Chunk... ya know, besides the whole "funny, ha-ha, look at this random character I know about" sort of reason. Anyhoo, they don't make it inside, because real Wally is there for a chat.
They share stories about their unpleasant childhoods... and what it all comes down to, more or less, is... give Flash a chance, he's not such a bad dude.
They then run off together so real-Wally can show him some Speed Force tricks.
We head toward the close with Barry and Wally talking about everything that's gone down of late. We learn that Wally's the one sending Iris the flowers... though, we already knew that since we're reading this out-of-order. He refuses to inflict himself on her yet... not until he knows a bit more about why he's back. They talk about Abra-Kadabra being responsible for making people forget about Wally, which... I'm sorry... just sucks. What's wrong with just having Dr. Manhattan be responsible for the lot of it? Why complicate matters even further by adding some d-list villain to the mix?
We wrap up with Barry sharing one particular vision he had while in the Speed Force... he's not sure what it was, but it filled him with hope. Psst, it's totally a Mercury helmet... even with no memory of Jay Garrick he ought to be able to identify that!
--
As with many of our Rebirth-payoffs... this was quite underwhelming. We keep leaning on the Speed Force crutch as a facilitation device... and, I mean, there's that law of diminishing returns we gotta take into account, right? I mean, we just rescued Real Wally from there... like twice, right? Do we really need to do this like every time out?
What is this art? I'm on record saying (usual artist) Carmine DiGiandomenico isn't my cup of tea (especially on a title like this... and woof at that "Of Two Worlds" homage cover), but... what am I, reading the third story deep in an issue of X-Men Unlimited here? Is this a reboot of Ren and Stimpy? This art really hurt any "oomph" this story might have had right off the bat. I mean, this was supposed to be a big story, right? The two Wally's meeting? Least I thought it was going to be a bigger deal. Maybe that's my bad.
Because what we get... ain't much. I feel like so many of these early-Rebirth era books are in such a hard spot, because there's only so much they can do until DC Brass and Geoff Johns (who might've still been part of DC Brass at this point) decide what they're going to do with the Watchmen characters. Looking back, it makes the entire "Button" reveal feel more like a gimmick and less like a long-term plan. It was the very definition of a "cheap pop", without anything (concrete) to back it up. I mean, we're nearly three-years removed at this point... and we're still waiting! Worse yet... we're still going to be waiting a long time (longer by the day, it seems!).
Even with all that said, however, this issue could have been better handled. It could have felt more special... and, it should have used a different artist. Nothing tells me a story matters less, than when they drop a fill-in artist with a unique "novelty" style into an issue.
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Flash (vol.5) #23 (July, 2017)
"The Color of Fear, Part One: Hello"
Writer - Joshua Williamson
Artist - Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors - Ivan Plascencia
Letters - Steve Wands
Associate Editor - Amedeo Turturro
Editor - Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $2.99
Hey everybody, I come to you today... one-year older... one-year wiser? Ehh, one-year older.
For yes, today is my thirty-coughth birthday... and to celebrate, we're going to take a look at an issue featuring Barry Allen's Birthday Blowout!
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We open in the 25th Century, at the Flash Museum. A voice is narrating over a visual of some familiar-looking costumes... and when it gets to Eobard Thawne, it reveals that the future remembers him as the Flash's best friend! Well, we know better than that. Back in the present, Barry is in the S.T.A.R. Labs Morgue, where he stands over the crunchy and dehydrated corpse of Thawne. Remember he was zapped by some baby-blue energy during The Button. Barry's convinced that Thawne isn't dead... just severely slowed-down. His little monologue is interrupted by a pair of lab techs... and so he leaves. That's okay though, he's actually got somewhere else to be anyway!
Like his Birthday Party!
After getting the big Surprise!", the guests seem to all go back to their business. Forrest approaches Barry to talk his ear off, during which he can't help but flash back to the recent The Button arc. The man with the tin hat... Batman's Flashpoint letter from Thomas Wayne... ya know, all that stuff.
Barry watches Wallace walk by, and mentions that they're not on the best of terms at the moment... he wants Barry to tell Iris that he's the Flash. All he can think about though, is how much danger that might put her in. With folks like Thawne in the Universe, anyone who knows the secret is put at risk! He imagines Zoom busting through this very Birthday Party... and murdering everyone there in a matter of microseconds.
Singh and Hartley head over to snap Barry out of his daydream... but can't get him to reveal what he'd been thinking about. Henry Allen makes an attempt, which is just as unsuccessful.
Then, a very special guest arrives, with a regifted model plane under his arm... Hal Jordan! The Hard-Travel... er, wait, that's not them.
Hal is introduced to Iris, and does that whole "You're too good for this guy" routine, before she starts to harangue Barry about being distracted during his party. An uncomfortable Hal actually wishes for an alien invasion (under his breath) in order to interrupt this discussion...
... and he almost gets his wish! Though, instead of aliens... it's just a whole lotta Multiplex!
Barry and Hal rush off to change into their "work duds". On the way, Barry asks Wallace to bring Iris home right away. Wally puts up a struggle... and reminds me of the way he's depicted in the Teen Titans book... as one of the worst characters ever! Just punch this little goof, Barry!
After a pretty lazy two-page spread of Flash and Green Lantern in costume (I mean, it's just the two of them in front of a flare-y computer background... did we really need to waste two pages?), we find out that Multiplex is there looking for a girl he's fallen in love with. She insists that they've only had a single drink together at this point... so, our man Danton's what we in the biz call a "fast worker"... or, a "damned creep", either descriptor works.
Flash and Lantern show up and start cleaning house. Unfortunately, Multi-plex won't quit multi-plying... until finally, he becomes like... just a mass of multies. Like, ya know when someone shines a light in a cave, and something like a billion spiders scatter away? Like that.
While Hal and Barry deal with that... Wally brings Iris back to the "safety" of her home. Only one problem with that... somebody's waiting for them!
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Ya know... I really wanted to be "all in" on the post-Rebirth Flash book, but it felt like every time I cracked open an issue, I'd see some evil speedster staring back at me. Felt like every time out, Barry would have to fight someone who might be faster than him... which isn't a bad idea, but... feels just so overdone at this point.
I remember this issue in particular. When I get my bundle of books from DCBS every month or so, I enter them into my obsessive-Excel spreadsheet. Part of that is getting issue titles (which more books need to use these days!) and the writer and artist. Upon flipping to the last-page (where too many books now put their credits) I'm faced with Eobard Thawne. C'mon... again/still? And, I gotta say... I was so damned excited for this issue to see how they'd follow up The Button.
Is this some sort of "thing" from the Flash TV show? Is it just Barry fighting an "evil speedster of the week" every time out? Because, lemme tell ya... this is getting tiresome!
Let's talk Thawne for a bit. I swear, the only time I was able to make sense of/differentiate between what a Professor Zoom and Reverse-Flash was, was during the middle-part of the Geoff Johns run. I'm so far removed from all that, that I couldn't, with any authority, speak to who's who and what's what. I could've sworn they were two different guys... but, now they're not? Can't really hold this against them, not having read as much of the recent stuff as I perhaps should.
I mentioned a "lazy two-page spread" during the synopsis. Now, I hate judging art... not being much of an artist myself, I feel weird about giving an opinion one way or another. Though, Di Giandomenico really ain't one of my favorites. I recall his work making All-New X-Factor over at Marvel rather a chore to read. Though, if I'm being honest, the story wasn't exactly great shakes in that book either.
That "spread" though... just feels so unnecessary. I can only assume that Di Giandomenico really wanted to draw a big image of Hal and Barry in costume... or, the writer assumed this would look a lot better than it actually did. I'll include it below...
We discussed a post-Rebirth issue last week as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths. During that piece, I mentioned how much better nu-Wally was written here than in Teen Titans... where he is often the worst thing on the page. Well, that's all changed here. It's not quite as bad as in Titans, but he's really so very annoying here.
It must sound like I hated this issue, huh? Well, no... I thought all of the Barry stuff was great. Loved how he was so lost in thought that his own narration boxes were cutting off other peoples' dialogue balloons... that's a great little detail that I appreciated.
Also, the Barry stuff is just the most interesting... especially coming off The Button, lackluster ending and all... it was still (supposedly) the "next step" in the Rebirthening of the DC Universe. Well, hopefully Doomsday Clock will be done within the next 2-3 years so we might finally see what the "next step" could be.
Overall... a fine issue, though disappointing if you were expecting any concrete follow-up to The Button. The art is a bit distracting and Wally is a little jerk. Other than that though, this could be worth a look.
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The Two-Page Spread:
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Flash (vol.5) #13 (February, 2017)
"Date Night"
Writer - Joshua Williamson
Art - Neil Googe
Colors - Ivan Plascencia
Letters - Steve Wands
Assistant Editors - Amedeo Turturro & Diego Lopez
Editor - Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $2.99
I don't usually talk "numbers" here... because, I dunno... it's kinda tacky, innit?
I'll break that rule today though.
Despite our little span of Christmas comics coverage being some of my favorite times writing this blog, it doesn't really do all that well in the ol' "views" department.
Add to that, anytime I cover a non-Waid Flash book... numbers also dip, for whatever reason. Not sure what it is about the Flash, but the numbers don't lie. Folks don't seem to wanna read about him... or read what I have to say about him. Not sure why that is... but, it's certainly a trend.
So, for the even-smaller handful of you reading, I hope you enjoy the Seventh Day of Christmas on Infinite Earths!
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It's Christmas Eve, and Kid Flash is taking care of business in Central City (not Keystone City, right?). He's "on the job" tonight in order to keep all potential distractions away from Barry and Iris, who are finally on an official date. They're quite serious about things going right this time around... as they enter the restaurant they promise not to let anything interfere with their evening... not news, not work, not the Flash.
Back on the streets, Wallace is doing the normal "street level" superhero gig... saving a woman from having her purse snatched and all that. During this he provides a bit of a monologue to talk about how difficult it's been for Iris and Barry. It's clear to anyone that they're really into each other, but interruptions never fail to keep them apart. Speaking of interruptions, Kid Flash comes across... Tar Pit, who is in the middle of robbing a toy store!
Back in the restaurant, Barry and Iris have a... well-meaning, but still contentious chat about all the other women that Barry has been involved with since Flashpoint. He's a regular Brand New Day Peter Parker, I tells ya! Hell, have you ever seen Carlie Cooper and Patty Spivot in the same place?! Anyhoo, the crux of this discussion is that Barry was able to find time for his other relationships... but not for Iris.
Back to Wallace... he approaches Tar Pit, and even swipes his goodie bag... only to find that it's rather hot (as you might imagine). Tar Pit reveals that he's not there to steal any toys... just the money (go figure!). What's more, he needs the money. Well, I guess we oughta let him go then. Anyhoo, much to his own surprise, the baddie manages to tag Kid Flash with a hunk of hot slag.
As Tar Pit lumbers away, Wallace cools himself off in the snow. He catches up with the baddie, and decides to run circles around him in order to whip up some snow. Tar Pit pleads with the kid that he doesn't know the whole story of why he had to rob the place.
Back to the restaurant... and hoo boy, Barry and Iris are having one heckuva hot date. Realizing they don't have all that much to talk about, or want to talk about, Iris breaks her own ground rules and starts talking about work.
Outside, Tar Pit reveals that he only robbed the toy store in order to pay off some goons who are holding his niece and nephew for ransom. Ya see, his late-brother was kind of a jerk, and racked up some pretty big debts before passing away. The folks he owes are looking to take this out on the children. Wallace think about how his own father is a villain... and how he can relate to the "sins of the father" and what-not. He decides to help Tar Pit save the kids... but assures him when all's said and done, Tar Pit will be going back to Iron Heights.
Before we know it, Kid Flash rescues Tar Pit's niece and nephew... and drops the kidnappers off at the Police Station. That's that!
We rejoin Barry and Iris as they head back to her place. Iris comes clean about not fully committing to their relationship. She's afraid that if it doesn't work out, she'll lose Barry as a friend. He assures her that's not possible. They enter her house just as Wallace is preparing them a couple'a mugs of hot cocoa... he buzzes off to let them have the rest of their evening.
We get a bit of an Animal House montage as we draw to the end. Wally heads over to the local kitchen to lend a hand... Tar Pit, back in Iron Heights, is visited by family... and Barry and Iris make s'more small talk.
We wrap up with Captain Cold rendezvousing with some dirtbag in the desert. Cold has paid this goof to provide him with some plans... when, dude decides he might wanna raise the price. Cold complies exactly the way you'd expect him to!
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A pretty fun, if a bit breezy, issue!
One of the things I miss most about comics in the 80's and 90's is that, every so often, they'd take a break and deliver a "down time" or "quiet" issue. It would usually come on the heels of a big event or crossover, but they were great... they let everybody (inside the book and out) catch their breath before moving on to the next thing.
In the age of decompression and writing for the trade, we kinda lost the luxury of having a one-off every now and again... so, when we get an issue like this, it's really quite special!
Let's talk Wally/Wallace. Most of my Wally-experience comes from his appearances in Teen Titans... where he is probably the worst part of the book. He's just such a wingey, whiny, milquetoast pain in the butt... I cringe every time he shows up on panel. He's always complaining, quitting the team, or threatening to quit the team. Just not a pleasant character. Here though? I like him!
Sure, the rescuing Tar Pit's niece and nephew got solved a bit quick... but, really... we didn't need to see much more of it, did we? It was probably the right decision to just jam through that scene the way they did. I do wonder why Tar Pit was making such a to-do about robbing the store... you'd figure he'd at least try and be low-key about it.
Over to Barry and Iris. I thought their date was pretty well done. I mean, I'm against them "dating" to begin with... in my head, they're still married... but, if ya gotta have 'em date, this was as good an awkward "first (real) date" as any.
I dig Iris' fear that a romantic entanglement might hurt their actual friendship. That's a natural fear and definitely something to keep in mind. Barry's optimism that there's nothing to worry about is pretty refreshing too.
The uncomfortable-bordering-on-contentious dinner discussion they shared felt calculated... but in a good way. We can tell that there's a lot Iris wants to say, but in choosing her words the way she did... didn't quite "get it all out". It's like she wants to gauge Barry's responses before she lets herself dig in deeper... both in questioning and the overall relationship.
I appreciate Barry's relationships being called to the fore. I really wasn't joking when I compared him to Brand New Day Peter Parker... that was my initial take when I read the first post-Flashpoint issue... even down to his "safe" nerdyish love interest.
Overall... a really good issue, with a nice Holiday backdrop. Neil Googe probably wouldn't be my first choice as a Flash artist (now, if they did an Impulse book, he'd be a natural fit!), but I gotta admit, I was pleased to see it wasn't DiGiandomenico. This is an issue well worth checking out. This issue is available digitally (at full cover price? Really? Okay.).
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Flash (vol.5) #49 (August, 2018)
"Flash War, Part 3"
Writer - Joshua Williamson
Artist - Howard Porter
Colorist - Hi-Fi
Letterer - Steve Wands
Assistant Editor - Andrew Marino
Editor - Rebecca Taylor
Group Editor - Marie Javins
Cover Price: $2.99
Heyyy... my DCBS order (finally) arrived, so we can finally rejoin the Flash War. I feel like I'm almost definitely going to have to "double dip" on issue #50... I'm sure Comics-Twitter is already chomping at the bit to spoil that... that is of course, if DC Comics themselves doesn't spoil it in some newspaper over the weekend!
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We open with Steve Trevor and Amanda Waller trying to track the racing Flashes across the globe... ya see, at the speed at which they're running, they're putting the Earth in one heckuva predicament. We pop in on those Flashes, who give us a bit of a quick and dirty recap... so, I will too. Hunter Zolomon promised Wally West that he could save his pre-Flashpoint children is he... get this, breaks the Speed Force.
Barry, being a dude who has messed with the timestream cautions Wally about his pending actions... and so, they continue to run. This activity does not go unnoticed throughout Earth... and we get cameos from several members of the Heroing Community.
Speaking of the Heroing Community... Steve Trevor has called in the services of both the Justice League and the Titans! Hey, I guess here's one way we get to see Cyborg work alongside his pre-Flashpoint pals! The Flashes continue to run, and Barry finally spills the beans about he and Batman investigating Wally's return... and the potential "others" he'd learned about during The Button.
As they pass by the heroes, Superman enters into the race... however, finds that he's not fast enough to keep up!
Elsewhere, Hal Jordan erects a construct wall to stop the Speedsters... this doesn't go according to his plans. Wally plows right through the wall, without any concern for Hal's safety... though, he does know that Barry would save Hal regardless.
Wally appeals to Barry to enter the Speed Force with him. He knows that between the two of them, they have enough power to smash through without getting "stuck" there. Also, he knows that they are each other's "lightning rods", and only together, they can be sure to remain "grounded" the entire time.
And so... they give it a shot! Coming out the other end, however... they find something completely unexpected. They didn't break through the Speed Force... they broke the "Force Barrier"!
After several KRAKings are heard, the Justice League and Titans collapse. It's revealed that Hunter Zolomon wasn't exactly forthcoming with what the result of this endeavor might be. Ya see, well... he lied. He still claims to know where Irey and Jai are, however. Anyhoo, he needed the Flashes to break the Force Barrier so he could "gain access to what lay beyond". He then, using Barry's original Flash Ring that Eobard Thawne's had stolen, becomes... the Flash?!
He then demonstrates his mastery of both the Sage and Strength Forces... and promises to kill Barry and Wally to save them from their own terrible futures!
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Pretty good... maybe a slight step back from the previous two issues (not as much fan-service, I suppose), but I'm still really enjoying this story.
I gotta say, I'm really digging just how much they're letting happen here. This actually feels like "an event", and we're not having to pay "event-level" prices... nor have there been skatey-eight hundred prelude/tie-in/frontline issues and series running alongside it! I feel like the modern fan has been sorta beaten into submission... where we expect every "event-level" story to be some overblown, overpriced mess... which may or may not even come with a conclusion! Flash War's conclusion still remains to be seen at the moment, but I gotta hand it to 'em for keeping the entire event quarantined to this series.
So... about this issue. Let's talk about Barry letting Wally risk it all, just to prove that he trusts him. That seems a bit weird, though Barry seems to be in this odd kinda penance when it comes to Wally. He was, after all, responsible for the Flashpoint... and forgotting his old sidekick, so his decision-making here is kinda wonky.
I suppose we've all been there... going along with a pal's cockamamie plan just so you don't hurt their feelings... or because you feel as though you "owe them" your loyalty... but, I mean... I don't think any of our situations had the potential to split the skies, right?
We get another mention of the "others", which really scratches me where I itch. The last "other" was Jay Garrick... so, oooh boy... there might be something really fun on the horizon!
Wally's still in the "tunnel vision" state he's been in since learning of Irey and Jai... and I suppose it's hard to blame him. I appreciate him mentioning that the children isn't something he wants to burden Linda with just yet... as he fears/knows that it would only bring her pain.
Zoom is still kinda playing at being something of an altruist here... which is a welcome sight. Rather than his just being revealed as "horribly evil", he still feels as though he's doing something "for the good". I'm not totally sure what to expect from this, however, I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow sacrifices himself... dying heroically to send things "back to normal".
When I saw the cover, I did kinda groan. I was afraid the League was going to be the focus here. I'm glad that they were more background noise for the race... interesting the reveal that Superman couldn't keep up with either Barry nor Wally. Wonder if that's a one-and-done revelation, or the hierarchy of speed going forward?
Overall... can't call it a "letdown", but definitely, at least to me... a step back from the previous two chapters. That might just be due to the lack of fan-service... it might be due to having the League involved. Either way, this is still (to me) the best DC book going, and I still highly recommend checking it out.
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