Easily my most anticipated comic coming out of Blackest Night and into Brightest Day was Geoff Johns’ relaunch of The Flash with Francis Manapul. I admit that I only really started to actively read The Flash after the events of Infinite Crisis but I always made sure to keep an eye on the Flash family as they were easily my favorite heroes in the DC universe. I also have to admit that I had always been a huge Wally West Flash fan as well. This isn’t to say I was against Barry Allen ever returning, but I was a bit apprehensive at Wally losing the limelight upon Barry’s return. As such, I was also a equally wary as I was exciting coming into Johns’ new series.
It’s a testament to John’s skill that in his very first issue he managed to assuage all of my worries of Barry Allen being the lead Flash once again. I was completely pulled into “The Dastardly Death of the Rogues” story from the introduction of the Renegades. It’s an intriguing twist on the idea of the Flash’s rogues gallery from a different angle and helps keep the characters fresh. It’s fun and interesting to see how the Rogues’ various abilities can be enhanced when future tech. The only thing about the story I didn’t really like was how easily and handily for Barry the cliffhanger from last issue was dealt with. It just seemed too lucky for Barry that his department would just to this conclusion, though it could be considered as consistent with how they are apparently not too great at closing cases. It still just didn’t sit right with me though. Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang’s plot continues to develop but it hasn’t really hooked me yet. It just seems too simple and seems to lean on the fact that the people resurrected in Blackest Night now have mysterious powers. I was hoping for a little more to this subplot but it might become more interesting now that it is beginning to intersect with the Renegades’ plot.
Far and away the most impressive part of this issue, as with the previous three, is the gorgeous art by Francis Manapul. How Manapul was able to go as long as he did without becoming a huge star is a mystery to me as he is insanely talented. There’s a wonderful level of detail to every panel he draws and each panel just flow from one to the other. There’s no clutter or confusion to the panels and no two characters ever look the same. His characters actually feel like they are moving at the speed of light and doing so naturally and he is capable of some truly expressive looking faces that really carry emotion. I’ve yet to be able to find a flaw in his art on this series ad I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
The Flash has quickly become one of my most anticipated books and feels like a truly classic, yet modern superhero comic book. Johns’ is making these characters delightfully human and Manapul is really making the book stand out visually. It’s only the ironically slow moving story and some cheap ways out of certain situations to hinder this book. It does not, however, hinder my interest on a month to month basis and continue to look forward to each new issue every month. Let’s hope Johns and Manapul can continue this pace.
Overall: 9.0/10
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