The Flash: Season Zero #8 - A Review

Here it is!  The Big Finale under The Big Top, as The Flash faces off against Mister Bliss and his Fabulous Freaks! Can Barry Allen prevail against an army of murderous clowns, a car-crushing strongman and a mind-controlling ring-master?

Yes.  Yes he can.  Unfortunately, this final battle falls flat and ends anti-climatically.  Thankfully, most of the issue isn't concerned with the fight so much as it is with the aftermath.


Unfortunately, the aftermath of the battle raises more questions than it answers, such as what happens to the snake-charming woman Barry had to save from Bliss when she turned on him?  Has she been imprisoned in The Pipeline among with the rest of the circus?  And looking at the cells in the make-shift metahuman prison, those inclined to ponder such things are bound to ask questions about the lack of toilets.

Though the fight is a bit lackluster, this comic is still likely to provide amusement to fans of the show through the comedic dialogue and the trivia relating to the show.  For instance, this issue establishes that this story took place sometime between the third and fourth episode of the show, owing to the facts that The Pipeline exists and Barry is already subsisting on the super-protein bars Cisco first started making in the second episode. Also, the issue ends with Barry running off to face Captain Cold for the first time.
The artwork continues to be decent but unspectacular.  Phil Hester is a great artist but his firm, darker style seems at odds with the more fluid tone one expects of The Flash.  The inks of Eric Gapstur only compound the problem, with the finished artwork seeming more appropriate to a urban-action or horror title than the brighter, more colorful world of Central City.