The Flash Annual #1 - A Review

Left feeling more alone than ever in the wake of The Titans being dissolved by The Justice League, the original Wally West seeks companionship among his uncle Barry and cousin Wally. When that only serves to make things worse, since Wally is still reluctant to approach his Aunt Iris (who still doesn't remember him and is already coping with enough), Wally looks up his childhood friend and former girlfriend Frankie Kane to see if she still remembers him. The good news is she does exist and she still remembers him. The bad news is so does her evil super-villain persona Magenta!


I loved Geoff Johns' run on The Flash and I've recently starting reading through the classic Wolfman/Perez run Teen Titans. While I've yet to read the original Magenta stories, I find the character interesting and it's a real treat to see her restored to the DC Universe here, even ignoring Wally's need for friends now given his current predicament. Joshua Williamson puts a lot of heart into every story he writes and this one is a prime example of how he can tug o the heart-strings even while setting up a major crossover event.

The artwork is equally excellent. Both Howard Porter and Christian Duce are fine artists and you can barely tell when the story switches between their respective sections here. Hi-Fi also deserves praise for some fantastic, eye-catching color work.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.  A great entry point for The Flash and a great opening for Flash War. 

The Flash #26 - A Review

The Reverse Flash has revealed the truth to Iris West - that her boyfriend, Barry Allen, is The Flash and that he has been lying to her for years! That's just the start, however, as Eobard Thawne plays professor yet again to show Barry and Iris the dark future that is now forged from their relationship. Will Barry and Iris have to sacrifice their love for the sake of Tomorrow?


Ironic as it may be to say this, The Flash #26 may have moved too quickly. Last month's issue presented an interesting conceit - that Eobard Thawne is uniquely suited to note the changes to the time-stream forged in The DC Universe Rebirth reality. Apart from the amusing metatextual gag of turning the comic world's most obsessive fanboy into a continuity cop complaining about how everything changed and is ruined forever, it's a heck of a story curveball.

Unfortunately, that conceit - and our brief glimpse of a dark future where Barry and Iris' kids became Rogues due to Barry's neglecting his family for The Flash - are quickly tossed aside in favor of what seems to be "The Real Plot". Unless there is another swerve coming, which is entirely possible with Joshua Williamson's writing.

The artwork is similarly uneven. Howard Porter is a great artist and the colors by Hi-Fi are nice and vivid. Unfortunately, there is some discontinuity between the story and the artwork, as in one panel where The Flash is being dragged off by The Reverse Flash when the dialogue indicates they ran off together. There's also a few bits where the bright colors don't quite match up with the heavy inks indicating deep shadows.

The Final Analysis: 7 out of 10. A serviceable issue, let down only by some quirks in the artwork and a story that is moving a bit to quickly.

The Flash #22 - A Review (WARNING! SPOILERS!)

It's a race against time as Batman and The Flash move to catch The Reverse Flash before he runs to his death. Thankfully, an unexpected and unknown ally will be there to help them find their way home...


Normally I wouldn't drop a spoiler-filled page like this in a review but with Jay Garrick on the cover of the comic, there seems little point in avoiding it.

The Button concludes with little in the way of revelation for those readers who read DC Universe Rebirth. The biggest takeaway is that Jay Garrick - the first Flash - is trapped outside of time in the same way that the original Wally West was. The ending of the issue - and the ad for the next big event - also seem to confirm what astute readers guessed regarding who is responsible for changing The DC Universe... and possibly for creating it in the first place.

Where this is going is still anyone's guess but the JSA's disappearance also seems to be tied into a man who appears to be a ninety-year-old Johnny Thunder, desperately trying to summon his Thunderbolt. Then there's that blonde woman in Arhkahm Asylum (my money is on her being Saturn Girl)  who keeps insisting that things are wrong and there's no future.

Thankfully, this issue is entertaining even if there's little development of the on-going saga. Joshua Williamson has an obvious love and knowledge of the characters involved and there's a great scene that sums up the difference between Bruce and Barry - despite similar training as detectives - and how they consider their shared experiences.  The artwork by Howard Porter and Hi-Fi is similarly fantastic, with bright colors and smoothly-flowing action sequences. I also like how Porter's design for Jay Garrick resembles actor John Wesley Shipp.

Final Analysis: 9 out of 10. It's not shaking up the DC Universe or answering any questions but it's a solid comic with some great artwork and some neat character studies of The Flash and Batman.

The Flash #21 - A Review

Barry Allen is used to investigating unusual crime scenes - both as a CSI for the Central City Police Department and as The Flash. Yet even by Barry's standards The Batcave is an unusual locale and The Reverse Flash is no ordinary murder victim. With the assistance of an injured Bruce Wayne, Barry must piece together what few clues he can about the murder of his greatest enemy before taking a trip back in time to see the murder take place!


This second chapter of The Button proves stronger than the first. This is not to say the first part was bad but it was, for the most part, an extended action sequence more concerned with set-up than content. This issue offers us mysteriy aplenty and there is much for those amateur sleuths among the readers to consider.

The high-point of Joshua Williamson's script, however, is the interplay between Bruce and Barry. Strangely enough we don't get to see these two heroes team up in an intellectual capacity often and it's oddly compelling to see them talking shop. Howard Porter's artwork, well-progressed past the excesses of his more elastic work on the 1990's JLA title, looks fantastic throughout, with Hi-Fi's colors providing the perfect finishes.

Final Analysis: 9 out of 10. Flawed only in that there's very little progress on the actual plot, but the great character writing and artwork makes up for it.

Superman #48 - A Review

The Justice League is held hostage as Vandal Savage makes a play for world domination. This would be a job for Superman... if he weren't running on empty. To refuel his powers, he will attempt a mad plan that could kill him faster than Savage's newest minion The Puzzler can. But that plan will require the help of one person Clark Kent would rather not talk to - Col. Steve Trevor of ARGUS.


The story this month is something of a mixed bag. Gene Luen Yang does a good job explaining the crossover so far for those readers, like me, who aren't reading any of the other Superman titles. And the concept for the new Puzzler - who absorbs technology into himself piecemeal - is an interesting one. Nevertheless, Yang his hampered by the fact that he's one writer at work at one part of a crossover and there's so much to be addressed that he doesn't have time to linger on some of the social scenes he's so good at writing. There's a lot of material to be mined between Clark and Steve's status as Wonder Woman's ex-boyfriends but Yang has little time to examine that here.


Unfortunately, the artwork is as conflicted as as the writing. With two artists and three inkers at work, there's very little visual continuity from page to page. About the only thing that is consistent is the coloration by Hi-Fi, which seems bright to the point of glowing like a neon sign.

Superman 47 - A Review

The notorious hacker known as HORDR_ROOT has stolen Clark Kent's secret identity and with it his job, his life and a goodly portion of his power. But nearly killing Jimmy Olsen was the last straw. Now Superman is going to take the fight to HORDR_ROOT and bring him down to Earth, with a little help from his friends.


The artwork for this issue is all over the place, with three different artists with completely different styles. Howard Porter has done good work in the past but he seems to be channeling the spirit of Rob Liefeld for the better portion of this issue, with his male figures overlarge and the perspective forced to hell. This is somewhat better than Raymund Bermudez, whose contribution to the issue seems half-finished, being sketchy and under-inked. Only Tom Derenick delivers consistently, but even his work seems ill treated by the two conflicted colorists.


This is a shame because this may be the best single issue of the series Gene Luen Yang has written snice taking over Superman. It's a rare treat to see an issue where Clark fights with his head more than his fists and the fight with HORDOR_ROOT necessitates that. And let's give Yang credit for a truly novel plot twist regarding HORDOR_ROOT's connection to a classic DC Comics villain and a rather nifty origin story.

Superman #46 - A Review

Clark Kent's quest to find the sinister hacker HORDR has led him to Oakland, California. Flat broke and unemployed, he's forced to join Mythbrawl - a fighting league where the gods of old replay the stories of their mythology with a modern flare, in the guise of actors. Clark feels oddly at home among his new friends... until the one friend he has left from his old life reappears just as Clark finally gets a lead on HORDR's whereabouts.


I noted last month that Howard Porter's style has change dramatically in recent years. His figures are as bold and brave as ever, but there is a bit more fine detail than I recall in his earlier works. And the colors by Hi-Fi leave everything looking as super as one would expect.



If Neil Gaiman had ever been given a chance to extensively play with the Superman mythos and explore the idea of Superman as a modern god, I don't think he could have done quite so fine a job as what Gene Luen Yang has done here, though it might be similar in scope and shape. This doesn't read like any Superman story I've ever seen before and that's a welcome thing. I shan't spoil the end of this issue, though I will say I'm cynical there will be any lasting changes.  That being said, I still can't wait for the next one.

Superman #45 - A Review

With his powers drained and his identity outed to the world, Clark Kent has not been having a good month. But Hordr - the criminal group that attempted to blackmail him - is still at large. And he is still Superman. The trail to Hordr's new base leads Clark to California and an odd new arena where the gods of old do battle like professional wrestlers.


Despite enjoying this issue, I'm a bit torn on it. And not for the reasons most of the Superman fandom seem to have mixed feelings right now. I'm fine with Clark not having a secret identity and being depowered because I know this is temporary, no matter what DC Editorial says.  Like the electric blue and red Supermen of the 90s, this too shall pass. And the idea is a fun one to play with for a time.

No, my issue is with the idea of Mythbrawl. It's a great idea, mixing the shtick of  JSA villain Roulette with the idea (best explored by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman) that old gods take on new jobs in modern society to draw what worship they can. Yet as innovative as Gene Luen Yang was with this concept, I can't help but think this sort of thing is more appropriate to Wonder Woman. It's a minor quibble, however, and this issue is well-written.


It's been a while since I've read a book with artwork by Howard Porter and I honestly didn't recognize his work here until I looked at the credit's page. Porter's style has changed since the days when he was on JLA with Grant Morrison, becoming stronger and less stylized. The vibrant colors by Hi-Fi perfectly enhance Porter's pencils and inks, crafting one amazing looking book.