I enjoyed the opening story arc on the Flash. It was a bit slowly paced, but other than that it was a great start to this new title. However, this title was basically put on hiatus as the past two issues have been spotlight issues on Captain Boomerang and Reverse Flash respectively. The last two issues read like filler and began to cool my once white hot interest in this title.
Fortunately, it seems that Johns is done stalling for time and is now beginning to lay the foundation Flashpoint with Flash #9. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Francis Manapul
Colors: Brian Buccellatto
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with Hot Pursuit suddenly appearing in the middle of Central City. Hot Pursuit says that he needs fuel and needs to find Barry Allen. Hot Pursuit races off on his Speed Force fueled motorcycle.
We cut to Barry arriving at work on a Saturday. Because all of the cold cases have been re-opened, Singh is having the entire Crime Lab show up for work on a Saturday. Singh then interrupts Barry and says that they have a fresh case to investigate.
We cut the crime scene. We see an old man in his 90’s in a super hero costume. The police say that it could be murder, or it could just be old age or a heart attack. Barry fingerprints the corpse.
We shift to Iris at the Flash family picnic. Barry calls Iris and tells her that he can’t make it to the picnic. Iris responds that Barry would normally race over and tell her this in person rather than use a phone. Iris says that Barry is purposely avoiding the family picnic. Barry says he is still bothered by the fact that Reverse Flash killed his mother and framed his father. Barry says neither of his parents should be dead. Iris says avoiding his family won’t change those facts.
Barry then tells Iris that he has to go. The results are back from the fingerprints. Barry sees that the 90 year old man is actually Elongated Kid who was a 16 year old hero who first appeared in Central City a couple of weeks ago. Elongated Kid used to work at the Flash Museum. There he stole a case of Gingold. Barry wonders if the strain of the changes to the cellular structure of his body due to the Gingold was what caused the rapid aging and death.
Barry comments that in order to solve this case that they need Patty Spivot back with the Crime Lab. Forrest replies that Patty left Central City for a small police department in Nebraska. That Patty was sick of all the crimes and pouring over dead bodies in Central City. Barry replies that they are going to need Patty.
Detective Grubbs then walks over and barks at Allen for getting so many cases ripped apart again and getting convictions overturned. Grubbs says that the real police are pissed at Barry for being more concerned with freeing criminals than actually helping the police out there on the streets.
We slide over to Barry at the Crime Lab. Barry calls Patty and gets her voicemail. He leaves her a message. Suddenly, the power goes out. We then see Hot Pursuit ride up the side of the building and shatter the window. Barry slips into his Flash outfit and chases after Hot Pursuit. Flash tells Hot Pursuit to stop. Hot Pursuit stops and says that he is a cop. Hot Pursuit tells Barry that he has to trust him and that they are on the same side. Flash responds that he has already dealt with some cops from the future (The Rogue Police) and that they were not on his side. Flash asks why should he trust Hot Pursuit.
Hot Pursuit takes off his helmet and says, “Because my name is Barry Allen. And I’m here to save history from the single greatest time anomaly to ever threaten reality.” End of issue
Commentary
The Good: Flash #9 was a blast to read. This issue was a return to form after the past two less than exciting issues. This issue was solidly paced. I do not expect a blistering pace from a Johns’ penned issue. However, anything faster paced than what we are getting over on Green Lantern is much appreciated. And that is what Johns does with Flash #9.
The plotting is also well done in this issue. There is plenty of plot progression and Johns spends time building up Barry’s supporting cast., installs a few small plot lines and begins to lay the foundation for Flashpoint. I love that Johns is finally getting around to performing the necessary work of properly constructing a strong supporting cast for Barry.
I also enjoyed the fact that this issue primarily focused on Barry’s personal and professional life rather than his life as the Flash. Barry’s supporting cast and his civilian life have been largely ignored over the first eight issues of this title. Since it has been a long time since Barry was active in the DCU, it is critical that Johns spends some time focusing on Barry himself and getting him properly re-established in the DCU.
Johns succeeds in continuing to nicely flesh out Barry’s supporting cast, both his allies and his enemies. Forrest, Singh and Grubbs all have well developed personalities. Each character plays an important role in Barry’s professional life.
Forrest is Barry’s longtime friend who is going to have to somehow rekindle his passion for his job. Singh is going to play the role of the tough but fair boss who will push Barry to be his best while limiting Barry’s ego. Then there is Grubbs who will bring the necessary ingredient of conflict to Barry’s professional life. I am curious to see how Barry deals with being alienated by the “real” police officers as a result of his quest for justice and the truth.
Johns dishes out some enjoyable dialogue. Each character has a well developed voice. Johns is also able to generate some nice chemistry between all of the characters. Of course, Barry receives the bulk of the character work. Johns does a fine job continuing to flesh out Barry’s personality. The reader gets a good look into what makes Barry tick and what drives him to be so relentless at his job.
What I particularly enjoy is that while Johns definitely stresses the fact that Barry has a strong moral compass, Johns also shows Barry’s flaws as well. Johns continues to make Barry more human and less “perfect.” This is vital since Barry had attained some type of perfect god-hood status within the DCU after his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Johns shows how Barry is struggling with the knowledge about Reverse Flash killing his mother and framing his father. Barry continues to have a tough time adjusting to being alive again. The fact that Barry is distant with his family and skips the family picnic shows that he is not dealing with his issues in a positive and productive manner. Showing Barry making mistakes and having problems makes him a character that the reader can more easily relate to.
I love this plot line involving the Elongated Kid. I am a huge fan of Ralph Dibny so I like anything tangentially related to him. This plot line also serves as an opportunity to remind the reader about the strong friendship that existed between Barry and Ralph. This was a cool mystery that had a fun Silver Age flavor to it. Johns definitely piqued my interest in this mystery and I am excited to see where he takes this plot line.
The final scene was fantastic. First, I think Hot Pursuit is a cool character. C’mon, he rides a motorcycle powered by the Speed Force! That is pretty damn cool! I loved the huge twist ending of this issue. This was an incredible hook ending that brings the reader to the edge of their seat. Now, my cynical heart usually looks at any and all “big events” with a jaundiced eye. However, Johns is slowly, but surely, beginning to win me over to Flashpoint. This ending helped get me more interested in what Johns has in store for us with Flashpoint.
Manapul’s pencils are fantastic. I love his character’s expressions. Manapul is able to inject so much emotion into the story and effectively bring Johns’ story to life. The panel layouts are varied from page to page which makes this a visually appealing issue. And the splash shots? Beautiful. Manapul certainly can draw speedsters.
The Bad: Flash #9 does not have much action at all. Action fans may not appreciate the fact that this is a character driven issue. Barry also spends next to no time at all in the Flash costume. So readers who want to see a lot of the Flash in action may not enjoy this issue as it centers on Barry in his civilian life. And then there is the fact that the fight between Gorilla Grodd and Flash took place off panel in this issue. I really want to see Grodd and Barry Allen square off on panel. That would be an entertaining and exciting battle.
I am still not crazy about the art decision of having colors applied directly to Manapul’s pencils. There are very few artists who possess strong enough pencil work that enables them to skip having an inker and simply going straight to colors. Dale Eaglesham is definitely one of those artists who can do that. Manapul is not. I love Manapul’s pencils, but they are subtle, fine and light. Manapul’s pencils benefit from inks prior to going to colors. the Not much action. Not much panel time as the Flash. Grodd fight happened off panel. Still not crazy about lack of inks.
Overall: Flash #9 was a fun easy read. This issue was new reader friendly and definitely a great jumping on point for new readers. Also, readers who are looking forward to Flashpoint need to get this issue.
What makes this title stand out on the comic rack from all of the other super hero titles is the excellent combination of Silver Age creativity and excitement blended with modern themes and storytelling techniques. Flash brings the joy and sense of wonderment of the Silver Age in a completely modern package. If you are looking for something different from the usual modern super hero stories full of heroes with clay feet, darkness and grim stories then definitely check out The Flash.
I highly recommend giving The Flash a try. At $2.99, Flash #9 is a great buy and well worth your hard earned money.