The Flash #236

"The Flash" #236 accomplishes several things. First off, it ends writer Mark Waid's run on the book. DC Editorial must have given Waid the job of establishing Wally back as the flash, explaining the new family dynamic, and explaining where Wally & his family spent their down time after "Infinite Crisis". This issue pretty much wraps up all of those points to varying degrees of success. For those wondering how Linda went from being a news reporter to the leading expert on juvenile speed force issues, we do get some explanation on that. This issue was the first read where I actually enjoyed both the primary and backup stories. I liked that Waid has tied the two together as well. Freddie Williams II's art is starting to grow on me. With each new issue, Williams is getting more comfortable with Wally and his supporting cast.

While Waid did not bring Wally back to the DCU with a bang, Wally's now firmly established back as the Flash. I look forward to Tom Peyer taking over the writing chores and moving the Flash into a new and exciting direction.

Geoff Johns Running with the Flash

DC's Geoff Johns has been out and about the last couple of days with a few interesting interviews. He first popped up over at CBR with a two part interview (part 1 & part 2). I found it interesting that Johns has some ideas for an Aquaman book. I think Johns on Aquaman could be very good whether he would use the traditional Aquaman or the newer, younger version. I enjoy his commitment to the DCU. I think that he has good vision and produces great stories. It was also neat to hear that he has a couple years of Iron Man stories plotted out.

The NEWSRAMA article is an exciting turn as well. Johns hinted about returning to the Flash in the CBR interview and goes into some detail here along with artist Scott Kolins. I missed Johns run on "The Flash" and have since gone back and picked up most of the TPBs to catch up on what he did with the Rogues. I like his take on these villains. The Rogues were the main reason that I bought "Salvation Run". I'm definitely up for a new Rogues miniseries by Johns and Kolins.

The Flash #235

From my previous reviews of Mark Waid's return to "The Flash" you can tell that I haven't been impressed. The plodding story involving Wally's family and a water-based alien invasion has just not captured my interest. However, in this issue, I believe Waid may be turning the corner. From Wally's interaction with the JLA members to his conversation with his son, the plot actually began to move forward. Freddie Williams II's art is much stronger in this issue as well. He looks like he is getting more comfortable in the Flash's world. I still think that the colors are a bit too bright making the comic look more like a Saturday morning cartoon.

The backup story continues to impress me and, without spoiling too much, I like that Waid has tied this fun story back to the main plot as well. "The Flash" picked up a little steam in this issue and has me looking forward to the next issue for the first time in a while.

The Brave and the Bold #8

Writer Mark Waid brings Wally's family from his other series, "The Flash", into this issue of "The Brave and the Bold" and teams them up with the Doom Patrol. I haven't been keeping up with who's who on the Doom Patrol and I found Waid's take on the team interesting - especially his take on team leader Dr. Niles Caulder. I didn't realize what an ass Dr. Caulder is. Having just read this week's "The Flash", I found this book to actually capture the family dynamic of Wally's family and provided more insight than Waid's "The Flash" monthly. Perez's art really pops making Wally's kids interesting for the first time. Waid captures the varying personalities of the Doom Patrol with Perez providing excellent layouts displaying quite a lot of detail and story. The bookends dealing with the Book of Destiny and the Challengers of the Unknown is a nice plot device for presenting these stories and provides a thread to connect them all. The little tidbits that are dolled out each issue is enough to keep that story moving along.

This is one of DC's best monthlies and should be on your pull list.

The Flash #234

Writer Mark Waid's current run on "The Flash" is beginning to wear thin. I was willing to give him a pass as he reestablished Wally and his family back in the DCU but it is starting to drag now. I get it. The kids have issues with their powers. Let's move onto something that involves Wally as the Flash fighting rogues or something. I like Freddie E. Williams II's clean art style, but there's something missing here. I"m not sure if it is the bright coloring of colorists Tanya & Richard Horie, but the art just looks flat. Williams, however, does a good job with facial expressions and I like his page layouts. Maybe he needs someone else to ink his pencilling to bring out the depth.

In the backup story, artist Doug Braithewaite really shines. Colorist Alex Sinclair gives a painted look to Braithwaite's art and it provides a really stunning graphic novel look and feel. I'm enjoying the backup story more than the primary as Mark Waid does a good job of keeping "The Fast Life" moving forward.

I'm sticking with this book because I love both the Flash and Waid's previous efforts. Here's hoping taking the battle to the alien invaders of the last few issues peaks my interest.

Booster Gold #4

One of DC's best mothlies, "Booster Gold" continues to deliver. Booster continues to work with Rip Hunter and teams up with Barry Allen Flash and Wally West as Kid Flash. It was great to to see the Cosmic Treadmill utilized in this issue. The reveal of Supernova's identity was done well. Both Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz bring a really depth of character to the main players in this book. The pain of Booster loosing his best friend Ted Kord is always evident. It is also nice to see Rip Hunter given something more to do than be "exposition guy". Dan Jurgen's art is, as always, exceptional and has a timeless feel.

"Booster Gold" sits a top my stack as a first read every month. Johns and company have done an impressive job of handling this B-list character. I highly recommend jumping on this title sooner rather than later as next month's time intervention looks to be quite interesting.

The Flash #233

New artist Freddie Williams II replaces the outgoing Dave Acuna and I'm not sure what to think about it. Williams can draw some good stuff. He did so in "Blue Beetle" and "Batman and the Outsiders" one shot. I know he can draw, but this issue looked rushed. Dave Acuna was in the solicitations for both this issue and the next and I wonder if Williams wasn't handed this issue very late and told to get it in on time. Doug Braithwaite's cover is very nice and captures the speed of The Flash. However, William's interiors almost look like something out of Johnny DC and not the DCU. The alien creatures come of as cartoonish. Some of the art looks tight - meaning a character in a panel - but all in all it wasn't very appealing. I hope Williams brings more to the table as he becomes the series regular artist.

The story also left me wanting. Billed by DC marketing as the JLA comes to take Wally's kids, it all really panned out to nothing. Lame aliens, lame characterization, all really builds up to a lot of nothing. I did, however, enjoy the Waid and John Rogers back up story "The Fast Life" much more than the primary story. This four part back up looks very interesting with great art by Doug Braithwaite. To me "The Flash" should be a premiere DC title and currently it is coming of as a second rate D-level hero title.

The Flash #232

I was excited to see writer Mark Waid coming back to "The Flash". Two issues into his run and I'm not really sure where it is all headed. Wally's kids are taking center stage and while the book does have a "The Incredibles" feel to it, I'm not exactly on board yet with this direction. The Flash is my son's favorite character and I have always been a fan. I've been reading "The Flash" since the late 70s and love the simple power of speed. I was a big Barry Allen fan but wasn't one of those who was pissed about his demise during "Crisis on Infinite Earths". I thought DC did an excellent job of utilizing Barry's end to illustrate the hero's sacrifice.

Following Barry's demise, Mark Waid and Geoff John's did an excellent job of establishing the Flash's legacy role in the DCU. I thoroughly enjoyed both Waid and John's runs on the character. Waid brought a sense of family to the Flash's universe with John's fleshing out the Rogues and Wally and Linda's relationship. Wally was thought lost during the "Infinte Crisis" series but was brought back during the JLA/JSA crossover event "The Lightening Saga". Whether Wally and family were supposed to return or it was a purely editorial decision is still up for debate.

With the death of Bart Allen in "The Flash: FMA" series, Mark Waid came back as writer for "The Flash" with the numbering starting with the old "The Flash" series at #231. Waid has some great stuff going on in his current run, but I am not feeling the love for Wally's kids. I'm willing to give Waid time to work things out but this alien invasion story line is out in left field for a Flash comic.

The Flash has had some excellent artist through the years with Mark Wieringo and Howard Porter - just to name a couple - providing dynamic art for the scarlett speedster. Once again, I run into another issue with the current presentation of the Flash. Dave Acuna's art just doesn't grab me. I'm willing to give it more time to grow on me, but the art doesn't really convey the speed of the Flash. Acuna's art is not crisp like Porter's or action packed like Wieringo's. The over saturized reds and yellows just seem to lay on the page. There's no pop.

For a new reader to the Flash, I would recommend catching up on some of the TBPs that are out there before jumping onto Waid's new run. At this point, I can't recommend this series until I see Wally taking center stage and the art comes along more.

JLA Movie

Superherohype.com is reporting that Warner Bros. is aggressively going ahead with the big screen adaptation of the Justice League of America. It is generally accepted that Christian Bale (Batman Begins) and Bradon Routh (Superman Returns) are not going to be attached. The lineup looks to include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Aquaman. I expect a Green Latern thrown into the mix as well. Sadly Bryan Singer's "Superman: Man of Steel" is taking a backseat to this production. The report says that Warner executives are very keen on the JLA script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. It has also been rumored that one of the heroes will die.

I'm hoping that this picture takes place after the formation of the JLA and dispenses with the origin stories. If a hero is going to die, I'm hoping they have the Barry Allen Flash sacrificing his life for the team. I'm sure that if a Green Latern makes an appearance it will be John Stewart to give the team some ethnic diversity. However, I wouldn't mind seeing Black Lighting show up. I'm a little leery of the director George (Happy Feet) Miller. I'm hoping that this is not a campy take on the JLA and that they get the right tone.

I am a big fan of both "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns". I know a lot of fans did not care for Singer's Superman but I thoroughly enjoyed the film. DC & Warner have done a good job of ensuring quality production in their films (Catwoman is a huge exception) and I'm tentatively looking forward to seeing this hit the screen.

All Flash #1

I grew up with the Barry Allen Flash. His death in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was poignant moment for me. At the time I was upset with DC for taking away one of my favorite characters but, with the introduction of Wally West (formerly Kid Flash) as the Flash, and the subsequent development of the Speed Force, I grew to admire DC's handling of the Flash mythos. The torch was passed to a Flash for a new generation and writers like William Messner-Loebs, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns, Wally became the Flash for a new generation. A new Kid Flash was also introduced. Coming from the future, Bart Allen, grandson of Barry, would start off in the DC Universe as the aptly named Impulse and would move onto inherit the mantel as Kid Flash.

DC decided to see if lightening would strike twice by having Wally disappear during the "Infinite Crisis" saga. Bart would assume the role of the Flash in the Flash: The Fastest Man Alive comic book series. Having lived through the original crisis and death of Barry Allen, I was all for Wally going away and Bart becoming this generation's Flash. However, sadly, the transition was woefully mishandled by DC and its writers. By issue 13, interest in the Flash had dwindled and DC decided to kill off Bart Allen. Bart died at the hands of the Flash's original rogues gallery of criminals. Over in the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America titles, "The Lightning Saga" crossover was playing out. In the end, after a confusing appearance by the Legion of Superheroes, Wally and his family returned back to the DC Universe.

In All Flash #1, we get a story that provides a setup for the further adventures for Wally West as the Flash. Some things are not quite right as his kids, who were new born just a year ago are now 10-12 years old. Superman ponders this and Wally gives a quick "lets talk about it later" answer. Wally then sets off against the rogues to attempt to set up that story line for future issues.

I was happy to see Mark Waid back in the writing chair for the Flash. He knows Wally West best and can return the Flash back to a best selling comic with great stories. I though the one shot did a good job of returning Wally to the fold and setting up the future story arc. I hope Flash 231 brings tighter art direction as the team art displayed in All Flash #1 did not provide a cohesive picture of this version of Flash. All in all I'm pretty excited about the direction of the Flash. I'm hoping at some point Bart is brought back to serve as Kid Flash. However, with the addition of Wally's older kids I don't see that happening.

-Matt