Sunday, May 15, 2011

Flash #10-12: Road to Flashpoint


So again, let me preface this by saying that after reading these three issues and Flashpoint, I've read 4 comics starring Barry Allen. He seems like a nice enough guy, and it is an interesting twist to see a super-hero as a CSI investigator. I'm not sure that's the best fit for a speedster, but I guess it works. I really like that Barry is late for every appointment, that's a great detail that makes him work. I remember Iris Allen being a lot older, a mentor figure rather than a hot young thing like she is in these issues, has that been retconned? I thought she came back from the future as an older lady?

There is a storyline in here about Barry Allen not liking Kid Flash/Bart Allen. I don't really see why, but I guess that is an issue that gets resolved in Flashpoint? It wasn't apparent to me what Kid Flash had done wrong.

The guest-star for these three issues is Hot Pursuit. I like the idea of alternate versions of the Flash to show up. We've seen it before with Zoom as Barry, John Fox, and Walter West in the past, so seeing a motorcycle-riding Barry Allen is a neat twist. I think the reason it works for me here and not in Flashpoint is that we're still in the core DCU here. Hot Pursuit is the guest-star inserted into the world I'm interested in, rather than Flashpoint, where a character I barely know about is inserted into a world I've never seen.

It could be that I'll like the Booster Gold chapters of Flashpoint since I'm interested in Booster on his own.

Scott Kolins' art is wonderful, as always. The sense of kinetic motion in his pencils is still a perfect fit for the Flash. Francis Manapul's art is beautiful, but it seems too sedate for the speed-fights in this title.

Fair

1 comment:

Martin Gray said...

It's fascinating to read a review from someone new to Barry Allen. I agree, things are left unexplained. I've been inferring that Barry has been blanking Bart because he's a reminder of his mortality, or tougher times, or something. I'm glad this issue puts that to bed.

And yeah, Iris was a grandma figure, but the minute hubby's back, she's a spring chicken again and we're forced to draw our own conclusions. I guess it's to do with her proximity to his Speed Force aura, but who really knows?