Best of 2000's: #10. The Flash

I can't resist making my own top 10 list for the 2000's, like everyone else is doing. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I'm light on comics this week anyway, so I'll post one of these a day until we've hit all 10.

#10. The Flash #164-225 by Geoff Johns and Scot Kolins

Geoff Johns made his name on this title and frankly, I think it still holds up as his best work. Of course, his runs on Hawkman, JSA, and JLA hold up nicely, and most of the GL stuff is decent, but I don't know that Johns will ever "get" a character as well as he did Wally West. Johns approach to the title was revolutionary for me, he darkened the world by having some of the villains become darker, but he kept the heroes bright and good. I loved the contrast of the levels of villains; some folks like Cicada were bonkers and needed to be put down, while working stiffs like Captain Cold were almost identifiable. I will never forget how Johns and Kolins would devote the occasional issue to the insane fury of Gorilla Grodd. A longtime favorite of mine, he never seemed as dangerous and wild as he did during this run. Johns' story flowed in and out of crossover and worked even with guest-stars and villains constantly traveling through. What's so impressive is that Johns maintained top-level quality for so long.

Scot Kolins' re-made himself during this run too. His bright, straight-to-color pencils were sharp, clean, and had a tremendous sense of motion. Speed battles never looked so fantastic.

Excellent