Flash (vol.5) #9 (December, 2016) "Kid Flash of Two Worlds!" Writer - Joshua Williamson Art - Jorge Corona Colors - Ivan Plascencia Letters - Steve Wands Assistant Editors - Amedeo Turturro & Diego Lopez Editor - Brian Cunningham Cover Price: $2.99 Hey there's an interesting cover... looks like we'll be crossing one off my "Rebirth Wish List" here, the meeting of the Wally's. As we have learn from the post-Rebirth pay-offs... we probably shouldn't get all that excited, eh? --
We open, and it's Halloween in Central City. This ain't going to be all that Halloweeny... but there is a pumpkin! Anyhoo, Iris has been getting mysterious bouquets of flowers for a little while now... which makes Barry a little uncomfortable, ya know, considering they're not from him. Before she and the guys can do the Halloween horror movie thing, she is called away to a situation on the Keystone Bridge. Flash and Kid Flash decide to unknowingly tag along to help out.
The narration is Wallace's, and he talks about "meeting your heroes". He's met his... it's the Flash. Only one thing though, the Flash won't share his secret identity with him just yet. After diffusing the bridge sitch, the two speedsters are joined by a third... the real Wally West. He taps into the Speed Force to stop an explosion, which leaves the younger Wallace a bit bamboozled.
As the dust has settled, the trio of speedsters get acquainted. When Barry goes to shake Wally's hand, however... a bit of an odd reaction occurs, giving Barry some strange visions... and a heinously ugly full-page spread.
Then... dude snaps! He starts (verbally) laying into the Wally's... refers to their both being abandoned by their parents. Heck, even mentions nu-Wally's dad going so far as to pretend to be his uncle! This is all new information to nu-Wally, by the by.
Real-Wally explains that the Speed Force must be trying to absorb Barry... which, I mean, that concept is getting pre-tty, pre-tty old by now, ain't it? Speaking of overstayed/overused concepts, there's Zoom! Anyhoo, the Wally's gotta nyoink him outta the lurch.
And they do... and it's apologies all around. Unfortunately, nu-Wally heard some things he can't un-hear, and so he throws a tantrum... which has gone on to become his defining character trait, unfortunately.
We jump ahead to a Halloween Party where nu-Wally and Chester P. Runk are supposed to be hanging out. Still not sure there was any point to de-aging Chunk... ya know, besides the whole "funny, ha-ha, look at this random character I know about" sort of reason. Anyhoo, they don't make it inside, because real Wally is there for a chat.
They share stories about their unpleasant childhoods... and what it all comes down to, more or less, is... give Flash a chance, he's not such a bad dude.
They then run off together so real-Wally can show him some Speed Force tricks.
We head toward the close with Barry and Wally talking about everything that's gone down of late. We learn that Wally's the one sending Iris the flowers... though, we already knew that since we're reading this out-of-order. He refuses to inflict himself on her yet... not until he knows a bit more about why he's back. They talk about Abra-Kadabra being responsible for making people forget about Wally, which... I'm sorry... just sucks. What's wrong with just having Dr. Manhattan be responsible for the lot of it? Why complicate matters even further by adding some d-list villain to the mix?
We wrap up with Barry sharing one particular vision he had while in the Speed Force... he's not sure what it was, but it filled him with hope. Psst, it's totally a Mercury helmet... even with no memory of Jay Garrick he ought to be able to identify that!
-- As with many of our Rebirth-payoffs... this was quite underwhelming. We keep leaning on the Speed Force crutch as a facilitation device... and, I mean, there's that law of diminishing returns we gotta take into account, right? I mean, we just rescued Real Wally from there... liketwice, right? Do we really need to do this like every time out? What is this art? I'm on record saying (usual artist) Carmine DiGiandomenico isn't my cup of tea (especially on a title like this... and woof at that "Of Two Worlds" homage cover), but... what am I, reading the third story deep in an issue of X-Men Unlimited here? Is this a reboot of Ren and Stimpy? This art really hurt any "oomph" this story might have had right off the bat. I mean, this was supposed to be a big story, right? The two Wally's meeting? Least I thought it was going to be a bigger deal. Maybe that's my bad. Because what we get... ain't much. I feel like so many of these early-Rebirth era books are in such a hard spot, because there's only so much they can do until DC Brass and Geoff Johns (who might've still been part of DC Brass at this point) decide what they're going to do with the Watchmen characters. Looking back, it makes the entire "Button" reveal feel more like a gimmick and less like a long-term plan. It was the very definition of a "cheap pop", without anything (concrete) to back it up. I mean, we're nearly three-years removed at this point... and we're still waiting! Worse yet... we're still going to be waiting a long time (longer by the day, it seems!). Even with all that said, however, this issue could have been better handled. It could have felt more special... and, it should have used a different artist. Nothing tells me a story matters less, than when they drop a fill-in artist with a unique "novelty" style into an issue. -- Interesting Ads:
Green Lanterns #17 (April, 2017) "Darkest Nights, Part 2" Writer - Sam Humphries Pencils - Eduardo Pansica Inks - Julio Ferreira Colors - Blond Letters - Dave Sharpe Assistant Editor - Andrew Marino Editor - Mike Cotton Group Editor - Eddie Berganza Cover Price: $2.99 Yesterday, we discussed the first half of this Darkest Nights team-up between the Lanterns and Batman, and upon sharing it on the medias of social, I received a few (very few, this is still me) responses. The issue was called it out as having weird characterization, rough dialogue... it really wasn't the reception I was expecting (despite mentioning issues with the characterization and dialogue in the piece myself!). It made me wonder why I came away from the issue with a "net-positive" reaction... and then it hit me... did I really let the mere mention of Blackest Night (read: something from pre-Flashpoint) dull my more critical/analytical side? As a fan of a certain ilk/age... am I willing to give a pass, consciously or not, to stories that might not be all that great... so long as they drop a few "continuity breadcrumbs"? We'll put a pin in that for now... and meet back up after the spoilery synopsis. --
We open with the Scarecrow rambling on about how much he loves and needs "fear". I mean, this goes on for three pages, which is good in that it brings everyone up to speed on what happened last issue... but is kinda "ehh", in the fact that it took three entire pages to do it! If you read yesterday's piece, you'll know he's got a bunch of Gothamites in cubicles watching fear-infused "Bad Batman" videos online. Speaking of Batman, right now he's watching as his butler, who is also "infused wit da fear", holds a gun up to the dome of Green Lantern, Simon Baz!
Batman leaps toward Alfred, and spouts a "precautionary post-hypnotic trigger phrase" to diffuse the situation. That might be up there with "Bat Shark Repellent" in the list of very convenient remedies. Alfred is back to normal, though probably has a bit of a headache... and Batman glares at Simon for daring to bring a gun into his cave. Now... I get that Batman really can't get Baz to "not carry" when he's out in the world... but, is there ever a situation where he'd allow a firearm into his own Batcave? I guess if he hadn't, we wouldn't have gotten our cliffhanger, so there's that.
Batman doesn't even yell at Baz, which makes him feel even worse. This is the one element of this whole "partnership" I'm actually liking. Simon spouts out that he only carries the gun because he's scared the Ring won't be good enough. Batman corrects him, claiming that Simon doesn't think he's good enough. Then he (and we) look on while Batman does his thing, and it isn't long before he's deduced that these videos all have that one cubicle farm in common.
After staking the place out for a bit, the heroes decide to make their move. Well, Batman decides, and the other two follow suit, but why split hairs when that's the way it probably ought to have been all along? Inside, they see the spooked cubicle farmers... and their "supervisor", the Scarecrow!
Batman and Scarecrow wrestle around a bit, when the baddie turns his attention toward the Lanterns... he fills them both with fear, which appears to be especially tough on Simon (as compared to the girl with the crippling anxiety, of course).
Simon must act, and naturally goes to reach for his pistol. Ya see, he's scared the Ring will flake out on him in the best of times (though doesn't appear to have much of a problem letting it carry him through space...), now that he's been infected with fear, he doubts the ring (and himself) even more. Batman calls out to him to fight his temptation, and to use the ring instead.
And he does! Simon uses the ring to take down the Scarecrow and his machine. Jessica wraps the baddie in a construct somethin'r'nother until the police can arrive. Batman checks in with the folks who were watching the videos and assures them he's here to help... he's always here to help.
We jump ahead to the crew closing out their mission atop the GCPD Building with Commissioner Gordon. He thanks the Lanterns on behalf of the city... but tells them to get their weird rings outta there just as soon as possible. That seems a bit extreme considering the stuff Gordon must deal with on a daily basis... why would Green Lantern Rings be a "bridge too far"?
Jessica wonders aloud about what ought to happen to Crane... Batman excuses the baddie's behavior by stating that he's an addict. That seems a bit "off". Anyhoo, Simon uses this moment as an opportunity to announce that he's off the "gun habit"... he'll never carry again. He goes to hand his piece to Batman... who doesn't want it, Gordon winds up taking it.
Before parting company, Batman asks Baz to stick around for a minute. While he normally doesn't like Lanterns (he and Hal never saw eye-to-eye, and Guy is... well, Guy), but he can see himself working alongside Simon again in the future... and so, he prepares him to be ready for that eventual call. Gotta ask... Batman has met John Stewart, right? Also, Jessica is like right there, and she's been nothing but helpful during this adventure! This is like Gerry Conway-writing-Firestorm levels of "Veteran Hero Endorsement" here.
We wrap up with the Lanterns being called away by... a rather gaudy Guardian!
-- Alright, so Gotham City is saved... and, most importantly, Simon Baz gets his Bat-Endorsement. All told, as much as I'm telling myself I shouldn't dig this (and I did have a bit of fun with it during the synopsis), I come away from this with another "net-positive" reaction. Now, that's not to say it was perfect... or, honestly, even all that great. That said... I'm left sitting here, wondering to myself whether or not I'm giving this little arc a "pass" because it refers to pre-Flashpoint continuity? I mean, I'm the idiot who spent hundreds of dollars on Convergence back in 2015 simply based on the "promise" of pre-Flashpoint stories being told. No joke, I bought the entire thing! I even weighed it!
So, to the question... and it's a question I wanna pose to anybody who might happen across this blog, present and future. Do fans of a certain age or ilk maybe give a pass to lackluster stories if they adhere to (or even hint toward) our idea of proper continuity? I'm not a fan of "number scores" when it comes to reviewing comics... I've seen too many "retweet baiters" (they know who they are) toss their analytical integrity away and dispense with 10/10 scores willy-nilly, but if this were a book I was reviewing for a site that used a number-system... would the briefest mention of Blackest Night bump my score up? Ya see... I'm kinda scared to answer that, because I'm not sure. We, those fans of a certain age and ilk, have been dragged along so such a long time by the "big two", through reboots, relaunches, and restarts... that we hardly know which was is up. I feel like we react to things that are "comfortable"... and for me, if we're talking about DC Comics, "comfort" comes in the form of the pre-Flashpoint status quo. Since the Fall of 2011, everything has been so nebulous... some months Doomsday did kill Superman, other months it never happened... some months Blackest Night happened, other months it didn't. Hell, I might be giving them too much credit when I say "some months", I'm sure there were probably contradictions in the same week! So here... it's confirmed (at least for cover-date April, 2017), that Blackest Night was a thing that happened. Ya know, it's not like I'm asking for an All-New History of the DC Universe or anything... I just need breadcrumbs like this every now and again. Besides, a book like that would probably be a terrible idea, because I guarantee within the first couple of months it'd be contradicted six-ways to Sunday... and any fan who dares point it out will be mocked by the pros (and those fans desperately seeking pro-retweets) for caring. Oh, yeah... we were talking about Green Lanterns, weren't we? I had the same issues with this chapter as I did the first... characterization is unsubtle to the point of perhaps being a bit "severe", and the dialogue comes across as unnatural. I see no reason why Batman would choose Baz as "his" Lantern, when Jessica was right there... really feels like a hollow and forced endorsement. That said though, I kinda enjoyed it... and whether that's because something about the story resonated for me... or the callback to the pre-Flashpoint DCU, I suppose at the end of the day... we oughta just chalk it up as a "win" and leave it at that. Available digitally (at full price). I'll throw this two-parter up on our Collected Editions Page too.
Green Lanterns #16 (April, 2017) "Darkest Nights, Part One" Writer - Sam Humphries Pencils - Neil Edwards Inks - Jay Leisten & Keith Champagne Colors - Blond Letters - Travis Lanham Assistant Editor - Andrew Marino Editor - Mike Cotton Group Editor - Eddie Berganza Cover Price: $2.99 Ya know, being a "content creator" (if you were to call anything I create "content") sometimes has its disadvantages. For one, I'm often too busy working on a post or a show to actually read new books as they're coming out. Being a completionist (read: really bad with my spending money), I've bought upwards of 90% of DC's offerings since DC Universe Rebirth... and I might've read, a few dozen of 'em? And so, in an attempt to... I dunno, familiarize myself with things going on "these days", and maybe get a little bit of a "return" (in enjoyment/entertainment) on my "investment"... let's take a look at a series I'd collected in its entirety... but never even bothered to look at! --
We open in Gotham City, where this one fella appears to have lost his mind. He's wildly swinging a baseball bat, fearful that "he" is coming to get them. The "he" he's worried about is... Batman, and wouldn'tcha know it, he was right! Batman swoops in, and tries to calm the situation.
Just then, Green Lanterns, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz burst onto the scene (though, if you were to ask Batman, they're late). They snare the mad fella in a construct glob so he can cool his jets... and not get his butt beat by the Bat.
After the dust settles, Commissioner Gordon pops in to expound on Gotham's present crisis. It would seem that the most recent crime wave is rooted... in fear. People would go from even-headed to maniacally panicked... as though they'd just had the stuffin' scared out of 'em!
Simon's all "Psh, okay... let's go get the Scarecrow!" However, Batman's not so sure... actually, he's pretty much convinced it's not the Scarecrow they're after. He thinks this is more rooted in the Sinestro Corps (he references the yellow rings from Blackest Night... so, I guess that means Blackest Night was still a thing that happened now?). I guess the supposed Sinestro-ness of it explains why Batman enlisted the aid of a pair'a Lanterns.
As the Bat and Baz bicker, Gordon takes note of Simon's sidearm. He's not sure why a Green Lantern would ever need to pack heat. Simon explains that it's his "backup", just in case his ring were ever to fail. He calls it the "Robin" to his "Batman". Batman does the whole "Not in my town" thing... and before we know it, we're waist-deep in another argument.
Baz points out that so many of Batman's toys and gadgets are dangerous... and finds it laughable that a pistol would be the "bridge too far". He then suggests that Batman might just have a "problem with guns". Wait, we're not really gonna go there, are we? Oh, c'mon.
Yeah, we really went there... the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Uh, they were shot dead, just in case you didn't know... and if you didn't know, how in the world did you wind up on this site? Anyhoo, Jessica turns her attention to the laptop the mad-fella was looking at before losing his marbles. After using her ring-a-ling to work out his Windows password, she discovers that he was watching a "Bad Batman" video on a YouTube-alike. Not sure if this is a commentary on all of those "Bad Cop" videos that pop up... whatever the case, these videos depict Batman as a threat.
The ring detects a disturbance in the Emotional Spectrum... coming from the laptop itself. Batman suggests that this could be useful information... especially when the screen begins to glow yellow.
We jump ahead to the Batcave, where Simon and Jessica act like kids in a museum. Batman continues his research, when suddenly Alfred (who is seeing one of the Bad Batman videos over Bruce's shoulder) goes nuts! He smashes a coffee cup into Baz's dome and sucker punches him in the much!
Simon's sidearm flies out of its holster... which really doesn't say much for the holster, now does it? Alfred picks it up and holds it against the Lantern's head. He says if he sees even a flicker of emerald energy, he's going to pull the trigger. He demands no one get in his way of... killing the Bat!
We shift scenes to a Call Center located in some abandoned retail/office space. A bunch of folks sitting in cubicles are being given the "Batman is a threat" treatment via their computer monitors, and it looks like their Supervisor... might be a little overqualified for this job.
-- Alrighty... this was pretty good! Fear has come to Gotham (again)... but this time, there's something more to it. Excellent callback to Blackest Night... and more importantly (to me), the confirmation that the event even happened in the first place! I'm still not sure where it fits in the miasmatic flow of DC Continuity... but it's there somewhere, and sometimes that's all it takes for me to call it a "win". The Scarecrow as an "agent of fear"... almost makes too much sense. Never cared for the Scarecrow on his own, seemed kind of a one-trick pony, but this could be interesting. My only complaint, and I suppose it might just be me... but, the dialogue feels a bit, I dunno... unsubtle? The argument between Batman and Baz is almost so blatantly passionate that you could mistake it for a pair of old friends pretending to be mad at one another. Just struck me as unnatural... I've been in plenty of arguments, with friend and "foe" alike... and, in my experience, they're never "zero-to-sixty" situations like it is here. I mean, these two just lit into each other... and it didn't feel genuine in the slightest. Also... did we really need the callback to the gravesites of Thomas and Martha Wayne? Did we really? I mean, it was a tiny little sliver of a panel, and I'm sure any writer working at DC (or with aspirations of ever working at DC) gets goosebumps at the idea that they'll be able to write "Panel 1: The gravesite of Thomas and Martha Wayne", but... c'mon. If you don't know Batman's origin, chances are you're not going to be reading a Green Lantern spin-off book, right? An unnecessary refresher, which actually managed to pull me out of the story. It might've actually made me take notice of how unnatural the back and forth between Bat and Baz was too! While I'm kvetching... can we get a "style guide" on what these oft-depicted tombstones even look like? Feels like they're different shapes and sizes every time we see 'em... and, as mentioned, we see 'em a lot. The art here was pretty fantastic, though Edwards' Alfred does look a tad on the spry side. I get being maddened by fear, but that ain't gonna turn a frail body into an Olympian. Overall, had fun with this... and I feel like this issue could be a really good "gateway issue" if you were interested in getting to know the new Lanterns, but weren't sure whether or not you wanted to dip your toe in on the series. This issue is available digitally... though, still at cover price! -- Interesting Ads:
Flash (vol.5) #23 (July, 2017) "The Color of Fear, Part One: Hello" Writer - Joshua Williamson Artist - Carmine Di Giandomenico Colors - Ivan Plascencia Letters - Steve Wands Associate Editor - Amedeo Turturro Editor - Brian Cunningham Cover Price: $2.99 Hey everybody, I come to you today... one-year older... one-year wiser? Ehh, one-year older. For yes, today is my thirty-coughth birthday... and to celebrate, we're going to take a look at an issue featuring Barry Allen's Birthday Blowout! --
We open in the 25th Century, at the Flash Museum. A voice is narrating over a visual of some familiar-looking costumes... and when it gets to Eobard Thawne, it reveals that the future remembers him as the Flash's best friend! Well, we know better than that. Back in the present, Barry is in the S.T.A.R. Labs Morgue, where he stands over the crunchy and dehydrated corpse of Thawne. Remember he was zapped by some baby-blue energy during The Button. Barry's convinced that Thawne isn't dead... just severely slowed-down. His little monologue is interrupted by a pair of lab techs... and so he leaves. That's okay though, he's actually got somewhere else to be anyway!
Like his Birthday Party!
After getting the big Surprise!", the guests seem to all go back to their business. Forrest approaches Barry to talk his ear off, during which he can't help but flash back to the recent The Button arc. The man with the tin hat... Batman's Flashpoint letter from Thomas Wayne... ya know, all that stuff.
Barry watches Wallace walk by, and mentions that they're not on the best of terms at the moment... he wants Barry to tell Iris that he's the Flash. All he can think about though, is how much danger that might put her in. With folks like Thawne in the Universe, anyone who knows the secret is put at risk! He imagines Zoom busting through this very Birthday Party... and murdering everyone there in a matter of microseconds.
Singh and Hartley head over to snap Barry out of his daydream... but can't get him to reveal what he'd been thinking about. Henry Allen makes an attempt, which is just as unsuccessful.
Then, a very special guest arrives, with a regifted model plane under his arm... Hal Jordan! The Hard-Travel... er, wait, that's not them.
Hal is introduced to Iris, and does that whole "You're too good for this guy" routine, before she starts to harangue Barry about being distracted during his party. An uncomfortable Hal actually wishes for an alien invasion (under his breath) in order to interrupt this discussion...
... and he almost gets his wish! Though, instead of aliens... it's just a whole lotta Multiplex!
Barry and Hal rush off to change into their "work duds". On the way, Barry asks Wallace to bring Iris home right away. Wally puts up a struggle... and reminds me of the way he's depicted in the Teen Titans book... as one of the worst characters ever! Just punch this little goof, Barry!
After a pretty lazy two-page spread of Flash and Green Lantern in costume (I mean, it's just the two of them in front of a flare-y computer background... did we really need to waste two pages?), we find out that Multiplex is there looking for a girl he's fallen in love with. She insists that they've only had a single drink together at this point... so, our man Danton's what we in the biz call a "fast worker"... or, a "damned creep", either descriptor works.
Flash and Lantern show up and start cleaning house. Unfortunately, Multi-plex won't quit multi-plying... until finally, he becomes like... just a mass of multies. Like, ya know when someone shines a light in a cave, and something like a billion spiders scatter away? Like that.
While Hal and Barry deal with that... Wally brings Iris back to the "safety" of her home. Only one problem with that... somebody's waiting for them!
-- Ya know... I really wanted to be "all in" on the post-Rebirth Flash book, but it felt like every time I cracked open an issue, I'd see some evil speedster staring back at me. Felt like every time out, Barry would have to fight someone who might be faster than him... which isn't a bad idea, but... feels just so overdone at this point. I remember this issue in particular. When I get my bundle of books from DCBS every month or so, I enter them into my obsessive-Excel spreadsheet. Part of that is getting issue titles (which more books need to use these days!) and the writer and artist. Upon flipping to the last-page (where too many books now put their credits) I'm faced with Eobard Thawne. C'mon... again/still? And, I gotta say... I was so damned excited for this issue to see how they'd follow up The Button. Is this some sort of "thing" from the Flash TV show? Is it just Barry fighting an "evil speedster of the week" every time out? Because, lemme tell ya... this is getting tiresome! Let's talk Thawne for a bit. I swear, the only time I was able to make sense of/differentiate between what a Professor Zoom and Reverse-Flash was, was during the middle-part of the Geoff Johns run. I'm so far removed from all that, that I couldn't, with any authority, speak to who's who and what's what. I could've sworn they were two different guys... but, now they're not? Can't really hold this against them, not having read as much of the recent stuff as I perhaps should. I mentioned a "lazy two-page spread" during the synopsis. Now, I hate judging art... not being much of an artist myself, I feel weird about giving an opinion one way or another. Though, Di Giandomenico really ain't one of my favorites. I recall his work making All-New X-Factor over at Marvel rather a chore to read. Though, if I'm being honest, the story wasn't exactly great shakes in that book either. That "spread" though... just feels so unnecessary. I can only assume that Di Giandomenico really wanted to draw a big image of Hal and Barry in costume... or, the writer assumed this would look a lot better than it actually did. I'll include it below... We discussed a post-Rebirth issue last week as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas on Infinite Earths. During that piece, I mentioned how much better nu-Wally was written here than in Teen Titans... where he is often the worst thing on the page. Well, that's all changed here. It's not quite as bad as in Titans, but he's really so very annoying here. It must sound like I hated this issue, huh? Well, no... I thought all of the Barry stuff was great. Loved how he was so lost in thought that his own narration boxes were cutting off other peoples' dialogue balloons... that's a great little detail that I appreciated. Also, the Barry stuff is just the most interesting... especially coming off The Button, lackluster ending and all... it was still (supposedly) the "next step" in the Rebirthening of the DC Universe. Well, hopefully Doomsday Clock will be done within the next 2-3 years so we might finally see what the "next step" could be. Overall... a fine issue, though disappointing if you were expecting any concrete follow-up to The Button. The art is a bit distracting and Wally is a little jerk. Other than that though, this could be worth a look. -- The Two-Page Spread:
