FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS VOL I - IV REVIEW

So here's something a little different.

I'm currently doing a huge reread of Pre-Flashpoint DC and I just decided to start doing issue by issue reviews of the books I read. The main reason I'm doing this is because I'm trying to avoid compartmentalization of what I consume, a huge side effect of binging media. This is essentially when you burn through a huge story and end up losing some of the substance and minor minutiae because you are more focused on the binge than actually noticing the masterful storytelling that the creators put so much effort in.

A huge problem with trade reading is that people forget that these stories are published monthly, and each chapter has its own themes, narrators, pacing, and unique poetry that writer's spend an immense time infusing into each issue. I sadly didn't do this for the first two storylines of Geoff Johns Flash, but I will be doing this for the rest. For now, this post will feature a short blurb I scrambled together before I got into volumes 3 & 4, but every write up is composed before I read the next issue, so enjoy my journey through these books!

Flash vol I & II = The "Wonderland" arc was very rough. I did not enjoy Angel Unzeuta's art and the story went on for too long. The Mirror-World lore was cool and Wally using the arsenal of silver age Green Lantern villains was kino, but the Grimm stuff was not as engaging. Vol 2 changed up the pace real quick with Scott Kolins excellent and kinetic art that is perfect for a flash book. The script was super tight and the Cicada cult was horrifying. The Weather Wizard two-parter was also fun and I forgot how much I liked Jesse Quick. The Iron Heights special was a lot more fun that I remembered. EVS was on point the entire time. Interested to see how the Pied Piper plot plays out.

[Flash vol III : Rogues]

• The Flash: Our Worlds at War #1 - "Time on Target" = Black Racer special was fun, but the art brought it down for me. That final page was great.
• The Flash Secret Files & Origins #3 - "Rogues" = The secret files special was fun, and I like the character of Zolomon, even though I know the endgame of how he turns out. His personality is easy to sympathize with, and his pathos is engaging.
• The Flash #177 - "Event Horizon" = The black hole issue was not my favorite, nothing memorable whatsoever.
• The Flash #178 - "Caged" = The Grodd chapter was fantastic. Scott Kolins on art was the standout, the pages where Wally confronts Grodd as well as the realization of the damage the battle caused keystone were brilliant. Johns developing the Goldface union is very interesting, the Rogues foreshadowing through line started in the first chapter is shown once more, and the Pied Piper plot is brough to the forefront. There are some hints with Grodd that he might have been manipulated.
• The Flash #179 - "Smile for The Camera" = The Last Laugh tie-in was pretty cheeks, the Warden Wolfe bits were good, but I could care less about the jokerized crap.
• The Flash #180 - "Peek-A-Boo" = The peek-a-boo chapter was fine, but its starting to get way too freak of the week. The twist at the end with Iris was unbelievable; I thought it was going to be Golden Glider or one of the rogues, but I never saw that coming.
• The Flash #181 - "Fall Out" = The fallout chapter was very good. Goddamn rip Morillo, but that final page twist was great.
• The Flash #182 - "Absolute Zero" = The Captain Cold issue was phenomenal; Johns really succeeds at bringing the chapters home with a final page that stays with you. Chillblaine has an iconic cameo during the RCDC special, and I'm sure Johns was the one who chose to include him in that.

[Flash Vol IV : Crossfire]

• The Flash #183 - Crossfire, Prologue : "Tricked" = What a way to open up a volume! Axel Walker is a geek, very capable but I'm excited to see him get dunked on. The Network segment was cool, we still don't know much about Blacksmith, but the 15 years thing was interesting. Johns took out the rest of Flash's support system real quick: Vic got jumped, Chyre ambushed and shunted to the mirror-world. I'm very pissed about Morillo, that mess was uncalled for. The Joan Garrick stuff was hinted at during the fallout issue but I think that it's crazy that she actually got leukemia. There's no way that could have been machinations by the Rogues because it's way too coincidental.
• DC First: Flash/Superman #1 - "Speeding Bullets" = Speeding Bullets was a great interlude, Abra Kadabra was a fun villain and his character has a lot to explore, his relationship to his time period and motivations are all fascinating. Jay Garrick is easily my second favorite flash after Wally.
• The Flash #184 - Crossfire, Part I : "Room To Think" = Awesome first chapter : high stakes and big threats. I wonder how this will last for 5 chapters? There were some fantastic pages in this as well. Kolins was on goat mode for this book. The colors are fantastic.
• The Flash #185 - Crossfire, Part II : "Hide & Seek" = Hide and seek was crazy, the Morillo resurrection was something I'm embarrassed to say I did not see coming. The Thinker stuff was cool, and that last page is iconic. Let's all be honest here, the mirror tech is BS. Very excited for Cold to join up with Morillo and Chyre.
• The Flash #186 - Crossfire, Part III : "The Thinking Man" = So thinking man was where the actual crossfire happened: it was fun, but the standouts of this chapter were Chyre, Morillo, and Cold. Cold steals every scene he's in, and him putting out the fire on the Barry Allen statue was perfect. Cyborg talking about Wally was great, and the info dump on Goldface vs Blacksmith was cool too.
• The Flash #187 - Crossfire, Part IV : "Run-Down" = Old Johns has so many ideas coming out of the pipeline, I can really understand why he's so burnt out these days. Showdown (run-down lol) in the mindscape had some great moments: Wally summoning his past selves and saying he's not afraid of death were awesome. Geoff also does a good job of using Flash's speed in realistic applications: Cyborg is about to get merked and Wally just speeds him to the McGees and goes back to showdown. Mirror Master is another scene stealer, and the mirror duplicates were dope. I'm hoping the Morillo regeneration power gets addressed and explained. The unveiling of the full Network army brings the stakes up and sets everything up for an action packed finale.
• The Flash #188 - Crossfire, Part V : "Metal & Flesh" = The Magenta/Girder setup and punchline is kind of great if you think about it since they have been giving us a lot of prelude up until this chapter. The Chyre/Morillo/Zolomon stuff is always dope, flash rebuilding the bridge was awesome too. The Goldface redemption is stupid since he killed my boy Tomar-re during the 80's. Pregnancy reveal was going to come sooner or later.
• The Flash #189 - "Messengers" = FILLER ISSUES WHERE A LOT HAPPENS! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! Anyways, this was great. Rick Burchett's pencils were awesome and every check in had a great moment or two. I love the incorporation of Cyborg into this series, and I can't wait to see what johns does with Vic in the pages of Teen Titans. The Iris/Chyre stuff is going to be interesting knowing that Barry comes back in just 7 years! Zolomon is still goated, and its sad knowing his fall is coming soon. Who is Morillo's wife? That's the real question!
• The Flash #190 - Rogue Files, The Pied Piper : "Rat Race" = I was worried about Justiniano's art, but I ended up quite liking it. Pied Piper's backstory was interesting, especially the fact that it was Will Magnus who restored/augmented his hearing with nanobots. The reintroduction of Heatwave was great; though it's a little jarring to see a lot of the Rogues on the straight and narrow at this point in time, but after Crossfire and the fact that they've changed post-Barry + dealing with a more sympathetic Wally makes for interesting character development. James Jesse trickster is cool and I can definitely tell they are sowing the seeds for the next arc, but I hope it has a distinct personality compared to Crossfire.
• The Flash #191 - "The Brave & The Beaten" = Fun little team up with Hawkman. The Cliff/Grimm twist was interesting and made this story less random by actually having some buildup since Linda went back to med school. The stand-out sequence was Wally and Carter's interaction; I think this and GA's analysis of Carter (during the Slings & Arrows arc of Hawkman) is fascinating, and as I'm writing this I realize that the split personality of Carter - from super-aggro to warrior poet - definitely has to do with him getting merged with Katar Hol into the Hawkgod. Grodd foreshadowing, and I wonder what took the tranquilizers out of him or if he just telekinetically removed them.