Speed Force

2008 was a busy, if tumultuous year for the Flash.

The Main Series

As 2008 opened, the Flash was just wrapping up the six-part story “The Wild Wests,” the relaunch featuring Wally West as head of the Flash family and introducing his super-powered twins, Iris and Jai. To put it mildly, it was not received well by fans, and former fan favorite writer Mark Waid quickly left the book.

After a one-shot by Keith Champagne, Tom Peyer picked up the regular writing chores and Freddie Williams II stayed on for the 6-part “Fast Money,” which resolved the twins’ super-speed aging problem and gave us a glimpse of an adult Iris West II.

The series wrapped up with the year, as Alan Burnett, Paco Diaz, and Carlo Barberi brought us “This Was Your Life, Wally West.” The four-part story arc looked back at Wally West’s career as Kid Flash, then the Flash, and his relationship with his wife Linda and their children.

Rogues’ Revenge

The Rogues’ Gallery were off-limits to start with, as they were off-planet for Salvation Run. Early in the year, DC released the news of Flash: Rogues’ Revenge, a miniseries that would spotlight them after they returned to Earth, going after Inertia for tricking them into killing the Flash. Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins would return to the speedster mythos for six issues.

By the time the series was launched, it had become Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, and instead of six regular-sized issues it was three oversized issues.

Read the rest of this entry »

To follow up my review of Flash #243, here are a few other comics I read this week.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1 (of 5). I’ve never been a big Legion of Super-Heroes fan (the only time I read it regularly was during the early 1990s “Five Years Later” run, which is not represented in this book), but I picked this up based on the hints we’ve been getting about Bart Allen’s possible role in this mini. Not surprisingly, it read a lot like Geoff Johns’ recent “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” arc, which I dropped half-way through. This issue seemed to be 90% introductions, just making sure the reader could recognize the characters, and 10% setup. Oh, and Superman: Good luck with your plan for dealing with Superboy Prime. You’re going to need it.

Questions: (1) Does this have anything to do with Final Crisis other than the name? (2) Has SBP’s multiverse-hopping genocide in Countdown to Final Crisis been retconned out of existence already, or can we simply assume that the characters don’t know about what he did between “Sinestro Corps War” and L3W?

Tangent: Superman’s Reign #6 (of 12). This issue is a pause in the action, as we finally get the explanation of how we got from the end of Tangent 98 to the beginning of Superman’s Reign. Oddly, despide the cover showcasing the DCU and Tangent Green Lanterns (though the Tangent GL gets the origin slot in this month’s backup), this is primarily a Batman story. It looks like, after the break, things will be picking up again next issue.

True Believers #2 (of 5). The miniseries from former Flash writer Cary Bates (more info) continues. After the first issue had the team exposing a kidnapping ring with forced gladiator games, the second issue exposes a police cover-up…of what appears to be Mr. Fantastic being arrested for DUI. (Well, technically, flying under the influence.) It continues to focus on Payback as the viewpoint character, and while she’s interesting, I’m starting to wonder whether there will be room to explore the other members of the team. Despite being right in the middle of Marvel-Universe New York (Payback works for S.H.I.E.L.D. in her civilian ID, the Fantastic Four are in this issue, etc.), it’s self-contained enough for someone like me who doesn’t read much Marvel. Easily the strongest book I read this week, and defintiely recommended.

Flash #243

The conclusion of “Fast Money”! The Flash returns to Keystone, making some bold moves to get his life and reputation back on track – with some serious consequences for his family!

Written by Tom Peyer; Art and Cover by Freddie E. Williams II

Note: This is Tom Peyer’s and Freddie Williams II’s final issue before Alan Burnett and Paco Diaz take over for a 4-issue arc. Aftet that, the series goes on hold for Flash: Rebirth. Personally, I felt that Peyer and Williams finally “got” the book and would have made a good long-term creative team, but it’s clear from sales figures that a lot of readers either didn’t like their take, disliked the Flash Family concept, or had already dropped the book and didn’t want to pick it up again.

Williams is returning to Robin, while Peyer moves on to Galveston and Marvel Apes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comics of the 1990s have gotten a bad rap. A lot of people look at them and see only the holofoil cover gimmicks, interminable summer crossovers (which are back), everyone trying to ape the Image style with humongous shoulder pads and spikes, mullets, Spider-Clones, Electric Superman, Emerald Twilight, and “kewl” revamps.

But there were also a lot of very good comics being published at the time, and everyone was trying new things. Sure, some of them didn’t work (like Bloodlines or Fate), but some of them did (like Starman). This list is going to be heavily DC, since that’s what I was reading at the time, but this is the decade that brought us: Read the rest of this entry »

Final Crisis #2 of 7

Meet Japan’s number one pop culture heroes, the Super Young Team and their languid leader, Most Excellent Superbat! Join legendary wrestler Sonny Sumo and super escape artist Mister Miracle as they team to face the offspring of the Anti-Life Equation! See Earth’s superheroes mourn one of their oldest allies! Witness costumed criminals sinking to new depths of cowardice and depravity as Libra takes things too far! Uncover the doomsday secrets of the poisoned city of Blüdhaven! Learn the shocking identity of the prime suspect in the murder of a god! And read on if you dare as Batman becomes the first of Earth’s champions to face the Fallen of Apokolips. All this and a spectacular return from the dead… Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones’ multiverse-spanning epic continues with bombshell after bombshell in Final Crisis #2 — “Ticket to Blüdhaven”! June 25, 2008. Written by Grant Morrison. Art and covers by J.G. Jones

Also Related

Tangent Comics vol. 3

Collecting more of DC’s Tangent titles, including Tangent Comics: Superman, Wonder Woman, Joker’s Wild, JLA, Tales of the Green Lantern, Powergirl, Nightwing: Nightforce and Trials of the Flash. June 25, 2008. Written by Mark Millar, Peter David, Ron Marz, Dan Jurgens and others; Art by Darryl Banks, J.H. Williams III, Ryan Sook and others; Cover by Jurgens.

The Tangent Flash

What If…This Was The Fantastic Four?: A Tribute to Mike Wieringo