Comic Book Reviews – The Flash 238

                         

The Flash 238 – Tom Peyer (W) Freddie E Willaims III (A) Publisher – DC Comics  “Fast Money” Part one – Spin Zone

**********SPOILERS**********

Recap 

The West family are at home watching The Flash rescue people from an Earthquake in another city. Wally assures his son, Jai, that they’d never have an earthquake in Keystone City. The TV suddenly cuts off, prompting Wally to ask if they’d paid the bills that month. Yes, thats right. Even superheroes have money troubles. And now that Wally and Linda have kids (who should be 2 years old but are 8 and 10 due to superfast growing up stuff only found in superhero comics), money is more important than ever.

A new villain appears in Keystone City, calling himself  “Spin”, and its easy to see why. He seems to  be able to tap into the current social paranoia, and make it happen. Worried about that earthquake on TV?  Here’s one of your very own…

Before heading off to deal with the sudden earthquake in Keystone, Wally realises he cant take his super-powered kids on this one. He promised them they’d never have an earthquake, and he cant be seen to be wrong. Preoccupied with his money worries, Wally responds to quickly to a reporter’s question about why he’s so tense. Live on television, The Flash says he wishes he got paid to save lives.

The first Flash, Jay Garrick, speaks to Wally about his mistake in front of the press. The lightning bolt can never touch the dollar sign. Wally thinks Jay is over-reacting, but the press backlash is fierce, calling the Flash “the most awful human in the universe”

Searching for jobs online (I sympathise), Wally comes across a job advertisement directed at the Flash. He knows he shouldnt, but he has kids to feed, and takes the job offer. Just then, Spin attacks a football game, and the Flash races off to stop him.

 The battle with Spin begins, as the villain taps into a new public fear – The Flash wanting nothing but money – and compells Wally to rob the crowd. Now the Flash has all the money he’ll need, having filled his house with stolen money, ipods, credit cards….

The verdict

Better! As much as I love Mark Waid’s writing, his storyarc “The Wild Wests” didnt really do it for me, and I still dont agree with suiting up the super powered kids because they might die soon. Dont make it sooner! Anyway, Tom Peyer’s debut was a solid start, and a definate improvement over the previous story. Wally’s money worries are totally justified, and his line about how the Flash has never had kids to feed before makes you realise that very few – if any – mainstream superheroes have a full, functioning family to support. The temptation is always there for a superhero to use their powers for monetary gain and you hate to see it happen, but its easy to see how Wally could reply to the job directed at the Flash.

Better than the money worries though, was Wally’s concern for how his kids see him. Not wanting to bring Jai along to help out at the scene of the Earthquake was great. He didnt want to be fallible in front of his son. Its one thing having the public lose faith in you, but your family is quite another. Also, Wally’s own “father” figure, Jay Garrick, giving him a talking to about his media gaffe was great. Jay is not just the elder statesman of the Flash family, but of the DC Universe as a whole. He’s had to think about these things before, and just wants Wally – and the Flash legacy – to get the respect they deserve.

I like the new villain, Spin. Being able to tap into media panics and make them real is a pretty original power (how he has it, I dont know, but I’ll bet it has something to do with the alien lookin’ guy he has trapped in a secret room). Its just the kind of quirky idea Peyer is known for (see his Hourman series for more on that). What if he turned his power against, say, the public’s fear of Superman losing control? A potentially very powerful villain, I just hope he gets fleshed out more.

 William’s art is quite a change from the gritty art on Geoff John’s run, but it works well with the Wally’s kids in costume, like little super-deformed superheroes. Body language, facial expressions, all were perfect. The colours are solid and the action dynamic. One small gripe though is the lack of any indicator off speed when the flash is running towards the stadium. He just look slike a guy in a flash costume taking a jog….

All in all, a solid start for the Peyer/Williams team. I hope to see more original ideas, like Spin during the run, but with Peyer, I dont see that being a problem. I was considering dropping The Flash before this issue, but now I think it’ll be sticking around.

Quick Hits

Superman/Batman Annual 2 - Pitch perfect characterisations of these two icons at the beginning of their careers and friendship. Joe Kelly really knocked this one out of the park, showing exactly why Clark and Bruce, and their friendship, are the pillars of the DCU. Although I have to ask – why isnt Joe Kelly writing the main comic?

The Brave and the Bold – Issue 11: Superman and Ultraman are forced to work together by the Vowel Knight Mr Mixyespitilik. Yeah. Brave and the Bold continues to be “old school”, not least of all because of the art. Still, very entertaining, and the art is solid. And the last page is a doozy…

Batman and the Outsiders – Issue 5: An average issue from an average comic. Even the big reveal – which should have been HUGE, wasnt handled that well. The team was more badass with Nightwing instead of Batman. Weird.

Countdown to Final crisis: Week six. Still a mess. A better mess though, like the dishes being piled up for you before you wash them. No clue where its going apart from a Grant Morrison “crisis” event. That alone keeps me buying it.

 Justice Leage of America – Issue 19:  Not bad at all, mainly due to Benes’ art work. Also, how exactly can Wonder Woman know if a telepathic message came from the North? This comic should be bigger. Someone get me Geoff Johns….

You may have noticed that this week’s review was not about Bleach, as promised. I’ve decided to do a monthly Manga review instead, covering everything I read in that month’s Shonen Jump, and any other manga I happen to read. Hope you’re all still reading then!

S

Comic Book Reviews – Superman 674

                        

Superman 674 – Kurt Busiek (w) renato Guedes (A)  “Shadows Linger. Part one – Brighter Tomorrows

 ******SPOILERS***********

RECAP

Two superhumans are engaged in battle near a prison in Montana, unaware that superhumans aren’t supposed to be near that prison…..meanwhile, Clark Kent is showing Lois Lane and their foster son Chris their new home, complete with doorway to the fortress of Solitude.

 Later that day, we see Superman working on a cure for the lead poisoning that has struck  his friend Mon-el. Mon-el is a Daxamite, to whom lead is as deadly as kryptonite is to Superman. Due to the lead poisoning Mon-el must stay in the Phantom Zone where his physical condition is frozen, but he exists as a ghost. While working on the cure, Superman hears of the Priest Elders of Daxam, their control over the planet and its technology, and of how Mon-el disregarded their rulings.

Back at the Daily Planet, Clark is about to be chewed out by Perry White when he is stolen from the scene by Paragon. Paragon is an old JLA villain who can copy the powers of any Superhuman in the area, and had been released when the two superhumans at the start of the issue flew close enough for him to copy their powers. He uses his ability to track Superman and outmatches him, as his abilities not only copy someone else’s powers, but enhance them as well. Using his head and experience, Superman leads Paragon to the Fortress of Solitude and tricks him. By putting on the red sun watch he developed for his foster son, Superman can remove his own powers, therefore removing Paragon’s as well. Paragon realises he may be beaten, stranded powerless in the arctic.With proper villainous timing, the Elder Priests of Daxam arrive looking to execute Mon-El, and anyone who tries to stop them. Next issue – Paragon AND the Elder Priests of Daxam Vs Superman, PLUS a new Galactic Golem.

The Verdict

 I like Kurt Busiek. I love his take on Superman, he has the character down pat. But lately, his stories have been a little…dull. I wasnt a huge fan of his “insects on the moon” stuff, and for his penultimate issue on the series, I was expecting more. The first five or six pages are devoted to Clark and Lois’s new house, which all seems a bit pointless unless the doorway to the fortress of solitude will play a part in the resolution of the story. Even if it does, its an obvious set-up, and one that could have been achieved in a much smoother fashion if the “door” was put in place earlier in the series. Also, the villains. Paragon and the Elders of Daxam? I’m all for the revamping of old villains, but I hadn’t even heard of Paragon, and doubt I will again. However, Superman’s handling of Paragon and being overpowered was perfect – he uses his intellect instead of slugging it out. This is another example of Busiek’s perfect grasp of Superman as a character – if violence can  be avoided, avoid it. Also, I love seeing Superman work to help his friend, Mon-el. Its easy to forget that the likes of Mon-el are trapped in the phantom Zone, or that Kandor is still a shrunken city. Seeing Superman toil over a solution and not blowing stuff up is fantastic, and shows the depth of the character’s responsibility, and new story options. As next issue is Busiek’s last, I will continute to have high expectations. I know Busiek is a good writer, Camelot Falls had moments that were woozily fantastic. However, I know Busiek can fumble – the end of Camelot falls was a huge letdown. The optimist in me will believe that Busiek can pull it out of the hat. He has Paragon, a bunch of Daxamites and a new Galactic Golem to play with in his last issue, not to mention Superman’s slowly dying friend. Like I said, I know he’s a good writer, and even if the next issue isnt all it could be, I’ll still be sad to see Busiek leave the Super-books. When the conclusion comes out, I’ll be sure to review it, and give Busiek a proper send off.

Renato Guedes’ art in this issue was up to his usual standard – I especially liked his rendition of Hong Kong, even if the panel was a little small. Not the best artist in the business, but certainly not a bad artist. Wouldnt bother me in the slightest if he provided the art on Superman for the forseeable future.

Quick Hits

Booster Gold issue Zero – I’m a month behind on this comic, so you’ll have to forgive me. This issue was a little confusing, but its a time-travel comic so that’s to  be expected. Not quite the usual standard for this comic, but just to see Ted Kord standing beside Booster is worth the cover price ten times over.

Countdown To Final Crisis -  Week Seven. This is a great big mess of a comic, and I’ve been stupid enough to buy the 46 issues so far. And yes, I’ll be stupid enough to buy the last 6. For those who dont read DC Comics very often, I should explain something. Every year or so, DC seems to do an “event”, usually with “crisis” in the title. So for at least 6 months before that event takes place, you have a ton of tie-in comics. The last “event” comic was Infinite Crisis, and to be fair, it spawned “52″ a weekly series that was pretty much the best thing I’ve read in a long time. This new event has created “Countdown to Final Crisis”, a weekly series, you guessed it, counting down to the first issue of Final Crisis. So help me God, if Final Crisis isnt good….

Salvation Run. Issue five - As much fun as this comic can be, watching really nasty people be really nasty to one another, it only reminds me of Gail Simone’s Secret Six, which was ten times better with less than half the cast. Yet another Final Crisis tie in comic. Sigh. 

Next week’s reviews: Bleach, enter the Arrancars.

S

Chapter 1, in which introductions are made and intentions declared

Hi, thanks for checking out the blog. As this is the first one, I’m just going to introduce myself and then run through the format I hope to follow for each blog after this.

My name is Stephen, I’m 22 and live in Port Glasgow, Scotland. I’m between places right now. Uni is done, and something else hasnt started. I do admin work for an agency and write when I get the chance. I’m your general all-purpose geek – comic books, sci-fi, films and TV, anime and manga etc –  however, I function in society. I love my music, and have a weird thing about the sky.  I want to experience more than I have so far in a shorter space of time, and do it on my terms.

I’ll post at least once a week, with some reviews of things I’ve read, listened to or watched etc. This will be at least one comic  book every week, and anything else from music to films or tv shows, art etc. I’ll post at least once every fortnight on something that isnt review related. A digital display of some thought thats been rattling about in my head. Maybe I’ll rant about current events, or give an opinion on politics. Maybe I’ll say that dogs are worse than cats or that I really have a grudge against bees. I’ll say something I’ve thought of all by myself, and not just review something that I havent.  First review date will be within one week of today, and the first non-review blog withing two weeks of today.

I hope you’ll keep checking the blog and enjoy what you find here, and I’d love any comments you have on it. Dont be shy.

S