FiveDCFANZINELogos

Wally West's One Way Ticket to Wally's World

(Say that five times fast!)
Now that Flash Month is coming to an end...It started first with JLA month, so I hope they get around to doing this with all the members of the JLA...Barry's back (again) in Speed Force #1 and Secret Files. But me personally, I'm a Flash III fan, being a Wally myself. I can better relate to him; young, good looking, and super-fast. Well, one out of the three anyway (I am so young). There is another Flash shirt out on the market now, I have one from the last batch but it's getting a little tight. I better summon up the Speed Force to kick my metabolism into overdrive. Anyway...

FLASH #130

Excerpt from Coming Attractions box in Flash #129: The fastest man alive meets the Suit, a new and deadly menace confronting the Flash with one of the greatest challenges of his career...a challenge that leaves him crippled, possibly never to run again!

Wally's Words: I was disappointed when I saw the cover. I hesitated to pick this issue up, in fact I almost didn't. The Flash looks like he's trying to take up Elongated Man's schitck; all stretched and disproportional like that. But the story itself, so far so good. Yeah, I admit that I'm about as lost as Jay Garrick was in this issue on that whole "time" theory stuff. But what I'm interested in is how Wally is going to fare in the next two parts of this story-line with a broken leg. Well, they say it's only one leg, but did you see the last page. They both look broke to me.

FLASH #131

Excerpt from Coming Attractions box in Flash #130: With the Flash confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg, Keystone could soon become an open city for criminals everywhere. To prevent this Flash enlists the aid of Jay Garrick, Impulse, Max Mercury, and Jesse Quick to make it appear that the scarlet speedster is in control. But the Suit sees through this charade and takes the opportunity to finish off the Flash once and for all.

Wally's Words: This cover is much better, a little moody but I would be too if I had a broken leg. "A broken leg" there it is again, this time on the cover. But, within these pages, both of Wally's legs are shot. Also, in the above excerpt from DC it mentions Jesse Quick helping out, but she's not even in the story. What's going on with that? Somebody's got to get their story straight. Overall, the story is developing much better. Now that Wally is (dare I say) one with the Speed Force, he looks like he's ready to kick butt in the next issue.

SPEED FORCE #1

Excerpt from the Coming Attractions box in Flash #130: A one-shot anthology featuring tales of the superspeedsters, including an early Barry Allen-Flash/Wally West-Kid Flash adventure. A tale of Max Mercury; Jesse Quick; A golden age Jay Garrick story; And the last adventure of the 28th-century Flash. Plus a two-page pinup of all DC's superspeedsters.

Wally's Words: This book was good, but could have been better. The first story's art was loose giving the book a messy feel. But it's refreshing to see that they didn't use drab colors or (God forbid) cloud panels to show the readers it's a story from the past; It's about time they realized that most readers are smarter than given credit for...Which brings us to the next stage of this evolution...

THE FLASH SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS #1

Excerpt form the Coming Attractions box in Flash #130: Featuring the secret origin of the Flash; plus an actual brochure from the famed Flash Museum; A "Day in the Life" vignette of young Wally hanging out with Flash before becoming Kid Flash; An interview with Max Mercury; An article by Professor Ira West theorizing on the mysterious "Speed Force" and why it seems to be focused on a Central City/Keystone City/Blue Valley nexus; And a Flash Family Tree, extending into the 30th century featuring never before revealed Flash Facts!

Wally's Words: This book is a whopping $4.95 and it's not even in prestige format. Is it worth it? Well, if you're a Flash fan, you bet it is! Besides the price, I can't find a thing wrong with this book. It starts with a great cover; The colors make it look almost like an animation cell. The first story, the origins of the three Flashes, is highly entertaining. The story and art match/flow perfectly; You can't get much better than this. Everything else, the Profile Pages (a who's who of today), Interview with Max Mercury (which captures Max's humorous wit adding to his character), "Lost Pages" a golden-age short with Max and Jay (captured in a unique way to make you feel like you're reading a golden-age comic), the guided tour of the Flash Museum, The Flash Timeline, and the Flash Family Tree (which shows the next Flash as Iris West; if that's not dropping a hint I don't know what is), is just icing on the cake.

FLASH #132

Excerpt from the Coming Attractions box in Flash #131: Flash has to look to the Speed Force for salvation when the Suit takes out his fellow speedsters, leaving the crippled Flash to face him alone!

Wally's Words: I'm anxiously awaiting this outcome. This will tell me if the Flash will be worth following the rest of the year that the regular team is away. To me, an ending makes or breaks a story. I also wonder if Max will age at all, now that the Suit is sucking away at his life.

On an ending note, Flash #132 will take us to what DC has dubbed Faces Month, where all the covers this month will be a close-up of the main characters face. Me personally, I don't get it. If I understand this correctly, the only common tie these books will have is a face on the cover? Who gives a $h!t. What the hell kind of marketing gimmick is that?

((((Anyone need a little laugh? Check out personalized Shakespearean insults at--http://kite.ml.org/insults/--and to keep this little topic DC related, when you get there just type in the name Clark Kent or something.))))


Column by Wallace "Wally" Frost
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