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Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave & the Bold
  See my review in the Green Lantern section.

The Flash: Blood Will Run 2002 (SC TPB) 192 pages

Written by Geoff Johns. Pencils by Scott Kolins. Inks by Doug Hazlewood, Jose Marzan, Jr.
Colours: James Sinclair, Tom McCraw. Letters: various. Editor: Joey Cavalieri.

Reprinting: The Flash (2nd series) #170-176, The Flash Secret Files #3 (lead story only) - plus covers - 2001

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by DC Comics

Prior to reading this, I'd never actually read a Flash comic post-Barry Allen (the Silver Age version of the character), though I'd come across the Wally West-Flash in the pages of the JLA and Teen Titans. (Subsequently I read the Wally saga The Return of Barry Allen)

The Blood Will Run story arc only comprises the first half of this TPB. A sub-plot introduced in Blood Will Run, involving a toddler who may be Wally's illegitimate son, is answered in a later two-part story, so maybe the editors felt the run of #170-176 comprised a story arc...except there's another plot thread that isn't resolved here, involving someone calling together various Flash foes.

It's almost as if DC were trying to emulate Marvel's Essential books (wherein a block of consecutive issues are reprinted) or maybe DC intends to publish a kind of Flash library, collecting all issues...though, if so, I'm so far unaware of a TPB picking up with #177. (Added: O.K., so they did -- Flash: Rogues) But the result is a TPB that isn't quite focused enough that you can say, O.K., this is the plot, and neither does it tie together neatly enough to form a self-contained saga.

Anyhoo, on to the review.

Blood Will Run has a series of murders sweeping Keystone City, perpetrated by a cult -- their victims being people the Flash had previously saved from death. Despite my initial qualms about the violence of the story -- I don't really think of the Flash as being a character ideally suited to tackling serial killers and mass murders -- and, frankly, my qualms about escalating violence in comics in general -- where death has become so trivialized, comics writers casually murder hundreds just to get a story off the ground -- I kind of liked the early part of the story. Part of the flavour of these Flash comics is to emphasize Keystone City as a blue collar, industrial town, appropriately rendered with washed out colours, giving things a kind of drab, grey look. It kind of put me in mind of movies and TV shows from the 1970s, the era of the working class hero. I liked Kollins' bold, fairly clear, art. And I enjoyed watching the story unfold as a story. However it turns out to be shorter than I expected, and instead of the beginning of an epic...it just kind of resolves a bit disappointingly. Even confusingly with it never quite clear what the rank and file of the cultists hope to achieve. Supposedly they want immortality...but they happily sacrifice their lives for their leader.

After that, there's a filler issue which seems kind of half-done, the villain being ill-explained, or motivated, then a battle with the Weather Wizard, then another story of the Flash tackling some of his rogues gallery (and another bloody serial killer to boot!).

I didn't dislike this collection, but I'll admit the first few issues had me thinking I was going to like it more than I did. Or, put another way, I'm not going to bad mouth the series, but I'm not rushing out to add the Flash to my monthly must buy list, either.

Overall, little of the plotting sticks with me. Johns tries to pad out the supporting cast -- no less than three semi-permanent characters seem to be introduced in these pages (although maybe Det. Morillo had already been there before) -- but there aren't a lot in the way of sub-plots. There's lots of modern-style jokes and humourous asides, and scenes -- like Wally having dinner with his in-laws -- but not too much in the way of dramatic, interesting sub-plots that you kind of wonder where they're headed.

Maybe I just read this wrong. After all, it took a bit of getting used to Johns' Wally West as a bit of goof off and reformed womanizer, given to making disparaging remarks about his parents. The Wally West I remembered was basically level-headed and had a good relationship with his folks. But I guess that was the pre-Crisis version. This Wally seems more like the stock personality DC has imposed on a lot of its characters these days, as if DC doesn't think its audience can handle grown up heroes. Despite being a married man, he's written a little like an arrested adolescent. Contrasted with the Silver Age Flash -- button-downed Barry Allen, scientist -- it was a bit of a shock. Though there were some interesting ideas, like Wally not concealing his real identity.

Flash's powers have been augmented over the years so that he can do all sorts of wild n' woolly things like sap kinetic energy from things, and (seeming) fire electricity. I dunno. I thought the appeal of the Flash was that he could run fast. The trick was to see the different, novel ways a writer could employ that.

And the nifty-cool costume-in-a-ring gimmick has been dropped entirely!

I'm also just not that big on the way police characters seem to be proliferating like mad in super hero comics -- all the newly added supporting characters here are cops. That's fine...if this was a cop comic. But it's a super hero comic, and I always thought of super heroes as being kind of everyman heroes, empowering the little guy, where the action heroics gets contrasted with the mundane normalacy of a supporting cast of friends and family far removed from that crimebustin' world. Clearly, that's not what DC is going for, either here, or in contemporary Batman comics.

Another curious thing I've noticed is the treatment of ethnicity. I was pretty sure Linda, Wally's wife, is supposed to be Oriental. But, y'know, it's awfully hard to tell here. I assume it's just a problem with the colouring and drawing. It's hard to imbue faces with ethnic characteristics. But I've noticed other comics where it's unclear what people are supposed to be. The cynic in me almost wonders if that's on purpose. On one hand, there are more non-white characters in comics these days, on the other hand, it's as if comic publishers want to make it ambiguous enough so as not to lose neo-Nazi readers. But that's just the cynic in me.

I mean, is Det. Morillo supposed to be black? Or Latino? Or what?

I went into this, having got it on a whim, unsure what to think. The first couple of issues won me over, even as the rest kind of cooled my enthusiasm. But, really, I think after another read I'll probably regard this all as O.K., if unspectacular stuff. Although the dangling plot thread of the mysterious person gathering villains was annoying.

Maybe, though, I shouldn't have read an old Barry Allen-Flash comic while I was reading this TPB -- the comparison wasn't too flattering for Wally.

Cover price: $29.95 CDN./ $17.95 USA

Flash: The Return of Barry Allen 1996 (SC TPB) 192 pagwes

Written by Mark Waid. Pencils by Greg LaRocque. Inks by Roy Richardson.
Colours: Matt Hollingsworth. Letters: Tim Harkins. Editor: Brian Augustyn.

Reprinting: The Flash (2nd series) #74-79 (plus a couple of pages from #73 as a prologue) - 1993

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Published by DC Comics

Additional notes: introduction; cover gallery.

The current Flash is Wally West -- formerly Kid Flash. The previous Flash, Barry Allen, died during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, so imagine Wally's surprise when Barry shows up on his doorstep, alive and well, albeit slightly amnesiac when it comes to how he's been resurrected. Wally is initially overjoyed by the return of his uncle, Barry, as are some of Barry's old colleagues -- the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, and the then-current Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

Of course, going into this saga years after it was first published, the reader knows one thing -- Barry isn't around in current continuity. So however it ends, one knows it isn't "happily ever after". Certainly not when Barry starts acting oddly, seeming obsessively possessive of his identity -- which can create problems given that Wally has basically usurped it.

This is a well regarded saga, and it starts well. Writer Mark Waid peppers the thing with introspective captions, and the first few issues (once everyone gets used to the idea that Barry's back) with the Flashes tackling a new mob in town, is entertaining, in a comfortable, old fashioned way, evoking 1960s Flash-Kid Flash team ups (particularly the first chapter, involving the two Flashes trying to prevent a mob hit at an amusement park). And for all that Barry's been dismissed over the years as too bland, seeing him back in action reminds you how much you missed him -- particularly older readers who might actually prefer the adventures of a level-headed thirtysomething to the cocky, arrested adolescents that are passed off as mature super heroes these days (just a thought). But all is not well in Mudville. And the second chapter closes on a particularly effective denouement.

For the first three issues, it's cruising along fine -- laying the groundwork, distracting us with the sub-plot involving the new mob. Along the way other DC speedsters are thrown in -- not just the Golden Age Flash, but other oldies like Johnny Quick, and the more obscure, and apparently multi-named, Max Mercury (a.k.a. Bluestreak a.k.a. Quicksilver -- not the Marvel character). Unfortunattely, Waid kicks the story into high gear...before it's really had time to build up sufficient speed. When Barry goes bad, the super speed action goes into overdrive. And you know what? Seeing a bunch of super speedsters fighting each other isn't nearly as fun as you might think. Rather, it is fun...for a bit, as they must utilize strategy against the rogue Barry who is, apparently, faster, and more powerful, than any of them. But it wears when such fight scenes dominate the plot.

One even suspects the revelation behind it all won't be that big a surprise to fans of the character, familiar with his rogues gallery. Though there was some clever twists -- though I can't go into detail.

The saga is spread over six issues, but the final is 54 pages -- meaning it's closer to an eight issue epic. If Waid had dragged his heels a bit more, let the Barry stuff percolate as a sub-plot, it might have been more effective. Admittedly, that can be the problem with reading stories as collections: stories that maybe benefited from a gradual sense of unfolding inherent in a monthly schedule can lose that edge (the Barry Allen stuff originally took a few months to come to a head). Which might explain Jay appearing to have figured out something was wrong...without the reader seeing what made him suspicious.

The story seems a tad thin. There's not a lot else going on besides the Barry-Wally drama. The mob plot is dropped quickly. Wally's wife isn't mulling over a job offer or anything; there's nothing to act as a grounding beyond the super heroics. Which isn't altogether bad. I initially enjoyed the simple super hero adventure of the thing. But it does mean there's not a lot else to round out the characters.

What Waid really wants to do is focus in on Wally, his mixed emotions toward Barry's returns -- joy, unease, and a feeling of inadequacy next to his mentor. Ironically, that's where the story stumbles a bit. Waid's so intent on dissecting his protagonist according to his vision, that he threatens plausibility. When Barry reveals he's not the man Wally remembered -- Wally is devastated by this bringing down of his idol. But, come on! Surely in a super hero reality, Wally's first reaction would be: he's not acting like Barry (who, after all, is dead) so doesn't it seem likely he's not Barry? Or, at least, wouldn't he assume Barry's mentally ill? Instead, Wally acts as if this is Barry and Barry's a real stinker. Later, when Wally decides he must confront the rogue Barry, he tells the other speedsters, and Green Lantern (in a bit part), that this is his fight. O.K., I recognize that's a convention of adventure stories, but by this point Barry has gone on a destructive crime spree -- it's not just about Wally's wounded ego anymore! Realistically GL should've said: "no, we stop him any way we can, and you can work out your issues on your own. period." (Speaking of GL -- this saga crossed over with Green Lantern #40, but that's not included here. Sure, you can still follow the story, but it might've been nice to include it).

Greg LaRocque's art is a little problematic and apparently his tenure on the title was a bit controversial. On one hand, he's one of those artists who's certainly got a grip on anatomy (muscles are drawn where they're supposed to be) but his figures are often stiff and ungainly, and facial expressions not always the most expressive (Waid's captions describing an emotion that LaRocque's pencils fail to convey). I sort of liked the art at first, clunkiness included, precisely for its old fashioned, Bronze Age feel. It's not garish or self-indulgent or cluttered. But even the action scenes can be a bit muddy at times (though that may well be a fault of Waid's script, not always giving LaRocque enough direction as to what miraculous feat of super speed the Flashes are supposed to be engaged in).

This features an introduction, supposedly transcribing a conversation between Waid and editor Brian Augustyn. O.K., I realize it's mainly a joke conversation -- I don't suppose anyone really kept track at the time. I don't know who even wrote it. But it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. For one thing, they talk about how fans continue to ask "when's Barry coming back" -- and mock such expectations, deriding rival Marvel Comics for its "revolving door" policy of bringing characters back from the dead. But, uh, DC's just as guilty as Marvel. Such petty company rivalry just seems childish. As well, I used to agree that death should be death, like in the real world, but I've softened my position. Maybe there's nothing wrong with an escapist, fictional reality where even death is little more than an inconvenience (particularly as characters are often killed off for no more valid a reason than simply as a marketing stunt -- like Barry was). Finally, I think there's something unkind about creators knowing the fans have been clamouring for a beloved character's return, only to then exploit that affection by "returning" him in a story which is bound to disappoint them.

The bottom line with The Return of Barry Allen is that it starts out well, and is moderately enjoyable (and doesn't actually besmirch the character of Barry Allen the way the "rogue Barry" premise might imply). But it fails to quite become more than that.

Cover price: $21.95 CDN./ $12.95 USA 

Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave & the Bold
  See my review in the Green Lantern section.

Giant-Size Gambit
  See the X-Men section.

The Golden Age 1995 (SC TPB) 208 pages

Written by James Robinson. Art by Paul Martin Smith
Colours: Richard Ory. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Archie Goodwin.

Reprinting: the four issue prestige format mini-series (1993-1994)

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Additional notes: intro by Howard Chaykin; covers.

Published by DC Comics

There are two primary types of DC Comics' "Elseworlds" stories (that is, stories not adhering to "accepted" continuity). The stories that completely re-imagine the concepts (what if Superman was raised in medieval Europe?). And the less common type: stories that begin within the parameters of DC's Universe...then diverge, such as Kingdom Come or Batman: The Dark Knight. In the latter category is The Golden Age.

Set immediately following World War II, the characters and situations are basically part of established 1940s DC reality...except the story goes off in a new, potentially earth-shattering direction. The characters are taken from real golden age comics, or later retro series like The All-Star Squadron. Although some of the more familiar heroes, like the Golden Age Flash, or Dr. Mid-Nite, are shunted to a few panels in the background in favour of other, less famous characters (which can be problematic: the series wants to play on our nostalgia...even as some of these characters are unfamiliar). Following the end of the war, many super heroes have chosen to hang up their cowls, like Johnny Quick who's resumed being journalist Johnny Chambers, others, like Starman, are suffering from emotional burn-out. The Americommando, though, is riding his heroic past into political life as he becomes a right wing demagogue, advocating war with the U.S.S.R. and initiating his own program to create the ultimate American super man.

Writer James Robinson's intention, like with so many writers in the last decade and some, is to put a slightly gritty, edgy spin on simple, old fashioned super heroes -- tossing in the idea that Hourman is almost addicted to his powers, or Starman is in a sanitorium, struggling with the guilt over his involvement in the development of the Atom bomb. And by rooting things in the period, with House Un-American Activities Commission anti-communist witch hunts and the like, Robinson sets out to write a politically tinged epic.

It's sub-titled, "A Different Look at a Different Era". Unfortunately, what emerges is more "A Concept in Search of a Story". I can't decide if, at two hundred pages, Robinson needed more space to fully explore his concepts (similar epics like The Watchmen and Squadron Supreme ran closer to 350 pages) or whether Robinson doesn't have enough to fill up the pages he has.

The rise of the Americommando and his development of a sinister super group dedicated to promoting a particular brand of "Americana" isn't really that complex, or developed that shrewdly...yet it's the chief plot. The rest of the story is concerned with exploring various superheroes -- and there are a lot of them -- and their emotional, post-hero lives. But Robinson tends to explain characterization in dense, text captions, rather than developing them through subtle scenes, and he kind of reiterates the same scenes, over again. There isn't a lot of character development, per se. At one point one character describes another as being "dependent and vulnerable"...yet I'm not sure you'd infer that from the scenes themselves!

I don't need action and adventure to be drawn into a super hero saga, but I do need characters I can believe in and care about, and niggling, interesting little scenes that help move the story along. Compareable superhero sagas (The Watchmen, etc.) are popular precisely because they're sufficiently complicated they demand re-readings to pick up on nuances and clues...but The Golden Age doesn't demand that kind of scrutiny.

As well, like most modern comicbook sagas, this isn't really aimed at the casual reader. A degree of pre-existing knowledge of these characters is helpful (even as Robinson plays fast and loose with their established personas, like in a passing reference implying Mr. Terrific -- the Champion of Fair Play -- is a corrupt business man! Or having Robotman be all ruthless and psychotic!) In fact, re-reading it, there's even a question as to how much of an "Elseworlds" story it is supposed to be. Some characters die, or are reinterpreted, but many of the ideas are built upon concepts, even plot threads, that were part of canon, and I think some ideas may've been introduced here that later became accepted as continuity.

But Robinson doesn't always create distinctive personalities for his people. The captions are a mix of Voice of God narration, internal thoughts of the various characters, even radio announcer voice overs...yet, despite the use of different colours and lettering styles, I often found it hard to tell when Robinson was switching from one point of view to another.

Robinson does an O.K. job with some of the characters of developing them from their established personas...even in a negative direction, such as the Atom and Johnny Thunder signing on with the Americommando both, we infer, because of their pre-established insecurities. But Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick), acting very much the focal character in the series, doesn't really evoke the brash character who raced through the pages of the All-Star Squadron. Of course, that's part of Robinson's point, to portray many of these characters as older and jaded, eager to give up their crime fighting lives. But maybe that would've worked better if the story had been set ten or twenty years later, not just a couple of years later. It's crucial to the story that these heroes have retired, to the point where even when a crisis seems imminent, many are reluctant to get involved...yet the why is, surprisingly, vague.

Even the socio-political stuff isn't as well utilized as I'd hoped. Perhaps Robinson (and DC) may feel the evils of the HUAC witch hunts are so obvious, it hardly needs to be delved into in detail. Alan Scott (Green Lantern), a broadcast president, finds his employees targeted by HUAC, to the point where one staff writer kills himself...but it might've been better drama to have introduced the writer as a supporting character in a scene or two, so that he becomes a person, not just a plot point.

There's a sense that we're skirting around a far more interesting story...particularly when the climax mutes much of a socio-political statement, the villainy stemming more from the world of super-villains than the halls of political discourse.

Paul Smith's art is decent enough. I've often liked his work, and here, while still maintaining decent face and figure work, he seems to embellish his style by evoking some of the better Golden Age artists. At times it's reminiscent of the early work of, for instance, Alex Toth, but with more modern realism...although lacking Toth's skillful use of shadow and composition. However Smith's faces can be a little generic so that it's often hard to tell who's who. The biggest stumbling block, visually, is Richard Ory's colours, which are too dark by far. Maybe it was meant to instill an ominous tone in an erstwhile cheery, four colour world, but some panels are so dark, it's hard to make out what's supposed to be happening!

Unfortunately, in the ranks of profound superhero epics like The Watchmen, Squadron Supreme, Kingdom Come, and The Dark Knight Returns, the Golden Age is definitely a lesser entry. Even compared to earlier, "simpler" sagas like The Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War, it seems wanting. The plot is thin, on story and action...while the character stuff is repetative and too pat, handed to us in statements and monologues, more than threaded through scenes and actions. The final chapter starts out the best, when the focus (finally) shifts to the heroes planning to do something, and there is some genuine tension and suspense...until it degenerates into a lengthy -- no, really lengthy -- fight scene, where the villains are too pulpy and cartoony for what initially seemed like it was supposed to be a serious epic.

There was talk of a follow-up mini-series -- The Silver Age -- but it never materialized (though there was a later, unrelated mini-series called the Silver Age).

Cover price: $31.50 CDN./ $19.95 USA.

The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told  go here for a review

Green Arrow
  See the Green Lantern section.

Green Lantern
  See the Green Lantern section.

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