Geoff Johns' Flash, Flash: Rebirth, Formerly Known as the Justice League

Flash 207-225, ½

What a difference an artist makes.  Howard Porter takes what might have been a wonderful closing arc from Geoff Johns with the ambitious, epic Rogues’ War and muddies it up with art that’s generously average.  I can only imagine how good this could have been if Scott Kolins had stayed on.

Deathstroke has all the dynamism of a He-Man action figure.

Literally.

Winding up (awkwardly) with the left.  Punching with the right.

It happens a lot, but bait and switching w/ a Michael Turner cover seems especially rude.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Starts Nice, diminishes to Fine as I get more and more sick of Porter’s art.

Rogues’ Revenge 1-3

I also know it’s not because Johns lost something on his fastball, because three years later, he reunites with Kolins for this really fun romp with the Rogues.  Reading it back to back with the previous Porter issues magnifies the difference in quality like you wouldn’t believe. It also makes me realize that maybe it’s Johns’ portrayal of the Rogues that kept me interested in Flash for so long, not Wally West.  (This isn’t a small revelation.  I always thought he was a great character, but reading him for the last hundred issues or so has really put a dent in how much I like him.  Still love the power set, though.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Flash: Rebirth 1-6

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve since learned that Ethan Van Sciver is a complete tool, but his Bolland-esque art just didn’t impress me as much this time around.  I don’t deny the technical brilliance of it, but maybe the Flash requires something a little more stylized to truly pop.  

Or maybe I just find Barry Allen a complete bore and not worth the adulation that he got for the twenty years that he was dead.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Flash 1-2

I forgot that Geoff Johns wrote the follow up Francis Manapul-drawn series as well.  Past me stopped buying this because as gorgeous as Manapul’s art was, Barry really was a drag to read about.  Present me fully agrees.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Formerly Known as the Justice League 1-6

I missed the Bwah-ha-ha era of the Justice League in the 80s, when Keith Giffen, JM DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire ruled the roost with their irreverent take on the premier superhero team of the DC Universe.  (I read a couple of issues, but nothing more.) I picked up this reunion series on sale for six bucks, and I’m kind of sad that I did. (Though not enough to go buy all those back issues.)

This is basically like any number of the reunion TV shows that you see nowadays (Gilmore Girls, Full House, Will and Grace, etc…), a cash grabbing exploitation of a nostalgia for glory years gone by.  But the creators lean into it, and the result is a hilarious little tale that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire are at the peak of their powers here, and unlike many reunions, they’ve only gotten better with time.  A welcome surprise from a title I was sure I was going to cut going into the re-read.  

Love Mary's expressions on the right.

So hard to do a funny Batman.  They succeed.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Geoff Johns' Flash

DC 1st: Superman/Flash

Rick Burchett is a great artist for the DC Animated style, but his work here really shows just how important Scott Kolins has been to the success of Geoff Johns’ run on Flash.  This would have been a lot better with the artist from the main title.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Flash 183-200

What a great run for Kolins and Johns, starting with Crossfire and culminating with the fantastic Blitz arc and the new Zoom, Hunter Zolomon.  It’s telling that I never got sick of the comic during this stretch, and actively looked forward to reading the next issue.  As good as I remembered, I shouldn’t wait eighteen years between readings next time.

I’m usually not a fan of Professor Zoom’s look, the reversed color scheme always looked goofy to me.  (Yes, I don’t like Kid Flash’s costume either.) But Kolins changes my mind with a spooky, lethal interpretation that I love.  

It's the eyes.  So sinister, so much hate.

So brutal, with great timing and storytelling by Johns and Kolins.

Equally brutal (though unintentional) revenge by Wally

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good, ramps up to Really good for 197-200.

Flash 201-206

A total let down to transition from Kolins to anyone else, and I was especially disappointed to see Alberto Dose on pencils.  I’d never heard of him before, and his style looks a lot like Eduardo Risso’s. (They’re both Argentinian and around the same age, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they crossed paths.  Sadly, Dose passed away in 2016.)

But after a few pages, I really got into what Johns was trying to do.  There’s definitely a 100 Bullets vibe going on here, with erased memories, Wally West wandering around in a dream-like haze, and mystery that requires unraveling.  Given that, Dose is a wonderful choice for the art.

Dose

Risso

This gets dinged down to Nice because I never bought into the mindwipe idea in the first place.  Stupid of Hal to suggest it, stupid of Wally to accept.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

New Comics, Flash

New comics!

Punisher: Soviet 5

We’ve reached the part of the Ennis Punisher story where the talking stops and the shooting begins.  Still pretty good because it’s Ennis.

Hawkeye: Freefall 4

Matthew Rosenberg really knows how to write a funny, action-packed comic.  He’s tone-perfect here, and Otto Schmidt matches him on art beat for beat.

Flash 164-182

Flash: Iron Heights

The Geoff Johns era of Flash begins.  This may be my first time re-reading this, and so far, the quality of the stories are fully supporting my positive memories of them.  It says a lot that almost twenty issues in, I still can’t wait to read the next one. There’s a freshness and energy to this run that, in hindsight, is missing from the Waid run.  Johns is doing a wonderful job of slowly building out his cast of characters, both on Team Flash and the Rogues’ Gallery, with each new introduction adding to a complex tapestry of plot that really feels as if it’s driving to something huge.  Kind of like the MCU. I can’t remember how it ends, and i’m looking forward to finding out.

Let’s look at some impressive Scott Kolins splashes.  (His storytelling is spot on, too.)

I love his art.  Few people can make their pages look this good without using any solid blacks at all.  No one else comes to mind, really.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Starts out Nice, gets to Pretty good

New comics, Flash

New comics!

Ragnarok: Breaking of Helheim 4

I could probably drop this and not ever miss it.  I really should. Any day now.

Strange Adventures 1

It’s done by the same creative team, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but this totally gave me Mister Miracle flashbacks.  Perfect execution, but I hope that the deja vu doesn’t persist.  I want something different.

Flash: Time Flies

And so starts the next box.  This is basically the Flash box, I have over a hundred issues of this.  This one-shot is a keeper because Seth Fisher’s art is just bonkers unique.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Flash 0, 74-117

Impulse 11

Mark Waid built so much of his reputation off the strength of Kingdom Come and his long run on Flash.  The former is certainly well deserved.  I thought that the latter was as well, but does it hold up twenty-plus years later?  

Mmm...not so much.  There are some stretches of fun (Return of Barry Allen and Dead Heat are the stand-outs) and he introduces Bart Allen here, which spins off into the truly legendary Impulse, but I was overall underwhelmed by his work here.  Waid writes this title old school - plenty of inner monologue, a recap of the story in the middle of every issue, and a wholesome quality throughout.  Nothing wrong with any of that, but the first two items really give this a dated quality that doesn’t work for me anymore.  

Even more dated is the relationship between Linda Park and Wally West.  For all the time people in the comic call her out as being her own woman, Linda spends way too many pages being defined by her Wally angst.  I never cared about the two of them together, no matter how much they professed to be in love.

MIke Wieringo is a fantastic artist, but this is way too early in his career for his art to be truly stunning.  (And he doesn’t stay on as penciller for nearly as long as I remembered. He doesn’t even draw the Terminal Velocity arc, leaving that to an early stage Salvador Larroca (with cameos from early stage Carlos Pacheo and Oscar Jimenez).  So much talent in their nascent, level one forms.)  

For me, Flash is just a springboard for Impulse, which I can’t wait to revisit.  That’s where Waid truly cemented his status as a name to follow.  (That and Kingdom Come.)

I’m cutting the John Fox issues (truly horrendous) and most of the stuff between Terminal Velocity and Dead Heat.  (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m keeping the stuff that showcases the other speedsters instead of Wally.)  I’m tempted to cut some of the earlier stuff too, but can’t bring myself to get rid of Ringo’s art.

Regret buying: No (Yes for 112-117)

Would buy again: No (Yes for 74-79, 108-111, Impulse 11)

Would read again: Yes (No for 112-117)

Rating: Fine (Nice for 74-79, 89-91, 108-111, Impulse 11; Disliked for 112-117)  (Cutting 103-107, 112-117)

Flash 134

Grant Morrision and Mark Millar give us a day in the life of Jay Garrick.  This is just good, basic storytelling at its finest.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

New comics, Fallen Angel

New comics!

Punisher: Soviet 4

Garth Ennis says it himself:

Ennis and Bendis are the best at telling stories about people telling stories.  I can read them all day.

Batman: Curse of the White Knight 7

Exquisite Sean Murphy cover.  The inside’s pretty decent too.

Fallen Angel 7-14, 16-20

Yeah, I spent way too much money on this series.  Should have read the first trade and moved on. Cutting all of it, and the only thing I’ll miss is the sweet Brian Stelfreeze cover.

Peter David just wasn’t able to get me to care about any of these people, and David Lopez’s faces never looked right to me.

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine (Cutting)

That’s it for DC Box 1!  Summary:

Box Summary:

Time spent reading: 23 hours, 44 minutes

Issues read: 225

Issues cut: 78 (A bloodbath!  Cut decent chunks of Birds of Prey and Blue Beetle, and all of Demon and Fallen Angel)

Highlights (Good or better): Arsenal Special, Blue Beetle 20-26

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 24 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes

Issues read: 4925

Issues cut: 676