Speed Watching! – The Flash: Season One

Tonight was the premiere of The Flash’s second season, and the CW was really promoting it like no other. And I cannot blame them. The Flash was a runaway hit for the CW with critics and audiences last year. No wonder they are giving it all the pomp and circumstance they can muster.

But why was this show so popular? Obviously, I watched it (I’m a fan of the Flash), and the leading reason why The Flash has caught on is that it is a lot of fun. It is a show with relatable characters that you actually like. It has the hook of a superhero (which, like it or not, are really popular nowadays), but it adds in healthy doses of humor, romance, adventure, and heart. The show is light and breezy making it good for families, but with just enough edge. It makes for a pleasurable viewing experience.

And, on a personal note, last season had an underlying them of father/son relationships. Seriously! Barry had three father figures on the show, and each brought something different to the table. While I have always appreciated of a father/son dynamic in storytelling, having lost my father just before the show premiered last October, this element of The Flash spoke to me.

Because all of the above worked within the show, The Flash was really able to embrace its comic book origins. The Flash and the extended elements of that character’s world are incredibly goofy, but the show managed to incorporate it onto the show. The writers and producers didn’t shy away from it at all. They were even able to pull off a giant, telepathic gorilla. While I find that other comic book based shows and movies tend to downplay the more fantastic elements so it can better connect to viewers easily, The Flash says “Pfft….more gorilla” to that.

The writers are smart. They knew they had to have characters that worked and storylines that resonated with viewers. They did. That’s how they can get away with the fantastical.

I know it sounds like I am fawning over it (and I suppose I am), but don’t mistake my tone. The show is good and a lot of fun, but it is far from perfect. Some of the plot points are suspect (illegally imprisoning the villains without any due process and none of our heroes care) and a couple of characters here and there can be trying at times or perplexing added at times (tell me, what was the point of character-actor Chase Masterson’s guest spot), but everything else really worked with the show, so that stuff really didn’t bother me.

The Flash isn’t going to win any non-technical awards. This isn’t Game of Thrones or Mad Men. But, it isn’t trying to be. And, unlike those shows which can be dour and depressing, The Flash is a ton of fun and a breath of fresh air. I am looking forward to the second season. Here’s hoping it maintains its momentum!

~N

Speed Reading! – The Flash #23.3

Flash Month!

Everyone’s favorite loveable super-criminals, the Rogues, are featured in The Flash’s third and final Villains’ Month issue.  It is also the best of the three.  Like the Grodd issue, this story ends on a cliffhanger which will lead into the Rogues’ Rebellion mini-series.  Unlike the Grodd issue, this story also does enough to where it stands on its own and has a beginning, middle, and end.

“All For One”

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Rogues since the beginning of the New 52.  Specifically, the characters have been given powers instead of relying on gadgets as has been in years’ past.  Long-time fans seemed to hate this new take.  I suppose that is understandable to an extent.  However, why I think it personally works is that the powers were established as a “natural” evolution of their battles with the Flash.  Additionally, and more importantly, the characters realized their powers are a horrible mistake.

“All For One” deals with that issue head-on by focusing largely focusing on Captain Cold (who was the catalyst for getting the powers) and his guilt over their current situation.  Cold is holding a pity-party for himself (mostly due to his sister’s predicament) to the point that he drunkenly attempts to rob a bank.  His teammates rescue him from the cops and reveal that while they hate him for what he did, they see he’s feeling the guilt.  Oh, they might hold grudges, but they are also all a family.  Perhaps a dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.  And they will not let him do anything stupid (like drunk rob a bank).

This is why the Rogues are a great set of characters.  They bicker and fight.  They don’t want to dominate the world or have any megalomaniac tendencies.  They are just blue-collar criminals with the simplest of motivations: money.  They are also a tight-knit group who are there for one another even when they are mad at each other.  The family loyalty the Rogues show is why they are great characters (I am also convinced that they can headline their own series, but that’s another conversation for another day).

As I mentioned above, this was the best of The Flash Villains’ Month issues.  Classic characters dealing with their new abilities in a classic way.  Even though they are all nutty and have bizarre powers, they are immediately relatable to anyone who comes from a nutty family.  In other words, everyone.

Cover Comments: Not surprisingly, the cover is also the best of The Flash 3D covers as well.  Everything is layered perfectly, and Cold’s ice just seems to come completely at you.  If you are going to get only one of these 3D covers, I’d really recommend the Rogues’ issue.  It pops.

Retro Speed Reading! – The Dastardly Death of the Rogues

Flash Month!

I love the title to this story.  Sure, it is a bit misleading (only one “Rogue” dies, and he isn’t really a Rogue), but it has such an awesome retro vibe to it.

This was the first collection from the The Flash series beginning in 2010.  It picks up after the events of The Flash: Rebirth and puts Barry Allen/The Flash into a very much straight-forward tale that involves mystery, action, and a whole lot of fun.  Written by Geoff Johns, this collection is also the first time Francis Manapul (as main artist) and Brian Buccellato (as colorist) worked on the character.  It was their artwork that pulled me into this character and ultimately led me to picking up Rebirth, so I could get caught up.

Luckily, you do not really need to read Rebirth to understand this tale.  We get some good re-introductions to all of our main characters including Barry, Iris, the Rouges, and his co-workers at Central City Police.  This serves as a good jumping on point (which shouldn’t be a surprise considering it starts with issue #1) which makes me wonder if, besides some set-up for the then-upcoming Flashpoint, Rebirth was even needed.

Enough of me ragging on Rebirth.  Let’s move forward.

In The Dastardly Death of the Rogues, a member of a future police unit modeled after the Rouges is found dead and Barry is discovered to be the main culprit.  This of course seems like total nonsense, but as we learn, it apparently hadn’t happened yet.  The rest of the Renegades, as they are called, attempt to arrest Barry before he commits the crime.  Barry races to discover who set him up while the Rogues are not too keen on seeing doppelgangers of themselves on the right side of the law.

As a new fan at the time, I liked this story.  I found it to be engaging, and I was constantly wanting to know what was going to happen next.  I also liked how the tone was kept fairly light even when dealing with some serious matters.  It struck me then as it does now that this is the right feel you wanted from a character like the Flash.  I also appreciated the huge block-wide melee in the middle of the story.  Sure, it stops it a bit dead, but it was a lot of fun to read (Manapul’s art helps a lot in this matter).

The only major issue I have with this initial story is the forced addition of Captain Boomerang’s discovery of his new powers due to his role in the then-crossover Brightest Day.  While there is nothing inherently wrong about it, it is just that it feels so completely out of place with the story at large.  Johns tries to make it as natural as he can, but it doesn’t quite work.

After the conclusion of Dastardly Deaths (which continues to set up Flashpoint), we are treated to a one-off issue spotlighting Boomerang.  It is fine; talks about his origin.  Nothing special.  The big reveal has a lot to do with Boomerang letting the Reverse Flash out of confinement.

The final story in the collection comes from a one-off Flash special.  Barry is still having trouble adapting to being alive again, so he consults Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick.  It is a nice, slice-of-life segment, but its placement in the book is incredibly odd.  Chronologically, it should take place before Dastardly Death, but was featured last here.  Just struck me as strange.

Scott Kolins steps in to do art on these two stories.  I really blow hot and cold on his work.  Sometimes it’s great.  Other times, not as much.  And, it never seems consistent from issue to issue.  It is either scratchy-looking or sorta-photo-realistic.  I don’t know.  His stuff just doesn’t work for me.

I would highly recommend The Dastardly Death of the Rogues.  It isn’t groundbreaking, but it didn’t have to be.  It is a lot of fun with good art and a solid, entertaining story.  What more can you ask for from a comic book?