The Good
Nothing like a nice murder mystery in a book that features a character deeply rooted to the police force. The fact is, Barry Allen is part of the police force and investigates crime scenes. It's great to see this mixed into the book instead of just Flash running around. With some recent murders that may or may not be connected, we're getting to see Barry try to figure things out in the aftermath of the looting and riots from Forever Evil.
And because the Flash is more than just a fast-running superhero, Robert Venditti and Van Jensen are continuing to show us aspects of Barry's life. In other words, we're seeing Patty and Iris. Things get a little awkward but it's this kind of spice that readers enjoy to add more humanity to the character. There's also more on Iris trying to get Barry to be a mentor to Wally.
Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund give the book a nice crisp and clean look. And by clean, I don't mean tidy. The city is a mess. The detail added in the background is refreshing (it bugs me a little when we get plain empty backgrounds in comics). Andrew Dalhouse's colors adds to the feel of the book. Simply put, this is a good looking comic.
The Bad
I know we have to be patient but I'm already getting a little antsy over the upcoming relationship between Barry and Wally. Sure, it's an assumption that they will eventually get along. Wally has plenty of reason to be angry. It feels a little cliche. Maybe it's from my years as a high school teacher and seeing attitude from kids that thought they knew it all.
We're seeing more about the Flash from the future and what his motives are. It almost feels like we have two separate stories going on. Again, maybe I just need to be patient.
The Verdict
Venditti and Jensen are cranking up the action for the Flash and Barry Allen. It's great to continue to see the story develop for both aspects of his life. The story is building as we see more on the murders after Forever Evil as well as more of the 'new' Wally West. I'm always happy to see Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund's art. Andrew Dalhouse's colors makes the art look even better. I'm ready for Wally to lose all his angst but it's just a matter of letting the story develop. Seeing more of the future Flash is interesting and there's no telling where this is going to go. With the way things are building, you won't want to fall behind on this series.
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