The Flash

Barry shooted in the head and Manuel kidnapped by his "clones"... The situation is gettin' more and more complicated for the Flash and for his old friends, whose secrets will revealt the real plot under Mob Rule actions.

THE GOOD:

In this issue, finally we know what it's really happening, who really are the soldiers of the Mob Rule and the role of Manuel in all this story. The secret life of Barry's friend probably isn't the most original that we've seen in decades of comics, but it do his part to make the entire arc more interesting.

Like in previous issue, continues the dicovery of all the power of the Speedster, expedient to make our speedy friend still alive and not dead (again).

THE BAD:

The only negative point is that, on balance, the plot doesn't go on very much, probably it would be accelerated a bit making the story of Manuel a little more short, but, however, this is not a great default.

VERDICT: 4/5

The Story Arc is going to reach its climax really soon, and this issue promises really, really good!

Synopsis  
 
The origin of Mob Rule! What turned an rogue experimental-CIA agent into the legions of clones hellbent on getting back their "father"?
 
The Good  
 
This is the issue where we find out exactly how Mob Rule came into being. We already knew how it was possible in previous issues, but now we find out who is responsible and the circumstances that created the group! It isn't particularly pleasant, but it also adds another level to the strained relationship between the original and his clones.  
 
I liked as well how a group that was introduced in another New 52 series makes an impact in this issue. it's good to see various series start to lap over together to give this new DC Universe a more cohesive feel.
 
There is also a scene where Manuel comes to deal with the personal repercussions to the conclusion of last issues, and what his friendship with Barry means. This is one of the main strengths of this series I believe, the character development doesn't come second to flashy (excuse the pun) action scenes and violence.
 
The Bad  
 
I was hoping for a few more glimpses of the Rogues before they return (like last issue), but sadly they are not present this issue. We also get a short scene concerning a captured Iris West, but again we'll have to wait until a future issue to find out what happens to her. 
 
There is also for most of the issue a lack of Flash action, which is quite surprising for a comic called The Flash! I don't mind that much though, the character origin and development for Lago and Mob Rule way make up for this shortcoming. I do hope though next issue we get an abundance of action to balance things out. :)
 
Conclusion 
 
This issue is more about origins and character development then the Flash running around and his thing. That isn't a negative thing though, the somewhat cruel origin of Mob Rule keeps this issue on par with the rest of this excellent series. :)

The Story: 

Central City remains in the dark after the recent EMP blast and Iris West is locked is Iron Heights prison trying to find a way out. Flash wakes up and does nothing. 

My Thoughts:

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato continue to make their attempt at writing a comic series as well as drawing it. I haven't been crazy about their storytelling abilities thus far. I feel like they lack the experience in that department and have wholeheartedly failed up to this point at creating a compelling story. I feel like people are giving this series great reviews just because they're both popular individuals who create phenomenal artwork and are overlooking their lack of writing talent.

Nothing much really happened in this issue. Flash didn't appear until the very end. We saw Barry in flashbacks with Manuel in the beginning and while these pages were great to look at, the words written on them do nothing to satisfy you. The overall story, or lack of one, has been a real drag. Manpul and Buccellato are great  at creating art, but not so much at creating a story. DC really should consider getting a real writer for this series and have Manapul and Buccellato handle only the art.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that once again the art is spectacular. Francis Manapul is an incredible artist and Brian Buccellato is an incredible colorist. The unique panels continue to flow throughout the issue. One of my favorites was the double-paged spread where Manuel was lying face down crying and the tears flowed throughout the pages creating the shapes of the other panels. I like how the coloring changes tone during the flashbacks. In terms of art, this series is one of the best.

I'm anxiously awaiting the end of this horrid first story arc. I'm honestly only sticking it out knowing full well that the Rogues will be back for the next story arc. This whole Mob Rule story has done nothing for me. I've enjoyed a few cool Flash moments but the overall story has been incredibly boring and poorly executed. 

Rating: 2/5

Excellent writing, the art work is superb. I loved this issue and I have been enjoying this series very much. I don't see any errors because I am blissfully having fun in every panel. The art work is very articual, the writing just matches perfect. From panel to panel I am seeing classic work. Iris West is a adventurer and is willing to fight for her life. She strong, a great supporting character in the series. As for Manual he shows more the same qualities, his situation is trying to be the big hero and set things right. I am telling you, you love this series. Great work, I rate this book a 5.0 of 5.0 rating.

http://djmaximusgodj.tumblr.com/

1=wack, 1.5=falling asleep, 2=below average, 2.5=pick it up a bit, 3= average, 3.5=dope, 4=good, 4.5=excellent, 5=classic

This is my video review for The Flash issue 4. This issue is about learning more about Manuel's past and friendship with Barry Allen. We also find out what happened to Barry when he got shot in issue 3.

The Good: I was not a huge fan of Francis Manapul when I first saw his artwork. His stuff on Adventure Comics and the beginning of The Flash were decent, but a little oddly cartoony for my tastes. His first three or so issues of The Flash REALLY unimpressed me, I thought he wasn't a good fit. But Manapul has REALLY come around, working towards a mastery of unique and experimental panel layouts to rival that of J.H. Williams III and Marco Rudy. Now, personally I think his art's overall quality is the lowest of that trio, but his panel layouts put him in a category alongside those geniuses.
And for evidence of this genius, look no further than the absolutely astounding cover. It's insanely unique and mind blowingly compelling. It also represents EXACTLY how the last issue ended, The Flash was shot because he was distracted by the overwhelming possibilities running through his mind. Now know this, at least half the issue is made up of pages equally brilliant as the cover, but still perfectly coherent. Yeah, The Flash is a GORGEOUS series.
I like the way we get to see some of the ties to other New 52 without forcing you to read them all. The appearance of Basilisk shows that this new organization is building into something big and interesting.

The Bad: I can't exactly feel what Manapul is trying to make us feel. The pacing is all over the place. Part of it feels ike he's trying to evoke this sense that Central City has descended into anarchy, but other things make it seem like that's an idea that came and went, except it doesn't feel like enough time has passed for either of those things to have happened. Actually, the passage of time is the least clear thing in this story. It's REALLY hard to sense how long it's been since the power went out, or since Mob Rule captured any of the scientists. It makes the story hard to properly follow.
The biggest gist of the problem with this series is that while Francis Manapul is a GENIUS of an artist, able to pace the individual scenes amazingly well, he needs A LOT of work on stringing together his amazing scenes int oa properly cohesive story.
The final part of Mob Rule's origin is a little weak. The beginning was perfectly paced, but the end of it feels kind of rushed into a conclusion. Manapul misses out on a key opportunity to dig deep into the idea of 'What measure is a man?'
 
In Conclusion: 3/5
This is a series that really should be a lot better than it is. All of the pieces are there, they're just rarely in the right place. I feel like some people are praising this series a bit more than it deserves, because Manapul clearly needs some work on pacing things in the long run.

After a great cliffhanger last time we get to see the result of Barry getting shot and the origin of mob rule! Which I kinda guessed right by claiming that they were clones of Barry’s best friend made out of his severed body parts who turned into villains because they are dying for being imperfect clones…..this is why I love comics people….because you can get away with stuff like this.

The issue starts in the past as Barry is in the funeral of Manuel’s father who manuel himself did not attend for the way his father died, which was because of some people hijacking the airplane he was in. He becomes a CIA agent and leaves when he learns that a group called basilisk was responsible and hunts them down one by one (a group who appear on suicide squad....and with what i gathered seem to be a cheap rip-off of Hydra from Marvel). He ends up captured and tortured pretty badly for Manuel was experimented and gained regeneration abilities that recreate any lost limb which after so many times he was mutilated, clones came out and started working together with their “father” and had a great time……till they started dying and their creator running away from them. So now they have Darwin whose project might help them and captured Manuel as well when he tried to save his best friend after leaving him last issue. The issue ends with Barry getting up who reacted just in time to dodge the bullet barely (the moment he felt the bullet he moved which brings an interesting ability to quickly react when something touches him) and goes out to help his friend. Knowing full well that his new super mind can distract him to the point of almost daydream things he thought he was doing....which i kinda figured out since the last issue but I'm glad they explained it much better here.

The Good:

I'm glad we get to see the full picture with the the Mob Rule's origin being told to us here. They are a very interesting group of villains which makes me wonder how will they be dealt with, I mean…..it’s a bunch of clones of the Flash’s best friend made out of severed limbs, kinda reminds me of the idea of evil deadpool for some reason. The art is again great so no complains here (the last page was one of my favorites of the entire series).

The Bad:

Me want more flash, he was just in a few pages and even if it helps telling the origin of the mob rule and all. This story feels like it’s dragging. I know the concept is interesting, but it would had been nice if this was a 3 or 4 issue arc instead of 5. But can also be the fact that I’m way too exited to see captain cold again in future issues that it’s getting in the way but that might also be wrong. Seriously, why does everyone want to aim for the trade in this re-launch? This tittle doesn't need 5-6 issues to tell a story, it's the flash for crying out loud. You can have complex stories and all and with less issues than this. A book like this one can benefit from having shorter story arcs and I'm not bashing it since I love this tittle a lot but that's just what can help it improve it.

Overall: 4/5

A good issue for it tells the origin properly of the mob rule and we get to see Manuel's back story much clearer. But the protagonist wasn't there enough and kinda felt a little dragged to make the 5 issue story arc even if I totally support this tittle and hope it gets better next issue.

The first story arc running through the pages of the Flash continues here with a closer look at the origin of Mob Rule.  In terms  of background stories it is one of the more original ones I have read in comics in years, especially as it focuses on contemporary issues such as torture.  This eats up a majority of the issue, but Barry does show up at the end and explains in suitably scientific lingo about how he survived.  Elsewhere Iris is left to fend for herself in a frozen cell, though a little bit of cunning aids her in  an escape.  There was not as much here, more of a bridge to better build the characters before setting them off again into the action.  Something which was a notable standout here though was the artwork, not in the depiction fo the characters (though that was fine) but in the presentation of the panels (going all the way back to the cover.)  A pretty solid issue overall and this is still one of the best titles going.  

With Barry out-cold from a bullet and Central City in the dark, Mob Rule continue's it's plan. The origin of Mob Rule is revealed!

The Cover

Pretty darn good. I do tend to like cover's that make some trippy use of several tiny panel's. The extra shading is something I wouldn't mind the art crew doing some experimentation on in latter issue's

The Good

Mob Rule's origin. Holy crap, Mob Rule's origin. I really got to give credit to Buccellato and Manapul. They know how to draw some pretty pictures. Manapul draws some great pencil's but I feel Buccellato really excelled this issue just because of those page's. His use of sepia toning (Google it) for flashback's has always been something I liked, but here the pages using it are hauntingly beautiful. Particularly the page's at the beginning with the funeral.

But hey, the art in this series has always been great, it wouldn't really mean much if the writing wasn't solid as well, which as you have probably guessed from my score is the fact case. This issue was a step up from the last couple of issues even though it focused mainly on the supporting character's which is a fairly impressive feat.

Though the true star's of this issue are Manuel and his many clone's. Mob Rule has become less villain's in this issue and more just a bunch of guy's trying to survive their situation. It actually wouldn't be much of a stretch to say Manuel is the villain of this story arc. The way he ditched Mob Rule was pretty cold. The guy need's a chat with Uncle Ben.

I'm liking the character contrast between Barry and Manuel that's been going on for this arc. The differences between the two in the past and present really speak to how Barry was changed by becoming the Flash and how Manuel hasn't. I have a feeling in my gut that the moment Barry discover's what's really going on and why all this has happened thing's will probably not go will between the two. All that said I hope Manuel appear's in later issue's.

The Bad

Their is one thing that kind of irk's me about this issue. Patty's face while she tell's Manuel off. It just doesn't strike me as angry enough given what she said.

Also their's one more issue to go in this arc and I'm a little worried it might be rushed at the end so it probably won't feel as conclusive as I like. Their will probably be some dangling plot thread's that they will tackle latter.

Conclusion

This was a great issue. While I am little apprehensive about this story arc's end I look forward to the next issue. The Flash is one of the few ongoing's I'm following. Mainly because I can't shell out as much cash as I'd like toward's comic's but also because it delver's solid superhero action month after month.