The Flash #2

The Flash emerges from the Speed Force dimension and turns up in Gorilla City secretly located in East Africa. There he is confronted by the apes leader King Grodd. Now suffering from amnesia, Flash must find a way to survive against this vicious monarch. -summary

The Flash is another title in the New 52 that is enjoying a pretty good run. Like Wonder Woman and Superman, it does feel like a reboot and although there are some changes to his world; I can't really say there's too much older fans should take issue with. Now for those whom may have been away from comics for awhile, it's definitely worth mentioning that DC chose to go with Barry Allen as the Flash, whom was resurrected during pre-New 52 and Wally West at the moment is gone. Personally, I'm still not use to Allen because DC hasn't done a well enough job helping me forget about West. He was just more charismatic than Allen for me. This hardcover TPB collects the Flash issues 9 - 12, #0, and the Flash Annual #1.

The artwork is something I have to address right now since I'm sure it will bother plenty of people. The duties are spread out amongst Francis Manapul, Wes Craig, Ray McCarthy, Marcio Takara, and a few others; in other words, we're looking at a revolving door of artist and this isn't even a crossover. The different art styles would feature an anorexic Flash, then a more superhero looking one and this just reeked of inconsistency. This would also carry into the villains and backgrounds. I should be completely put off by this and some does bother me, but then Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's writing takes advantage of this. There's one issue that features Golden Glider, and it uses an almost splash paint visual style, and it worked great in developing the dream-like effect in combination with her powers, along with Flash's ability to vibrate through objects. It was a creative way to work with the material they had. This is one of the strongest visual moments in the book. The action panels have some very fun moments later on with Flash taking on plenty of his villains; the cool factor is pretty high, so I can imagine most action junkies feeling this story by the time they hit the middle, then eventually head towards the end for a nice finish.

Now this story takes place directly after the previous volume Flash Volume One: Move Forward. I highly recommend coming into that before this, because there are small details here not even really explained, and they're not exactly examined here. I mean not at all.

The story's beginning can be misleading because there's no way to predict how good it will become later. It really does begin quite slow, boring, and I kind of wanted to read something else, which is strange because a confrontation between Flash and Grodd is usually the stuff that makes great hero vs. villain conflicts fun. If anything, the opening act should be noted for setting the stage on coming events. There's this ancient link between Gorilla City and the Speed Force that is only hinted at for the moment. I definitely see this going somewhere. The book picks up the pace when Captain Cold's former gang, The Rogues, have formed under a new leader and they want him dead. One by one, Heatwave, Mirror Master, and Golden Glider are introduced putting on some rather impressive displays of power. Those whom are immediately put off by the monster of the week formula need not worry, because the Rogues are well introduced as a unit, and there is a little bit of background on their current situation making them quite relevant for new readers. Despite their grudge against Captain Cold, I thought the family bond between them was pretty cool. I guess there is honor amongst thieves.

Flash's development isn't forsaken though and he still manages to remain interesting. He later searches for a new life in Keystone City where the villains mainly reside. This is a result of him making the decision that he has a responsibility to continue on as a costumed hero due to his life as Barry Allen growing too complicated. There are other elements at work here, such as his supposed friend Dr. Elias betraying him and turning the populace in Central City against him. Manapul does a better job making both Flash and Barry Allen more interesting this time around, but at the moment Wally West is still greatly missed.

This is a very strong volume overall; the Flash decides to move on without a love life, the return of the Rogues was a success, we get a Barry Allen origin story focusing on his parents, plus the story ends on a cliffhanger setting the stage for the next storyline Gorilla Warfare. There is plenty to like here and I do recommend it in a way; but if you're limited on cash and you want to read the best, there are far better DC storylines hitting the shelves in TPB form over the next 30 days or so, such as The Third Army saga continuing in the pages of Green Lantern, along with Batman: Death and the Family. I highly advise saving your cash for those, and picking up Flash: Rogue's Revolution only if you're a serious fan of the character or at a later date. I'm not saying this story is bad, it's just skip material when compared to other things DC has to offer.

Pros: When the story picks up it becomes good, clever use of artwork

Cons: Multiple artist will probably bother some, weak opening