The Flash #1, Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato (w), Francis Manapul (a) [Print Edition]
THE PITCH: The Flash is the fastest man alive… But what happens when he’s presented with a mystery that has nothing to do with running? What then????
HOW WAS IT? This is a tough one, guys. The Flash is easily my favorite comic book character, because when he’s done well, it’s glorious – and when it’s done any other way, its just a guy running around, and it makes no sense. He’s faster than EVERYONE – if he’s not faced with either an impossible choice, or someone who runs faster than him, where’s the conflict?
Also? Francis Manapul, who proved he was an incredible storyteller in Geoff Johns’ run on The Flash is providing the art for this. So with a new team, and one of the best artists in the business, how could it go wrong?
Ummm… The writing, unfortunately. To talk about the positive first, this is a really good looking book. From the introduction page where The Flash first puts on his costume, to splashes showing the speedster accomplishing several tasks at once, Manapul has intricately constructed each and every page to make several pieces worthy of being put in a museum… Or at least The Flash Museum.
Which is why it’s so unfortunate that every page is so packed with unnecessary verbiage. It’s a typical, new writer thing: you’re nervous about your story, so you jam it with plot, ideas, and characters yapping away. But with a visual storyteller like Manapul, all this dialogue is entirely unnecessary. Here’s the gist of the issue: Barry Allen is at a fundraiser, some guys attack, and in the process, one of the thugs gets killed. Turns out, the thug is one of Barry’s old friends, but he doesn’t understand why he would be doing what he was doing. Cut to the same friend getting back in touch, still alive. They get chased down by more thugs, and then… Well, I won’t spoil the last page, but you can probably figure it out by my description of the plot.
Look, I get that not every Flash villain needs to be speed based, but I also don’t get what the central conflict is here, or why its important for The Flash to be dealing with this. Ad in general, the mystery elements are not involving, at all. There’s not enough information or stakes to make this interesting, and no matter how many times we’re told this all doesn’t add up by the characters, its not because its clues that don’t connect, its because it’s a bunch of random plot elements.
It’s also probably not fair to judge this based on what I wish it could be, but here goes: why not just let Francis Manapul tell a silent story about the Flash, all action, all the time? I’d read that. It Would be different. It would be involving. And I guarantee it would look stunning, because any of the silent pages in here are gems.
There is hope, and I think that comes down to this being the first thing Manapul has ever written (or co-written), and that’s that he has the chance to get better. As he gets more comfortable, he may cut down on that unnecessary need to dialogue all of his scenes. I’ll certainly be reading it, I just hope I’ll be enjoying it without dialogue balloons covering up the beautiful art.
BEST BIT: The Flash throwing a thug to safety, as he plummets to the ground.
WORST BIT: The first scene starts slowly. That’s a criminal offense in a Flash book, I think.
EASTER EGGS: Patty Spivot was reintroduced at the end of the last Flash run, now she’s his girlfriend. Iris West, on the other hand, is just some reporter (when she used to be Barry’s wife). So there’s that.
ACCESIBLE TO NEW READERS? Yeah, mostly, it’s a pretty clear reboot of the character.
WILL YOU BE PICKING UP ISSUE 2? I am a sucker for The Flash… I’ve picked up every issue, even when’s it bad; and this is not bad, it’s just not great.
RATING: 34/52
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