The Flash - Review - Blackest Night: The Flash #1

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Subject: Review - Blackest Night: The Flash #1
Posted Fri Dec 04, 2009 at 06:19:11 am GMT (Viewed 514 times)

It was great to see Scott Kolins' art again - he's especially well-suited to the Rogues and the Black Lanterns. (I loved the Black Reverse Flash design.) It was also great to see something actually happen in a story. Yeah, it was setup for issues #2 and #3, but it felt less like setup than all 5 issues of Rebirth so far.

In some ways, this is the kind of book I wanted Rebirth to be.

Now let's get more Wally and Bart, and some zombie Rogues, and we'll be set!

I'm disappointed about one thing that appears to have fallen out from Flash: Rebirth, but at least they're doing something with it instead of just letting it hang there.

Full review on my blog.

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emerickman

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Member Since: Sat May 17, 2008

Subject: Re: Review - Blackest Night: The Flash #1 [Re: Kelson]
Posted Sun Dec 06, 2009 at 10:52:52 pm GMT (Viewed 435 times)

Quote:

Full review on my blog.

Quote:

http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=13582

Thought your review was well worded and tend to agree with

> a slow burn approach for Flash: Rebirth, this time he starts in media res

> The one-page opening sequence, followed by a dramatic double-page splash of the Flash running, serves another purpose: filling in readers

> a sense of weight to an issue that, despite the battles, is still mostly setup (more about that later).

> Scott Kolinsâ€™ art is a perfect fit for the grizzled Rogues

> there are places where his art comes off as too rough

> paving the way (one hopes) for more stand-alone stories in the new Flash ongoing that launches next year.

> I thought that the initial confrontation with Zoom was over way too quickly, but itâ€™s clear that heâ€™ll be back later. I would have liked to get a better view of the Black Lantern Reverse Flash costume, but I think the more dramatic views (including the first-appearance splash page) served the story better.

> The book raises a lot of questions about the nature of the Black Lanterns and whether they can be restored to life. (OK, itâ€™s comics, of course they can!) In particular, â€œSolovarâ€™sâ€ remarks about h ow he doesnâ€™t want to be like this, begging Barry to help him, and Barryâ€™s response: â€œI donâ€™t know how.â€

> disappointed that theyâ€™ve decided to stick with the retcon that Barry lost his parents when he was young. It just feels like an unnecessary darkening of the character.

Think that the return of Barry Allen and Blackest Night have failed to realize their full potential as seen so far. The Rogues offered more intrigue than The Flash did this issue. Barry did offer a few thought provoking moments amonst his heavy (though somewhat necessary) info-dumping. It would have been nice to have clearer explanation how he was omnibroadcasting though (in case there is a future Earth crisis in the DCU). Similarly new-to-me Tarpit and ex-Outsider Boomerang appearances were worth WAY more than the generically-generic Titans appearance.

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