Jay Garrick: The Flash #1 review

I’m surprised this six-issue mini-series, part of DC’s New Golden Age initiative, isn’t called The Flash and The Boom, because Jay’s daughter Judy is very much in the picture.

And if you’re asking, ‘who?’, you missed the recent Stargirl and the Lost Children series, in which we first met teenage speedster Judy Garrick. Lost in time for decades, she’s back.

I know the life of a superhero, and indeed, a superhero spouse, is by definition odd, but can you imagine the weirdness for Joan of being reunited with your child after a separation lasting six decades? Then add on the fact your recollection of her was stolen too, so you have a flood of memories and feelings that threaten to overwhelm?

Talking of floods, Jeremy Adams’s scripts opens with Jay and Judy, ‘the fastest people alive’, faced with the threat of a Biblical deluge in the shape of a dam decorated with dynamite. They’re out to rescue Joan, kidnapped by an unnamed villain.

Jay deals with everything that’s thrown at him in a terrific action scene drawn by Diego Olortegui. There’s a convincing tension in Jay’s frame as Adams has him use his powers in ways that seem novel for a speedster. I’m especially impressed by his way with a massive boulder.

Olortegui also deserves credit for the facial expressions, nailing Jay’s joy, Joan’s confusion, Judy’s feeling that she’s still lost.

As well as the flashback and the reunion, there’s a Keystone City robbery to be foiled, and a question from Judy.

And if you want to meet Doctor Elemental, buy this book. It’s a fast-paced, character-filled, good-looking opening chapter of what promises to be a wonderful series. I’ve followed Jeremy Adams as he rescued Wally West’s Flash book and made it one of the most compelling – and underrated – superhero series on the stands.

I’m intrigued as to how much of a threat Doctor Elemental will be, given he’s likely dead by now if he’s been hiding away since the Sixties. And whatever eeeeeeevil plan he had can’t have been that impressive as Keystone is still hale and heart today. I can only surmise that he’ll be time travelling front then to now. We’ll see.

Meanwhile I can take another look at Olortegui’s good-natured art which retains the vibe of Lost Children illustrator Todd Nauck while introducing us – well, me at least – to a fresh talent. As well as clever panel designs that help the storytelling, he gives us a fantastic vintage Joan Garrick – even in her fifties she was quite the beauty. And she and Jay both look good today, due to various in-story rejuvenations.

Luis Guerrero provides the sharp colouring, with nice touches such as Judy’s rosy cheeks and twilight in Keystone. Letterer Steve Wands deploys a variety of colours to indicate voices without the pages looking like an explosion in a Crayola factory.

Add in a splendidly vibrant cover from Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern, adorned with a stylish new logo – extra points for the colon – and we have a great package. I hope you try it.