Jay Garrick: The Flash #6 review

This mini-series, part of DC’s Golden Age project – a mini-line of books starring Justice Society characters – gets a tad meta in its final issue as villain Dr Elemental uses a familiar phrase.

So yes, Judy Garrick, aka The Boom, Jay’s no-longer displaced super-speed daughter, has been kidnapped by the stinker. Otherwise known as Professor Hughes, he’s intimately connected to the origins of The Flash’s and the Boom, and feels he has the right to tap their powers for his mad machine. Why he wants a world of super-fast folk we’re not told – I’m happy to accept that he’s simply crackers.

I don’t need the villain’s plans to make a lick of sense, not when a comic is this much fun. Highlights include a tender telephone call between Jay and wife Joan.

The fighting spirit of Judy as she’s strapped to a hi-tech St Andrew’s Cross.

And the latest cyborg creatures from Dr Elemental’s spring collection.

Now, I’m not a big fan of superheroes swearing but I think Jay can be forgiven here. I mean, just look at those things.

Anyway, if you want a linear description of this issue, it’s ’Jay finds Judy in the clutches of Dr Elemental and Dr Elemental doesn’t come out of it well’. I don’t recall ever seeing Jay as driven, as angry as he is in this issue, but it’s understandable – he’s just regained the daughter he’d been made to forget he had, and now he risks losing her again.

And it’s not as if Jay gets his berserker on, like a very fast Wolverine. Nope, he’s angry but in control, ever the dignified dad. Writer Jeremy Adams presents a peerless Jay Garrick, not the fastest speedster in the DC Universe, but the one who sets the standards. He’s going to get a few licks in against Dr Elemental, but the bad doctor can take it – he’s hardly without power himself. There’s a particularly great shot of him unleashing his blasts at Jay, courtesy of the brilliant Diego Olortegui.

I don’t know where Olortegui is going after this assignment, but I hope it’s a high-profile job – I became a fan with the first issue of this mini-series and my liking for his work has only grown.

I love the way he draws super-speed, showing us Jay using his powers from three angles – the turbulent water, the electric trail and the unique choppiness of his arms. As for Dr Elemental, his look has really grown on me – think Dr Doom redesigned by Dyson.

Luis Guerrero’s vibrant, blended tones add an extra layer of gorgeousness to the story, a treat for me was seeing how he coloured five different countries on one page. And the attractive fonts chosen and applied by letterer Steve Wands ensure the script always looks as good as it reads.

The only thing I can’t rave about is the cover by Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern – it’s eyecatching, but so is barbed wire. The artistic team has done every issue, giving us a consistent look, but their approach here is just not my cup of tea. Compare the way Olortegui exaggerates Jay’s arm inside the book to show motion to the plain wonky limb on the cover. I really hope DC commissions Olortegui and Guerrero to produce a cover for the collected edition because a) they deserve their work to be seen by the widest audience, and b) it’ll likely help sales.

Adams wraps things up nicely but leaves one dangling story point – I hope that means he has a New Golden Age sequel series coming, and if we get the rest of the core creative team back, so much the better.

Until then, I can reread this series and enjoy the rich characterisation, peerless action and lovely visuals all over again.