Wally West is lost
Not as lost as I am. How can this dizzyingly frustrating story still be going on, it’s been a full publishing year of the Earth being assailed by weirdo geometrical beasties and the Flash Family members finding their powers glitching, their moods all over the place and Reality being somewhere to the left of Nonsense?
Here’s what I understood around this issue. Flashes of all ages are united in their fears for the missing Wally’s safety, but suddenly his twins, Irey and Jai, sense his presence.
Max Mercury, Zen Master of Speed, leads the rescue mission.
The floaty figure who has been following Wally around a strange garden of statues turns out to be the spirit of wife Linda, and she’s ready with a pep talk.
And the kids prove very forgiving of the Flash villains who have been up to their eyes in all the hassle the family has been having.
Artist Ramon Pérez’s full-colour cover image is joyful, the accompanying line hopeful. This issue is going to be a lot of fun!
Well, it likely is if you like a certain kind of comic. I’m thinking of DC’s much-missed Vertigo line, when young writers were very keen to emulate the poetic stylings of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Much of the output was painful, but it was a hit with some people. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but at least I had the regular superhero stuff to enjoy.
The Flash is a superhero book. Its keyword is speed. Speed reading isn’t something the current run of this book encourages, I find myself slowing right down whenever the narration goes into lower case and Poesy possesses writer Simon Spurrier.
It doesn’t help, the writing is too artfully self-conscious to enjoy, and I’m not convinced there is meaning to be found. Some folk might hear Mr Shakespeare, I hear Miss Othmar.
The point of this issue is that Wally is being pulled back from his recent fugue state by the power of Love and Faith and all that mushy, good stuff. An emotional anchor is what we all need. It’s a great message but it’s been done to death in Flash stories over the last few decades.
The chapter stops with a very big moment, but sadly it’s not one that ends the story. Please let it be over soon. I’ve found things to praise in several issues, but I don’t think I can take any more.
The art by Pérez, Vasco Georgiev and colourist Matt Herms is attractive throughout, the craftsmen seem as at home with quiet moments as with the cosmic tomfoolery. Everyone looks on model bar Iris, who appears about 20, while the impenetrable fractal aliens at least look fascinating. While my favourite panel is that delightfully colourful moment, above, of the speedsters ascending, this disembodied Professor Zoom head does have a goofy charm.
Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou gives us the variety of fonts the story needs, some of them pretty attractive.
This isn’t the most positive review, but I’ve put it online because I really want to hear the other point of view. I’ve enjoyed plenty of Spurrier stories over the years, so I’m not anti- our writer. Who’s enjoying Spurrier’s approach to The Flash?
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
Anj here. Reads like a fever dream.
Didn’t pick this title up when Spurrier took over.
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I’m hoping for a crossover with Power Girl…
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Here’s something I would say to that: this is markedly worse than Power Girl. That’s not saying much because the Power Girl series went from being terrible to somewhere between mediocre and sub-par, but at least it’s comprehensible. This is terrible and incomprehensible. Neither series should continue to be published, but with that said comparing this issue with the latest issue of Power Girl is kind of a fascinating case study in its own right of discerning between the different kinds of badness presented by inattentive blandness versus whacked out derangement.
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It’s been a rough read since the beginning of the series. At least we’re finally getting some answers with Linda and seeing Wally back to being his old self again. Next issue will be the end of the current story arc. A new storyline begins with issue #14 (part of the “DC All In” initiative).
I think DC made a big mistake using Spurrier to kick start a new series. Jeremy Adams should have been allowed to launch a new series instead of being kicked off the previous Flash series. Spurrier’s storyline should have been a separate mini-series at best.
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Wise words! A mini-series would’ve made so much sense, but capped at six issues to force some focus into the story. Losing Jeremy Adams reminds me of the way Sterling Gates was kicked off Supergirl, we lost a fine writer who had a real vision for the book.
Roll on DC All-In and, yep, hopefully something a tad more commercial.
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I’m not enjoying it at all.
I’ve been a Flash fan since the early Barry Allen days and the storylines have been all downhill since the mid 80’s. Apparently, they no longer matter.
I think the ‘speedforce’ was an awful idea, almost as bad as the ‘multiverse’.
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I’ve always liked the Multiverse, when it was pretty much a once a year thing in JLA, great, but not its neverending.
The Speed Force, though…what was the need? We’ve had the odd good story linked to it, but otherwise it’s an annoyingly nebulous, whatever-the-story-needs concept.
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Exactly!
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I have to admit when I read this review I realised I hadn’t picked up the last 3 issues and now wondering whether to bother.
There’s always room for a bit of flash (pun intended) in writing for me, but as you point out I’m not sure that it signifies anything. It’s all a bit sixth form poetry in its writing. I think once it was revealed that supervillains were behind things, it sapped a bit of interest for me. I would have been interested in “when a Flash uses the speedforce they move into an environment with other types of lifeforms”, but this has been a bit like Krakoa era X-men for me, the focus on being mindboggling at the same time as having all the characters be out of character on purpose (presumably to draw the plot out rather than them get together and solve it early) has made it difficult to connect.
Stu
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The Krakoan analogy makes sense to me, Stu, this is a book that’s trying far too hard to be different. Jeremy Adams had found a great tone for The Flash, the narrative rhythm was perfect. And they threw it away for this unreadable gosh.
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Oh, man. I was recently reminded as to how much I liked Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow more than you, and I also remember defending the change in tone of this series in the comments of one of your earlier reviews. But I can’t be contrarian for controversy’s sake. This storyline has really lost me. I’ll see it through to the end, since that’s fairly close, and I love Perez’s art. (Although I wish he were given something less abstract to draw.) I’m curious if Spurrier has a decent normal-ish Flash story in him. But this…? This is just frustrating. What isn’t opaque is just kumbaya bullshit dressed up with the speed force. Flash deserves better.
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Oh, feel free to be contrarian, it’s good to challenge views occasionally! Although I do like that we’re in agreement on this one. ‘Kumbaya bullshit dressed up with the Speed Force.’ Brilliant!
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(The previous comment –and this one! — is by robstaeger, BTW. That’s what I get for posting from my phone.)
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I’m clearly the odd man out. I’m really loving this run (I will admit it’s a little slower than I’d like). I’m more worried that the end of this storyline will be that Barry assumes the role of Primary Flash again. I am only a casual Flash reader so I can’t compare to the Adams run (I did like the initial Williamson run a lot). I’m taking this storyline on its own and I’m all in.
I also don’t mind the Wally/Linda/Speedforce/Love dynamic. Wally is one of the few heroes who has been allowed to love, have kids and find that family is his driving force (in an entirely positive way). I also liked the “look at things from another perspective” viewpoint (haha) in the last few issues.
Full disclosure: Spurrier’s writing of “The Dreaming” inspired me to read this story. In The Dreaming, it took a while to feel like it was going somewhere but when it did it was a great conclusion. I just re-read the whole series and was impressed with how all of it tied together from the first pages to the last ones. I’m hoping (expecting?) that this storyline will be the same with clues and nuggets spread throughout. @LegionTonyL
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It’s great that you’re enjoying this run, I’ve enjoyed several issues, but it’s just going on and on, as Spurrier piles on ever more elements and pours obfuscation soup over everything. A satisfying wrap-up is to be hoped for, but I’d like every chapter to be a gobbet of satisfaction.
I do love the Love, it’s just a well that’s been gone to so many times in Flash books since Mark Waid came up with the Speed Force.
And I also don’t want Barry to be the Primary Flash, it’s dizzying how often Wally and Barry have swapped status over the past couple of decades – DC should just give them both a series, Barry Allen: Flash and Wally West: Flash. No one gets to be The Flash expect in the reader’s head.
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