Welcome to the First Issue Bin, where I — Ethan Kaye — randomly grab one of this week's comics that’s just starting up and give you the details on whether it should get added to your collection … or remain on the comic shop shelf.
Absolute Flash #1
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Nick Robles
Color Artist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Editor: Andrew Marino
If you asked me to identify the character in comics who has furthest distanced him or herself from their point of origin, I wouldn't hesitate to say it's The Flash.
You see, DC's Scarlet Speedster has two faces he shows to the public. There's the simple concept of The Flash: he's a police scientist who got the power to move really fast, and he stops the crimes committed by an ever-increasing number of colorful gimmick villains. This is the Silver Age Flash comics, the Geoff Johns run at the book in the 2000's, and both Flash TV series. People know this Flash and like him.
Then there's whatever goes on in the actual Flash comic books. Nothing makes sense. The Flash travels through time. Space. Reality. Multiple realities. Different universes. Whereas his Rogues used to rob banks or plot great capers, now they're relegated to side stories, the odd team-up, or the perennial jailbreak from Iron Heights. There are so many goddam speedsters in the DC Universe that they wouldn't fit in a single Acela train. It's chaos. If you said, "Hey, this Flash TV show is pretty good, I'd like to see what the comics have to offer," no. You're going to get sucked into a cross-universe/time/reality adventure that, while it's generally well written, is way too dense and self-reflective for anyone who wanted to watch The Flash stop Mirror Master from stealing some jewels.
If I have to read one more thing about something being wonky with the Speed Force, I'm going to scream. That's a Flash Fact.
So, the great continuity gods of DC have decided to hit the semi-reboot button on The Flash as part of their outstanding "Absolute" initiative. Much like Marvel's "Ultimate" line, where familiar heroes are given different origins, environments, and supporting casts in their own pocket universe, DC's Absolute titles do the same with their big names. Superman is a transient, fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Wonder Woman is all about magic, having been raised by a witch. Batman lacks his cave, his family, and his wealth. And now, The Flash, by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles ...
You're not going to believe this, but this might be the best of the four titles so far.
The focus is teenage Wally West, an army brat stationed at Fort Fox (named, presumably after original Flash writer Gardner Fox). He's listless, with no friends on base and nothing to do. But he's befriended military scientist and all-around nice guy Barry Allen who's working on the hush-hush Project Olympus. While Barry sees the needs of Wally, Wally's dad does not and forbids the two from hanging out, even after Barry offers Wally a much-needed job.
Through a disjointed timeline that's thankfully easy to follow, we see Wally stumble into something happening with Project Olympus, something that bestows speed powers on him. He can't use his powers, he can't focus, and now he's being tracked down by a redesigned group of Rogues — Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Golden Glider, and Trickster. The series is off to a great start.
Jeff Lemire is probably the comic writer that I've been the most hot and cold on. Bone Orchard. Love it. His X-Men work. Don't love it. You can go back and forth on his titles and I'm split between enjoying them and not. And this is definitely in the camp of "I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next one." The feelings of frustration, isolation, and claustrophobia that Wally feels while trapped on the base are tangible and I was completely sympathetic. The conflict with his dad gets a healthy amount of pages to play out, they aren't glossed over in a speech bubble or two. The Rogues are neat. The redesigns are functional, although Captain Cold's blue camo is pointless in the expanse of deserts and mesas that Fort Fox is in.
I like Wally. He's a decent kid who was all of us at one point in time or another. I like Barry. He's that adult we had as kids that wasn't afraid to reach out a hand when they saw we were struggling. I like Wally's dad. As much of a hard-ass as he is, he's doing what he thinks is right given his responsibility on the base. I like the Rogues. I just like the bad guys. They have good design. I liked this book.
We get a nice Mirror Master tease at the end too, and a promise that the story picks up one year later. Could Lemire still fumble the ball? Sure. Flash comics are carrying the weight of decades of time/universe/reality/Speed Force continuity that's really tempting to hitch your wagon to, even if you're writing in a new universe. This one could go in that direction and then I'd have to say, "Ah well, The Flash used to be a fun tale of good guys and bad guys, but now, no matter the universe, it's going to be weird theoretical physics shit."
For now, Absolute Flash is fun and a good read that I recommend you pick up.
Dynamic Action: 5/5
Dynamic Layouts: 5/5
Dynamic Fort Fox: 1/5, this place is deaaaad…
Dynamic Barry Allen: 4/5
Dynamic Rogues: 4/4
Dynamic Dads: 1/1
Verdict: This could go off the rails at any moment, but for now this first issue is worth checking out. Big things are teased that I hope pay off.
