THE FLASH #183
"Crossfire Prologue: Tricked!"
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Scott Kolins
Inks: Doug Hazlewood
Colors: James Sinclair & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Gaspar Saldino
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Johns and Kolins continue to amaze, impress and entrance me with their work on this title. While this month's installment isn't the most enthralling one -- it's a transitional issue that strays away from characterization in order to move an uber-plot forward -- it still boasts strong dialogue and more of Kolins's oddly urban and eye-catching art. This is a thoroughly accessible issue, though, and those who've heard the buzz and are interested into delving into the title again would do well to start here.
A new Trickster turns up in Keystone City, and the young criminal not only wants to impress the new Rogues Gallery (and succeeds in his task by stealing from union boss Goldface), but he's itching to carry on the Trickster tradition and mess with the Flash. Meanwhile, as Wally realizes that many of his friends have become surprisingly unavailable, another one of his allies makes a startling and unfortunately announcement.
When one hears the term "industrial revolution," stark images of smokestacks, factories and life in a synthetic settling come to mind. That's the kind of quality I see in Kolins's cutting-edge work on The Flash. The new approach he took for his work on this series is rather difficult to describe, but it never disappoints. Sinclair reinforces that quality nicely, mixing bright colors in with more depressed hues, mixing the wonder of the super-hero genre in with a more mature storytelling atmosphere.
The original Trickster, in recent years, boasted a refreshing charm that made him a likeable figure, even when he wasn't working on the side of the angels. This new character is set up to be completely reprehensible. All we're told is that he's basically a spoiled brat. It's far from the most complex characterization, but it is effective.
One thing is abundantly clear in this issue: Johns's plans for this series from his first issue were ambitious. He's slowly been introducing characters and plot elements in order to set the title character up for a climactic confrontation with a new breed of opponent. Though we may not know all of Blacksmith's plans yet, it's clear that there's a methodical, clever mind behind them, and that intelligent storytelling approach makes for a fun read.
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