THE FLASH #184
"Crossfire, Part One - Run: Program"
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 Saladino
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Though this issue comes off as more traditional in tone than previous issues in Geoff Johns's stint on the title so far, there's certainly a sense of epic at play that draws one into the story. The writer has breathed new life into a group of villains that often came off as corny, and Kolins, Hazlewood and Sinclair's efforts have brought a dark new edge to the book that I can't ever imagine growing tired of.
After incapacitating the majority of the Flash's metahuman allies, the Rogues Gallery finally makes its move against the Scarlet Speedster. They attack en masses in the middle of Keystone City, while Plunder prepares to take out Detective Chyre. Meanwhile, across the bridge in Central City, another Flash enemy -- the new Thinker -- launches his offensive, taking control of the entire city and every mind in it, leaving the Flash to fight not one, but two insurmountable battles on two fronts.
The most important job that the artists had for this particular issue was to communicate the immensity of the power being thrown about by the various villains. Kolins and company succeed in that regard... in spades. The transformation of Central City into a computerized landscape was stunning, as were the barrages that the Rogues rain down upon the title character.
Johns's faces a two-sided challenge when it comes to his readership in this issue. While keeping things fresh and new for those of us who have been following not only his stint on the book but the title in general for some time, he must also offer up a strong degree of accessibility as well. This is an excellent jumping-on point for new readers, and it's being strongly promoted as such by the publisher. In the end, there's a stronger emphasis on the accessibility, but some of the more obvious exposition passes by quickly.
Though I've enjoyed Johns's character-driven work more, this action-oriented plot is nevertheless fun and exciting. The wide variety of characters colliding in the story here adds to the entertainment value. On the surface, it seems as though Johns is presenting a typical hero-villain scrap, but I'm expecting greater complexities in the plot and some off-the-wall twists in the coming chapters of "Crossfire."
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