THE FLASH #187
"Crossfire, Part 4: Run-Down"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Scott Kolins
Inks: Doug Hazlewood & Dan Panosian
Colors: James Sinclair & Digital Chameleon
Letters: Gaspar Saladino
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
To my surprise, this latest chapter of "Crossfire" doesn't connect as well as those before it, or as well as Johns's run on The Flash in general. The writer usually catches my attention by combining traditional super-hero storytelling with a more modern sensibility and intellect, but here, all we seem to get is the typical super-hero stuff without the newer, more intelligent qualities. Mind you, I'm far from soured on The Flash; this is only one chapter in a larger story, and the art continues to impress.
The Flash has forced the Thinker to fight him on his own terms, on a battlefield of the hero's choosing: his own mind. The Thinker informs the speedster that it might not prove to be the advantage he had hoped for. And if that weren't enough, the Flash's friends face an uphill battle with the Rogues, who make short work of Cyborg, Morillo, Chyre and Goldface. Oh, and there's more of them that anyone suspected.
The art on this issue is as strong as ever. I loved Kolins's depiction of the landscape of the title character's mind, and he brings a sharp, gritty level of detail to the battles scenes with the Rogues. James Sinclair's colors add a great deal to the industrial, everyday look of the book. His use of greys at the end of the issue to convey the Weather Wizard's fog effect and the overall increase in tension in the conflict was striking as well.
The Flash's defeat of the Thinker struck me as a rather cliched ending to that part of this storyline. We've seen this sort of thing before, and there's really no explanation for it, save for the fact that the Flash needs to defeat the Thinker for the story to continue. The Rogues' behavior here doesn't really make sense either. Blacksmith is leading this group of villains so they can, what? Conquer Keystone City? What's the point? Blacksmith is trying to protect her secret underground organization, and in the process, exposes it. Maybe I'm missing something.
Fortunately, while the plot left me cold here, the characterization remains strong. Johns has a clear image of who Wally West is, and it's summed up with that opening scene. The more I see of Morillo, the more I like him, and Johns is doing some interesting, creepy things with Magenta in this story arc.
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