When reading Geoff Johns's super-hero comics, I find it easy to tell that we both grew up reading the same comics, loving the same characters. He clearly has a full appreciation and love of the tradition of DC super-heroes... and the continuity of that universe. For a longtime DC fan such as myself, this Identity Crisis tie-in is a delight, an intriguing and wonderful expansion on the hearts and minds of characters that we've followed for decades. For newer readers -- and for those who haven't been following this title over the past year or two -- it could make for a somewhat confusing read. Even with that accessibility problem, though, this story focuses on the human side of the world of superhumans, and it makes for good, solid drama.
The Flash, like the rest of the super-hero community, is still reeling from the murder of Sue Dibny, but on top of that, Wally West has to contend with a critical blow dealt to him by Deathstroke and more importantly, with the revelation that his mentor, the late Barry Allen, made a decision of questionable ethical ramifications. He searches for answers from his colleagues, from family, but ultimately, the answers are to be gleaned from Barry himself. Meanwhile, Detectives Morillo and Chyre continue to investigate Wally West for the attempted murder of Ashley Zolomon.
Porter's angular style and kinetic feel really doesn't fit the story here, which is far more steeped in characterization than action. There's an appropriately dark look to the art here, though, that's in keeping with the mature and downtrodden mood in the script. The colors really drive home the emotional nature of the story in the final scene of this book, bathing the title character in the warm glow of a sunset as he's about to be taken back to a time when the man he admired above all others was still alive.
It merits note that Ethan Van Sciver's cover captures the eseence of the story nicely, and it boasts a tone that's consistent with the style of Rags Morales's interior linework on Identity Crisis.
Johns does an excellent job of filling his Flash readers in on the relevant events of Identity Crisis. But there are other expositin elements that he leaves out. The Titans and Outsiders show up here, but there's little explanation about the characters (such as what Wonder Girl is doing to Monseiur Mallah and how). The convoluted history of the Flash -- both Barry and Wally -- comes into play here prominently as well, as do a number of other DC Universe plots from over the years. Having read just about all of what's referenced here, it was fun for me, but I would imagine it could be overwhelming for others.
Still, there's no denying there's a strong emotional impact to be found in this story. Johns is clearly tapping into that universal sense of disappointment that comes from discovering that one's hero, one's father figure, is fallible. Johns is about to shatter the image of Barry Allen as some kind of saintly figure in Wally's world, and I'm quite interested in the grounded, character-driven storytelling potential that's to be found there.
