by Randy Lander

FLASH SECRET FILES #3 Recommended (7/10) DC Comics "Rogues" Writer: Geoff Johns Pencils: Scott Kolins Inks: Jose Marzan Jr. Letters: Kurt Hathaway "Flash Facts" Writer: Ian Edginton Pencils: Jason Johnson Inks: Aaron Sowd Letters: Steve Dutro "Moments Too Late" Writers: Dan Curtis Johnson & J.H. Williams III Pencils: Diego Barreto Inks: Mick Gray Letters: Comicraft Colors: Tom McCraw & Digital Chameleon Editors: Ivan Cohen & Mike McAvennie Price: $4.95 US/$8.25 CAN I've gotten to the point where I won't buy Secret Files, because they are generally made up of one story I like and tons and tons of filler, and the story rarely outweighs the filler. The Flash is an exception, it seems, because the lead story ties nicely into the current storyline while also introducing a new supporting character and fleshing out a couple of the existing ones. It doesn't hurt that the backup story of Chase looking into the Flash, while a bit brief, is a solid excursion as well, and so the pointless pin-ups and one-page stories to decent content quotient is much more favorable than usual. Unfortunately, the pointless pin-ups and a one-page story are still there, which means I can't recommend this as whole-heartedly as I do the rest of Johns and Kolins's run, but their story is as excellent as I've come to expect from them. The lead story introduces an FBI profiler specializing in metahumans, a terrific idea and a nice third member to the Morillo-Chyre partnership. The story, in fact, is mostly about developing this character, which includes hints at some problems in his background and an examination of what exactly drives a man to choose metahuman psychology as his field in life. It also forwards the Rogues' Gallery story a bit, with Flash having a run-in with three members, including the creepy and intriguing Murmur. Murmur's a good villain, because while he doesn't have any metahuman abilities to speak of, he's willing to do things like drop an Anthrax capsule on the off chance the Flash can't catch it. One mistake, and Murmur could do more damage than a hundred of the other rogues. The artwork, by Kolins, is terrific as always, particularly on the fight between the rogues and the Flash. Although I must admit to thinking that without the regular inker and colorist, it did lose just a tiny bit of its regular edge. In addition, this book contains another in the series of DEO/Chase stories that Johnson and Williams have been writing, reuniting them with the character that they created in the short-lived Chase series. It was interesting to see Chase interact with Wally, talk a little about the nature of secret identities and then talk a little about Flash's various foes. My only complaints were that it was far too short, as the discussions and even the plot were fairly brief. This is a complaint largely because the rest of the book is such a total loss for me. The pinups, while nice, either give away information I'd rather not have spoiled for future stories or reveal nothing that I don't already know, and are a complete loss for me. Which is fine if the intent of these Secret Files is to hook new Flash readers, but in that case I think the rest of the contents are mistargeted. And the one-page "Flash Facts" segment featuring Max and Impulse is something that might be funny and educational to very little kids, but screams out "filler" to me and probably most of those actually reading the comic. While I hesitate to recommend the Secret Files in general because I dislike the format, in this particular case I'd suggest biting the bullet and accepting that you're paying extra money for one good story and one excellent one, the latter of which ties in nicely to the current Flash run. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.