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THE FLASH #180
"Peek-A-Boo"
Recommended (8/10)
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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 |
Amidst the clever use of old Rogues such as Weather Wizard, Captain Cold and Grodd, Johns and Kolins have been creating some unusual new foes, ranging from Cicada to Tarpit to the various characters introduced in Iron Heights. This issue features the introduction of Peek-A-Boo, whose powers
are certainly unusual, and whose motivations are equally unusual, and serve to
both heighten the tension of what's going on in Iron Heights as well as pose a
morality question even as it gives Flash and guest-starring Cyborg a
super-heroic task to accomplish. While it plays into the larger stories, it's
something of a side trip from the main plotlines. Fortunately, with this
creative team at the helm, it's an entertaining side trip.
Johns has been planting all
sorts of seeds in previous stories, and he's doing a nice job of keeping the
various subplots in the front of readers' minds. A quick reminder and follow-up
on Fallout, discovered in Iron Heights, or the energy effects within Morillo,
serves to introduce new mysteries as well as to remind readers new and old of
the status quo of some of these characters. I also thought using Linda's new
calling as a starting place for this particular adventure was clever, as it
allowed for an unusual problem (rather than the usual bank robberies) and a bit
of downtime with Vic Stone.
Once again, I must reiterate how impressed I am with the work of Scott Kolins and Doug Hazlewood on this title. I recently took a look at Green Lantern: Traitor, which featured some of Kolins's earlier work, and I was amazed once
again by how incredible and distinctive his work has become on this title. The
detail on the backgrounds, the imaginative costumes, the look to the characters'
faces that makes them pop off the page... this is a book about energy and speed,
and the artwork is definitely keeping the energy level high.
The scripting is of course doing the same. Johns knows how to intersperse action with characterization, and he serves up a nice balance this issue. Peek-A-Boo's rather kinetic powers make for some explosive action scenes and also allow Flash to use his smarts and apply scientific principles with his powers, but at the same time we've got a very important story at the heart of the matter. The Flash faces a moral quandary here, and there's definitely a feeling that he had to compromise in order to have any sort of victory. In addition, both here and in JSA, Johns has shown an impressive ability to deal out
surprises, and the appearance of a returning supporting character at the end was
quite a shock.
Whether they're revamping familiar characters or creating entirely new ones, this creative team has brought excitement back to the Flash.
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