Hey, y’all! Welcome back to your
(presumable) favorite weekly comic reviews. Today, we’re going to be reviewing
comics that didn’t come out this past week because I don’t read any of them.
Instead, there has apparently been a weekly digital-first Flash comic going for
about a month so I’m going to cover the first issue of that. I’m very excited
to talk about them so I’ll see you after the jump.
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| He's a shark |
As always, I will be using a
three-tiered grading system. Buy means I think you should go buy this comic;
it’s very good and worth your money and time. Borrow means that I think this
issue is worth reading, if you can borrow it from someone; it may be worth the
money for you but I’m not confident in telling you to purchase it. Pass means
you should pass on the issue; I don’t recommend you buy the comic and generally
don’t think it’s worth your time to read. Pass is bad.
Spoilers for: The Flash:
Fastest Man Alive #1
The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #1
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Clayton Henry
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover: Dan Panosian
As anyone that regularly reads
this blog is probably aware, I love serialized storytelling. Based on the first
issue, this series is not that. It is a series of one-shots, something I have a
tendency to underappreciate. Luckily, this series is in good hands.
Clayton Henry’s art is perfect
for what this comic is: a fun, contained adventure with humor, romance, action,
and a worthy moral. His lines are clean and faces are varied and clear. Everything
is framed perfectly, and it sets the mood perfectly. A big part of that Marcelo
Maiolo’s colors. Everything here pops. That is especially true for the Flash
suit. It looks incredible in this comic.
But there is more here than just
the art. Gail Simone’s writing is incredible. The plot is exciting and fun. The
first scene is Barry asking Iris on a date and the way each of them plays it is
perfect. In fact, every character feels exactly how they are in my head. The
body language and clothing choices from Henry help with this as well. The one I’m
not sure about is King Shark. I just don’t have much experience with the character,
but he feels different than my conception of him. Having said that, he is
hilarious. Few jokes are funnier than having the giant shark-man character
repeatedly state, “I’m a shark,” before describing something about himself. It
just keeps getting funnier and funnier throughout the issue.
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| This is super cute. |
The most notable moment to me
comes after Barry has defeated King Shark. Iris walks over and asks why Shark
attacked in the first place. Barry never asked. And that’s interesting to me
because the issue makes a big deal of how fast Barry’s brain moves and how he’s
able to problem solve SO QUICKLY. And yet he forgot to ask an obvious question.
It is an interesting character flaw to give a character than is often depicted
as not having clearly defined flaws.
King Shark’s motive is to scare
cruise ships (Barry and Iris are on a cute weekend trip/date, by the way) into
stay away because they dump all their trash into the sea. This is a real issue
and I was surprised to find it talked about here. I just wish they gave it some more time to
breath and be explored. It’s just kind of hand waved in Barry’s closing
monologue. That it was even considered really put the comic over the top.
Verdict: Buy
As always, feel
free to give your thoughts on these comments or others you think I should be
reading in the comments below or on Twitter at @alexraysnyder. And if you like
what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon to help cover
costs.
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