Featured Review: The Flash #763

 

Writer: Kevin Schinick

Artist: Clayton Henry

Color: Marcelo Maiolo

Letters: Steve Wands

Cover: Bernard Chang and Maiolo

 

The Flash #762 marked the end Joshua Williamson’s 4-year run on the book. In that time, he wrote 100 issues of the bimonthly series, 3 annuals, 2 event tie-ins starring Flash, and 3 Batman crossover issues, all with a rotation of incredibly talented artists. Many consider it not only one of the best Flash runs ever, but one of the best comic runs ever. That’s a lot to live up to. Does the new creative team do it?

Full Spoilers for the issue. You’ve been warned.

They do alright. This really feels more like a direct continuation of the last four years. It has a sappy and emotional end, a staple of the Williamson era. It also stars the Trickster, a character with which Williamson was obsessed. Shinick’s plot and dialogue are much more playful though. This is a lighthearted affair that feels like a “back to basics” approach to reset the character for the next big story. Overall, it works.

What begins as a fun date for Barry and Iris quickly descends into chaos as Barry realizes he lost his Flash ring. He panics and he and Iris begin searching for it. Barry continues to freak out because he can’t find it at home, so he puts on a Flash costume and begins searching places he recently visited.

That's not how Wally's costume works. C'mon Iris.

At one such spot, Barry happens upon a new arcade with police outside. Then he sees the Trickster and assaults him. Look, it is not unreasonable to assume that if the police and Trickster are both around, Axel committed a crime. But Barry has no evidence! He didn’t see anything nor was he told anything; he just attacked! After the police explain Trickster is legit and the owner of the arcade, he allows Barry to tour the building, where Barry spots his ring in a claw machine.

At this point, Axel has Barry fight some hard-light projections and reveals that the real business is people betting on the Flash and his supervillain fights. I really wish that was the story. Trickster as a legit bookie taking bets on the Flash with no interference would be an interesting and surprising twist on the story. Instead, we get pretty generic fair where Barry beats the projections, beats Trickster, and recovers his ring. It’s good but could have had a better use of Trickster.

Back home, Barry explains to Iris why he panicked so much. It wasn’t because he couldn’t make another ring or replace the suit inside it. Turns out, the gold in the Flash ring is made from the wedding rings of Barry’s parents. Not only did this surprise me, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s a clever and heartwarming (heartbreaking?) addition to the Flash mythos that shows Schinick has a handle on exactly what Barry would do and how he thinks.

I'm in love with this layout

Of course, all of this would be for naught without Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo. Astute readers may remember that I really liked this team on Flash: Fastest Man Alive. That doesn’t change here. Henry’s expressive, kinetic style is a perfect for both the action and more emotional moments. Barry’s eyes express so much here that you can’t help but feel what he does. Maiolo’s color palette is bright and clear, a perfect match for both this story and The Flash overall.

This comic is not perfect, but it is a very strong start to this team’s time on the comic. It remains unclear if they will be continuing after next month’s issues as December sees the series taken over by Endless Winter and all regular comics are taking January and February off for Future State. If not, they have the chance to create a memorable fill-in story. If they do return after that, this could be the start of an exciting new era. Either way, it should be fun.