The Flash #26 Review

Written by: Christos N. Gage
Art by: Neil Googe
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 31, 2013

I Believe I Can Fly (by Running Really, Really Fast)

A close friend of Barry Allen is murdered and he's on the case.  Unfortunately, the trail leads to the skies and Central City is in big trouble.  What can a hero who runs real fast do when the danger is flying overhead?

Christos Gage gives readers a stand alone Flash story that's both fun and exciting.  Barry flies (kind of) in pursuit of Spitfire, a female villain straight out of aviation pulp fiction like G-8 and his Battle Aces or old-time radio such as Speed Gibson of the International Secret Police.  However, unlike most of those pulp villains, Spitfire has chemical terrorism on her mind and it's up to Flash to stop it.  His pursuit of Spitfire, along with his inner monologue is good, fast reading.

The only downside of this issue is timing.  It was announced Gage was going to do the first issue after Buccelatto and Manapul left the book.  That was partly true.  Buccelatto is returning for the next couple of issues.  I know that it shouldn't matter, but it makes this one-shot seem even more like a detour until we get back to the regular book.  It's a shame because I do like the fun self contained story that Gage gives us here.

The art of Neil Googe is hit and miss for me.  Unfortunately, the miss is how he draws The Flash.  There are two panels in particular that makes Flash look batshit insane.  He really has those crazy eyes of someone you don't want to talk to, but it doesn't matter because he's already talking to the five people living in his head.  I do like the look of Spitfire, and most of the aerial scenes.  I also had a bit of a problem with some of the panel layout being more confusing than necessary.

Bits and Pieces:

The Flash #26 was a nice little one-shot story that unfortunately may be overlooked as an unnecessary diversion from the main title.  Christos Gage gives the reader a fun villain and situation for The Flash to deal with, however the inconsistent art brought some of the fun crashing to the ground.

7.0/10