The Flash #11 Review

Heart of Darkness

Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Davide Gianfelice, Ivan Plascencia and Steve Wands
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: November 22, 2016

While I haven't been the biggest Rebirth Flash fan, I do love me some Wally West and by that, I mean
New 52, Kid Flash Wally West.  While others complained when he was introduced, I wanted more.  Well, we are finally getting that and while some of it seems to be to set him up for the Teen Titans book, the training parts with Barry are solid gold to me.  Of course, Wally's desperate need for Flash's acceptance lead him into deep water by the end of last issue and that's where we start off this week.  Was it good?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with Wally telling a bit about his background while he fights through the big trouble happening right here and now.  He was bullied and while his mom told him to run away, he never could do it.  That stubbornness has gotten him in his recent predicament...even if he kind of blames Flash for it.

We then catch up with Barry Allen who is zipping around Central City, but is a little worried about how he treated Wally last issue.  He heads over to Iris' to make things better, but after a couple odd exchanges, him and Iris find out Wally is gone.

Of course, Iris thinks he's out Flashing it up, but the rest of us (including Barry), know different. That's when things take a turn down weird street as the Shade shows up talking about lost hope and Kid Flash right before Barry and Iris jump into the Shadowland.

Barry quickly meets up with Wally and they try to figure things out when the Shade shows up and turns the weirdness to eleven.  We find out that the "hope" he was missing was of the capital H variety...Hope O'Dare, his girlfriend.  It's a backstory that showed the Shade tried to reform, but couldn't escape his past and maybe himself.

After Wally steps in to give Shade a little pep talk, he tells the two Speedsters about the Tower of Darkness and also what has happened to Hope and Iris.  It's not a pretty site and looks like the two ladies are suddenly Flash enemy #1...and two?!?

This was a quick read that may have been heavy on the setup, but I like what it's setting up.  The Shade is an old villain and after going straight, I really like his and Flash's interactions here.  I also liked Williamson's clever use of the Rebirth feeling of "lost hope" actually meaning even more.  Again, this isn't the best issue I've ever read, but it's a marked improvement over what we've gotten from Flash lately.

This series continues the merry-go-round of artists and while Davide Gianfelice's art isn't great, it's not bad either.  I was sucked into the story enough to not really notice in general, but it didn't kill my enjoyment either.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue was all about the setup, but I still liked it more than most of what we've got since Rebirth started.  Maybe it was because of Wally or the villain twist, but I enjoyed myself and am looking froward to next issue.

8.0/10