Art by: Serg Acuña, Tom Derenick
Colors by: Matt Herms, Peter Pantazis
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Taurin Clarke
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: April 18, 2023
The Flash #797 follows the Flash-kids on a multiversal adventure when a diminutive gangster with a wishing machine kidnaps the youngsters in a ploy to eliminate speedsters as an obstacle to unlimited power.
Is It Good?
Hmm, okay. If you've been keeping up on the news, you know Jeremy Adams is rolling off The Flash with issue #800, so The Flash #797 could be considered the first in a three-part arc before the milestone arrives. In this first part, you get grade-school hi-jinks starring Irey, Jai, and their friend Maxine Baker, aka Animal Girl. The result is a high-action but low-stakes bottle issue without a single adult Flash in sight.
To Adams's credit, this issue plays up the sibling fun factor as high as it can. Irey and Jai have an easy rapport with each other and Maxine. The pacing is fast (naturally) but almost a little too fast. And the Super Sons from an alternate Earth make a guest appearance to turn the issue into a semi-Titans Jr. issue.
While those aspects of Adams's script are mostly positives, they could be seen as negatives, depending on your PoV. The main villain, Knives Maroney holding an infinite wishing sphere, leads a Reverse Rogues Gallery out of nowhere. The setup is very quick, the fight resolution is even quicker, and the kids express no sense of fear or concern they might be in danger.
Yes, we like the family dynamics. Yes, the genuine love the siblings and adults all feel for one another has been the highlight of Adams's run. But when a dangerous criminal has the key to conjure anything he can imagine, there has to be some level of concern to make the Flash kids' efforts feel meaningful. The tone doesn't need to be uber-serious, but the conflict shouldn't be treated like a game.
Likewise, the art is okay but appears to suffer from a rushed assembly. Looking at the credits above, you can see multiple artists were employed to get this issue done - a red flag for time crunch/conflict. To be fair, the art isn't necessarily bad, and the hand-off between artists isn't obvious, but the overall line quality looks unpolished, especially on the wide shots.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Bits and Pieces:
To Adams's credit, this issue plays up the sibling fun factor as high as it can. Irey and Jai have an easy rapport with each other and Maxine. The pacing is fast (naturally) but almost a little too fast. And the Super Sons from an alternate Earth make a guest appearance to turn the issue into a semi-Titans Jr. issue.
While those aspects of Adams's script are mostly positives, they could be seen as negatives, depending on your PoV. The main villain, Knives Maroney holding an infinite wishing sphere, leads a Reverse Rogues Gallery out of nowhere. The setup is very quick, the fight resolution is even quicker, and the kids express no sense of fear or concern they might be in danger.
Yes, we like the family dynamics. Yes, the genuine love the siblings and adults all feel for one another has been the highlight of Adams's run. But when a dangerous criminal has the key to conjure anything he can imagine, there has to be some level of concern to make the Flash kids' efforts feel meaningful. The tone doesn't need to be uber-serious, but the conflict shouldn't be treated like a game.
Likewise, the art is okay but appears to suffer from a rushed assembly. Looking at the credits above, you can see multiple artists were employed to get this issue done - a red flag for time crunch/conflict. To be fair, the art isn't necessarily bad, and the hand-off between artists isn't obvious, but the overall line quality looks unpolished, especially on the wide shots.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Bits and Pieces:
The Flash #797 kicks off a new arc where the Flash Kids and Animal Girl get kidnapped by a gangster with a wishing machine. The hijinks and sibling dynamics are fun, but the threat level is deflated by an overly light tone, and the art looks rushed.
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment