Art by: Mike Deodato Jr.
Colors by: Trish Mulvihill
Letters by: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover art by: Mike Deodato Jr.
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 25, 2023
The Flash #2 takes a trip to the wild side of reality when Wally runs into a group of evolved aliens while working to stop Grodd from doing whatever Grodd is doing.
Is The Flash #2 Good?
There's a point in certain comic runs with certain creators where you stop and think, "This is too complicated, and it's not fun." The Flash #2 is that point.
When last we left The Flash, a mysterious figure schemed with Mr. Terrific to eliminate all speedsters to save the world (somehow), Grodd and his apes randomly teleported to spots in the city to make "calculations" which resulted in police and random citizens getting trapped in stasis bubbles that aren't really stasis bubbles that hurtle into space, and Linda was starting to show signs of depression and/or dissatisfaction with her home life. Through it all, Wally does what Wally does best - run around with blissful ignorance of what's happening.
The first issue was weird, dour, and generally un-fun. The Flash #2 gives you more of the same but weirder.
The Flash unsuccessfully fights the Uncoiled, the spiky being that popped out of a distorted wormhole generated by one of Grodd's devices. During the fight, Wally tries to reverse the gorilla device and winds up shooting into space in one of the stasis-not-stasis bubbles, where he's rescued by a collective of exploring aliens called The Stillness. The aliens return Wally home, quickly incapacitate the Uncoiled, and warn Wally that the way Earthers are using powers is reckless.
Later, Linda has dreams involving Pied Piper. Wally figures out Grodd's calculation sorties are forming a geometric shape, so when Wally heads to the last point to stop them, Wally suddenly gets a power upgrade (somehow) that allows him to fold time/space to move instantly without moving and defeat Grodd. Unfortunately, the Gorilla calculations are completed, and Barry happens to be near the center of the geometric shape (a hexagon) to see a rainbow-colored geometric pattern forming in the sky above Central City Park.
If you have command of all your mental faculties, your understandable reaction will likely be, "Nothing is explained, and I don't know what's happening." That reaction would be the correct one. When Si Spurrier announced he'd be taking over the title, the announcement specifically noted a story rooted in cosmic horror. The cosmic part is certainly present, but there must be some confusion on DC's side distinguishing horror from overcomplicated noise. The only thing scary about this comic so far is the cover price.
What's great about The Flash #2? In fairness, Spurrier is challenging readers to look at reality from a non-grounded point of view. What if our understanding of reality and unlocking infinite potential was rooted in a higher-order interpretation of colors, shapes, and sound? The concept has potential.
What's not so great about The Flash #2? An interesting concept is worthless if the creators can't pull it together in a cohesive story. Spurrier seems intent on getting weird and esoteric by throwing random plot developments at the reader without any context or connection. Does The Stillness have anything to do with Grodd's calculations? Who knows. What is the Uncoiled, where did it come from, and what does it have to do with Grodd's calculations? Who knows. How did Wally get a power upgrade? Who knows. In an effort to get fancy, Spurrier got random, and it doesn't work.
For naysayers who might object by saying, "It's only issue #2. Give it a chance.", those folks are ignoring the reality of climbing cover prices, limited budgets, and publishers competing for dwindling attention. The days of affording grace to a creator for several issues to let them find their footing are over.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
The Flash #2 continues Si Spurrier's take on cosmic horror by giving you a lot of complicated, convoluted, cosmic developments that appear out of nowhere and leave the horror, plot, or setup behind. The weird, twisty art is interesting, and there are plenty of ideas worth exploring, but Spurrier's final product is too complicated and not fun.
5/10
So the Stillness rescued Wally but not the others trapped in the not-stasis bubbles? Why though? Something else that makes no sense. Or did they rescue them off panel? 🤔 My feelings were pretty much the same as yours: "what the hell's going on in this book?" And I'm not crazy about the panel layouts either. Jeremy Adams was doing a good job on the book. Clearly this was an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" situation if ever there was one.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%
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