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Review: Flashpoint #3

By | July 7th, 2011
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Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Andy Kubert

FLASH QUESTION: Will The Flash and his new allies be able to fix the world?

DC’s summer event is already at its halfway point. So far the miniseries has given DC fans some interesting “what if?”s, but it hasn’t necessarily been exciting. Does this issue pick up the pace, or is super-speed not one of the event’s qualities? Follow the cut and see.

Geoff Johns has been getting a lot of negative coverage lately, and I’ll admit that I’m definitely one of those who has been heavily criticizing his output in the past year or so. This issue, though, is definitely a big step up from the likes of Brightest Day and “War of the Green Lanterns.” At its core, this is just a fun superhero story – sure, it’s one that’s going to completely going to change the DC Universe, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Take, for example, Barry’s response to the end of last issue (and, be warned, these are minor spoilers). He’s been struck by lightning and covered in third degree burns after trying to replicate the experiment that made him the Flash the first time around. So what is his response? “Needs more lightning.” I’m paraphrasing, of course, but that is some of the greatest comic book logic I’ve ever heard. And, of course, it works. Some of you may say that’s stupid. Me? I think it’s great. With superhero comics you have to embrace the ridiculous, though it’s sometimes a fine boundary between “oh man, that’s great” and “ugh, that’s just dumb.” In the past, Johns has demonstrated that he knows how to stay on the correct side of that line, but lately his work has almost walked away from it completely. He’s been busy taking his comics too seriously, if you ask me. So far this mini has had a few instances that have demonstrated that Johns still knows fun after all, whether we’re talking having the occasional bit of silly-but-cool that I’ve already talked more than enough about, or the raucous romp of breaking/entering/escaping that most of the book is devoted to. Maybe it’s too early to say it, but it looks like Geoff Johns may be writing good comics again.

But that’s the thing. A few years back, Geoff Johns wasn’t writing “good” comics. He was writing great ones. Comics like “The Sinestro Corps War” were getting acclaim from people who normally avoided superhero comics. Sure, Flashpoint might be pretty fun, but it is far from that level of quality. I think the number one thing that holds this issue back is Johns’ tendency to rely on scenes that amount to going “hey, check this out!” This is the main book; at only five issues, the focus should be on the story. Pausing to flesh out the world is something I would normally love – I’m one of those guys with a thing for full-immersion storytelling – but in such a short mini it only slows things down. We’re halfway through and yet it doesn’t feel like we’ve really gone anywhere. There’s really no reason for Johns to give more than the most basic exposition, since there are a metric ton of tie-ins that explore every nook and cranny of the setting. I’m not saying that there can’t be subtle nods that make the reader go “I see what you did there,” but there needs to be more Subject 3 and less Lois Lane encountering the Resistance (granted, that could very well be important to the story as a whole, but it just seemed out of place in this issue).

We all have a favorite Kubert brother, and it just so happens that Andy is mine. Nothing against Adam, of course – his recent work in Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine was outstanding – it’s just that where Adam is energetic, Andy is elegant, and I’m a sucker for elegance. It seems that for this mini, though, Andy has been taking some hints from his brother, as well as his contemporary John Romita Jr. His art seems a bit more kinetic than usual, which is only to be expected in a Flash-centric comic. For the most part, it works. Kubert’s art looks livelier than it has in quite a while, and it really helps you get through slower parts of the comic. It’s at the expense of the standard Andy Kubert precision, though, particularly when it comes to perspective and foreshortening. Don’t get me wrong though, this is far from a sloppy comic. It just isn’t quite as meticulous as the younger Kubert usually is. Still, if you could somehow quantify precision and energy and convert them into a common unit… well, this metaphor is confusing me, but I think we can safely say we benefited in the end.

Yeah, Flashpoint #3 isn’t great, but it’s pretty fun. Geoff Johns is giving us the sort of thing most Johns fans will like, but not exactly what they’ll love. Kubert, on the other hand, is handing in some great work, as Kuberts are wont to do. My only concern is that, with only two issues left, this event is going to screech to a halt, but that’s not necessarily a mark against this individual comic.

Final Verdict: 6.2 – Browse, maybe buy.


Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

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