Rivaled only by the work that J.H. Williams III is doing on “Batwoman”, Francis Manapul has used “The Flash” to show off his pure inventiveness in panel manipulation for over 2 years now. However, the fact that he is so well-suited to draw a character who can perceive the world differently from anyone else is what makes the end product such a frustrating one.
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Illustrated by Marcus To, Ryan Winn, & Francis Manapul– Flash forward in time as Barry Allen goes to extreme measures to defeat Grodd!
– Barry uses the Speed Mind to glimpse the future, and things are not looking good for him and the Rogues.
– And that’s before things get much, much worse!
The issue opens on Barry Allen, exposed as the Flash, lying in critical condition in the wake of an attack by Gorilla Grodd and his army of apes. The city is left to be defended by the cast of supporting characters that Manapul & Buccellato have been focusing on. To their credit, the writers have nicely stacked the storylines from their run to build up to this, rather than treating them as separate arcs. Patty Spivot (Barry’s love interest) and Turbine (a man formerly trapped in the Speed Force) defend Barry’s body and fight Grodd, while the Rogues fight off the rest of the gorilla army. Conceptually, this is a strong way to present a story that feels like a major event within “The Flash”, seeing as everyone plays a role. It is unfortunate that the execution in the art and the script seems like an afterthought.
The Rogues bicker at one another and maintain their code of honor as they practice self-preservation against the gorillas, but have no individual personalities to speak of. Gorilla Grodd’s basic personality is intact, but there are none of the introspective layers that have made him a compelling character in the past. He’s reduced to a cackling villain, drunk with power. But the biggest problem with the script is that with issue #15, Patty Spivot has been defined by her love for Barry and has lost what makes her a compelling character on her own. The book makes Barry Allen into a mythical hero, but at the expense of the rest of the characters, who no longer feel important, even while we spend exorbitant amounts of time with them.
Marcus To & Ryan Winn share the art duties in the first 11 pages of the issue, but the results are not up to these creator’s usual par. Over in “Batwing” and previously in “The Huntress” miniseries, Marcus To had been doing some pretty strong, clean superhero work. The first half of the book lacks the detail and the compositional assuredness that we usually see from To. Nor does To’s work match Manapul’s style very well either, making the book feel all the more ordinary and allowing the weaknesses in the script to stand out.
It isn’t until Manapul takes over the art on the second half of the issue that an honest attempt is made to grab the reader and tap into the potential of the narrative. Even then, the words feel like empty obstructions to the art on the page. In issue #15, the transition to Manapul represents something that the writers have dubbed “Speed Mind”, which involves Barry’s new ability to view every possible outcome of his potential actions very quickly. This affords Manapul to craft a zig-zagging speed force tapestry of possible futures, each with their own color scheme and tone. We get bits and pieces of these futures, allowing our minds to fill in some blanks and consider what could have lead to certain events. But again, the narration capsules that are peppered throughout these sequences add nothing to the proceeds and are so heavy-handed that the pages would benefit from not being muddled by them.
Tucked away inside Manapul & Buccellato’s “The Flash” are little pockets of visual storytelling that could hold their own against any in the history of the character. There are fleeting moments where the book transcends whatever story is being told to give the reader gorgeous landscapes of pure super-heroics the kind of which comic books were conceived to deliver. But that they are so spectacular in a book whose plot and characters are so thin is what makes this all the more disappointing. Duos like Fraction/Aja & Waid/Samnee find the synergy to create writing that serves the art and vice-versa. That is the stuff of Eisner awards. Manapul’s interpretation of the Flash deserves a script that attempts to say as much about the character as his art does.
Final Verdict: 5.8 – Pass, though Manapul’s art belongs in an “Art of The Flash” coffee table book.
