Review: The Flash #3

Written by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Illustrated by Francis Manapul

If the Fastest Man Alive is going to capture Mob Rule, he must first tap into his new amped-up super brain to save the citizens of Central City from the EMP that has blacked out the city. Witness a spectacular sequence of out-of-control cars, trains and even airplanes that must be stopped from destroying the city!

It is with the greatest respect that I have to tell all my MC cohorts that they are wrong. While Fantastic Four #600 was a great read, it wasn’t the best comic released this week.

This was. Keep reading after the jump for the reasons why.

Rarely have I read a comic that featured a better pairing of character and creative team than The Flash is currently sporting. Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato are crafting a story that is incorporating all the best parts of the Flash’s powers, building a strong supporting cast, and telling a story that, from the script (minus one glaring line) to the finished product, is as close to a perfect superhero comic as you are likely to find in 2011.

First, let’s deal with the negative. Early in the issue, a doctor is shot by Mob Rule, and right before he is shot, the assassin proclaims “Epic fail, Doc!” I would like to issue an entertainment-wide embargo on the term “epic fail” – it was clever for about never, and has been overused to the point of nausea (for further evidence of this, see the Nova story in Point One). That line instantly dates the issue, and is beyond stupid. I actually said out loud “you’ve got to be kidding me” when I read that. Sigh.

However, beyond that, I have almost nothing negative to say about The Flash #3. From the first page of the issue, the artwork is striking and unique, and the story moves at a frantic pace across the Gem Cities, leaving on a cliffhanger sure to be a cop-out, but one that makes for a fantastic reading experience. There was no book I enjoyed reading more this week (sorry David).

That aforementioned first page is something to behold. In fact, behold it:

Everything, from the clearly hand-drawn/colored “DC Comics Proudly Presents,” to the three-layered image of the airplane (image one: the plane, image two: the people driving/flying, image 3: the word “Flash”) is perfectly placed. This is a striking first page, and its complexity and elegance presage the double two-page spreads that follow. The layout of the first, in particular, is another fine example of what we have come to expect from this book – suggested motion in every panel. This spread also does a nice job of highlighting some of the Flash’s lesser known/used powers: temporary invisibility, creating vortexes, and being able to shift through solid objects. The use of coffee as the explanatory device here is an inspired one, as the topic leads organically into what he is about to do with the airplane, and allows for nice exposition.

From here, the issue covers a lot of ground, some of which is relevant to this particular story, and some of which is merely setting the table for future stories. Here, we get a glimpse of Captain Cold and a mention of the Rogues, and we can assume that there is plenty more where this came from in future issues. We also begin to see a little more of Barry Allen as a person, and not as just the, sometimes achingly dull, cop he has been presented as for so long – even the opening monologue about coffee offers insight into his personality. In fact, Buccellato and Manapul manage to give as much insight into Allen’s personality in three issues than Geoff Johns did during his entire run on the character.

That isn’t meant as a slight to Johns, who wrote some really fun Flash stories, but as a compliment to the current creative team. This book, more than any other, gives credence to transitioning artists into writers; each page is laid out creatively, and there isn’t an overabundance of exposition or unnecessary dialogue. The art tells the story, but does so while working with the script, not against it. This might sound logical, but there are many instances of great scripts and great art not being able to work together without one losing something in the process (see Swamp Thing #2 as a great recent example of this – beautiful art, a thoughtful script, but because of its heft, the script had to take precedence over the artwork, and the book felt over-written and dry). And, so far, Manapul, an artist sometimes (fairly or unfairly) maligned for his slow work, hasn’t needed any fill-in help thus far. This is a minor miracle, as so many of the New 52 have had fill ins within their first 3 issues, and few, if any not named Batwoman, are as stylized or intricately drawn as The Flash.

This book shows the Flash as a character with so much untapped potential, from his mind using the Speed Force, to the aforementioned vortex and shifting powers, to a setting being built up to be as distinct as Gotham, Metropolis or Opal, that it almost makes you not miss Wally West (almost). For people of my generation, we grew up reading Wally stories, and want to see him reclaim his importance as part of the DC Universe. And while I think there is room for Wally somewhere, for the first time since he returned in Final Crisis, I don’t want it to be at the expense of Barry.

Final Verdict: 9.7 – Buy