Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Daniel Acuna
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.00
Mark Waid has the rare skill of being able to walk through continuity and make the most of it, no matter how convoluted or complex it may be. Both here and in The Brave & The Bold, he almost casually delivers stories that are fun and engaging, while being surprising in what they do. It may be said Waid has the harder job on The Flash, as he has already been known for a very successful run on the title previously. Returning is something of a risky venture – will he be as good as he was before?
Well, given we only have one issue so far and it isn’t known how long he’ll be on the title, it’s hard to say, but on this issue I’d hope he is around for a good time as it’s quite excellent. Waid immediately establishes that this will be a different run to his first one: Wally West has kids and his kids have powers of their own. The way Waid sets this is up is by having the kids saving people in a river due to a ferry sinking, the kids save the people, are just about to talk to the media then Dad shows up. There’s very much an Incredibles-feel to this sequence, but that’s no bad thing.
I have to admit, the final page on the All-Flash special preceding this had made me wonder how the kids were going work, one seemed to be able to teleport or phase and the other had super-strength? It didn’t look that encouraging but in a minimum of space, Waid quickly establishes just how their abilities work. He bases them on applications of speed thus linking them to Wally, which is simple and ingenious – it’s the sort of explanation that could only be gotten away with in a superhero comic.
With this distinctly different dynamic set, Waid moves the issue forward: Returning home, Wally discusses what to do with the kids. This gives Waid an opportunity to settle the various questions hanging over the title: Where has Wally been? How have the kids gotten older so fast? The answers are all quite plausible, within the superhero genre that is. Later a news report summarises a brief history of the flashes: Covering Jay Garrick, Barry Allen and Wally West. Waid is smart enough not to try to throw in DC’s recent Flash event – the death of Bart Allen - as well. It could also be argued that he addressed that issue in All-Flash, which would be fair – here Waid is trying to make the title as accessible as he can. Given all that has gone on, he makes this look easier than it is.
As they talk the kids are eavesdropping and are caught. We then see they have a couple of machines in the basement that regulate the kids’ powers, Jai asks why the ferry crashed into the docks? The next day they investigate the ferry sinking. Jai asks what they are looking for, why can’t it be simple error or an accident? Wally replies if they were somewhere else they could, but not in Keystone City. In the course of that they end up encountering and being captured by odd, sort of Elephant-Squid creatures which is where the story ends for now.
Complimenting a sparkling script by Waid is the art by Acuna who has upped his game here, giving visuals that are perfect. They really communicate the mood in the issue, which changes greatly. – from the ferry disaster to the Wests’ home back to Ferry in daylight, the fears of Wally and Linda and the kids joy at listening in to their conversation – it’s all clearly conveyed. While Acuna’s work on Green Lantern was good and great on Uncle Sam & The Freedom Fighters – it may be here that he’s at his best. There’s that indefinable extra quality here that I don’t think was in his previous DC work.
Reading this issue on its own, you’d never know of how twisted the continuity around the Flash had become in the course of the last year and a half, such is Waid’s skill at navigating this minefield. With the new characters of the kids, these Flash stories, let’s hope there will be a few, are set apart from those of his earlier run. With Acuna on the art, Waid looks to have an artist who can deliver the visuals to bring his scripts to life - to the fullest measure. Presently, it seems creative teams can be changed quickly, but I would hope DC realise what they have here and allow this team to establish what could be an excellent run on The Flash.
Ben Crofts is resident in Essex, works in London and has found comics and philosophy mix surprisingly well.